[ih] History from 1960s to 2025

[Vint Cerf]

packet radio, packet satellite and ethernet did a lot to dictate features
of TCP/IP.

v

On Sat, Dec 20, 2025 at 1:01 PM Barbara Denny via Internet-history <
internet-history at elists.isoc.org> wrote:

>
> Catching up with email
>
> I would add Packet Radio in addition to SATnet in your description. I
> think they are different enough that both should be included (especially
> mobility). I am not sure you have noticed how often people have said or
> written in papers that the Internet was not designed with wireless in mind.
> barbara
>
>     On Wednesday, December 17, 2025 at 02:17:25 PM PST, Jack Haverty via
> Internet-history <internet-history at elists.isoc.org> wrote:
>
>  The January/February 2026 issue of Foreign Affairs contains an article
> titled "How China Wins The Future".  Part of it discusses the Internet
> (section titled "Hardwire and Hard Power"), and their initiatives to
> create a replacement for TCP/IP and deploy the new technology of "New
> IP", to solve the perceived problem that today's Internet won't meet the
> needs of the future.
>
> This reminded me of the efforts in the 1960s/70s which created the
> Internet, with TCP serving as the mechanism to solve the problem of how
> to interconnect the numerous different kinds of networks that were
> popping up all over.
>
> While the future is interesting to discuss and debate, this list is
> about History.  I'm curious about what people think about how we got
> from the 1960s to 2026.
>
> Here's my thoughts -- based of course only on my personal experience.
> I'd love to know what I got wrong or missed.
>
> - 1960s: Licklider creates his vision of Intergalactic Network; ARPA
> creates the Information Processing Techniques Office (IPTO), which
> initiates the creation of ARPANET.
>
> - 1970s: ARPANET expanded; additional network mechanisms developed
> (SATNET), need for interconnectivity among disjoint networks motivates
> creation of TCP; ARPANET expands rapidly.
>
> - 1980s: TCP implemented in multiple systems; US DoD declares it as a
> Standard and requires it to be present in military procurements; NBS
> (NIST) creates program to certify implementations; government efforts
> drive existing network (ARPANET) and all host systems to be converted
> from NCP to TCP on 1/1/1983; NSF expands use of Internet into
> non-military environments, and fosters the creation of the first
> self-supporting Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
>
> - 1980s: LANs become pervasive; workstations and PCs emerge as
> alternatives to older mainframe systems; notion of "an internet" becomes
> popular; multiple companies (Novell, Xerox, IBM, Banyan, DEC, ...)
> create their own architectures, incompatible with others.  OSI continues
> to define yet another architecture intended to become a worldwide
> standard; ISPs proliferate.
>
> - 1980s: US government embraces COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) policy,
> which encourages the development of commercial products for use in the
> TCP environment;  corporate representatives from tech companies begin to
> participate in Internet technology development and standardization
> efforts (IETF); DoD limits funding of custom systems and research in
> favor of using commercial products
>
> - 1990s: Commercial users, and the public, get tired of waiting for the
> internet wars to end, notice that TCP technology is available, can be
> observed to work, and can solve their immediate IT problems; the TCP
> Internet grows rapidly in the general public worldwide; corporations
> deploy private "intranets" using TCP products; all competing internet
> architectures fade into oblivion
>
> - 1990s: next generation protocol (IP V6) developed to address
> limitations of older TCP architecture; draft standard for next
> generation TCP (V6) created in 1998
>
> - 1990s?: technology development efforts abandon the role of
> orchestrating replacement of old technology "in the field" with newer
> versions that remove vulnerabilities or introduce additional
> functionality.  Technologies in the Internet are now developed, and
> "standardized", and then "put on the shelf" for others to find and use
>
> - 2017: full standard for next generation TCP (V6) defined;
> implementations are in use, but many systems continue to use older TCP (V4)
>
> - 2026: after 30+ years, existing Internet has not yet successfully
> supplanted old V4 TCP with slightly newer V6 TCP;  many unsolved issues
> remain in areas of concern, such as spam, cybercrime, identity theft,
> intellectual property protection, "phishing", and others, not addressed
> even by the newer V6 architecture; US, EU, and other governments seem to
> avoid involvement in researching or orchestrating further technology
> development to counter such problems.   Corporate efforts seem to be
> continuing to create competing "silos" of technology, hoping to be the
> winner in the marketplace.
>
> - 2026: China creates initiative to define a "New IP" to meet the needs
> of the future; begins deployment of associated new technology in
> countries which have embraced the initiative.
>
> Your thoughts?
> /Jack Haverty
>
>
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