The Evolution of Home Internet

It’s no secret that home Internet has made life easier for hundreds of millions of people across the country. However, few are aware of this technology’s numerous changes since its initial introduction in the early 90s. Let’s examine the evolution of home Internet and how it became what it is today.

The Creation of the Internet

The Internet was officially invented on January 1st, 1983. Its initial purpose was to help academic and research organizations share information quickly. However, this technology would not be commercially available for home use until almost a decade later.

The Introduction of Dial-Up Home Internet

The first commercial Internet Service Providers in the United States sprang up in 1989. One of the earliest and most notable ISPs was “The World”. This ISP proved to be quite popular despite offering customers slow dial-up Internet whose speeds were limited to 56.6 kbps.

Many other ISPs emerged in the years that followed. This gave computer owners the ability to share information across the world wide web from the comfort of their homes.

The DSL Era

Dial-up Internet was slowly phased out in favor of a new form of Internet connection known as Digital Subscriber Line (DSL). DSL was initially introduced as a means of transmitting high-speed signals for television. However, it was repurposed for Internet use in the mid-1990s.

DSL proved to be popular with urban users due to its fast speeds. These speeds typically ranged from 256 kbit/s to over 100 Mbit/s, making DSL connections ideal for loading websites with images and downloading media.

Cable Broadband Emerges

Cable broadband was the next step in the evolution of home Internet. ISPs began offering this technology in 1996, which relied on cable TV’s already existing infrastructure. Cable offered higher speeds than DSL and served as a direct connection for Internet users residing in densely populated areas. This technology can now reach download speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps or 1 Gbps, but is still limited to max upload speeds of around 35 Mbps.

Fiber Optic Internet

Fiber optic Internet is the most recent development in home Internet. This technology is similar to broadband for its use of direct cable Internet connections. Traditional broadcast uses copper cables, while fiber-optic Internet utilizes fiber optic cables. The latter has a transmission range of 25 miles compared to copper’s .06-mile range.

Fiber optic connections are also exponentially faster than traditional copper cable connections because they transmit data as light. Studies have found that fiber optic connections are capable of transmitting data at speeds up to 100 Gbps, but these speeds are limited to around 1-10 Gbps in most cases due to equipment limitations. However, most fiber optic networks are symmetrical, which means the upload speed matches the download speed. Symmetrical speeds are great for online gaming and streaming video content in high definition.

The Future of Home Internet

Home Internet will likely continue to evolve in the coming years. However, fiber optic Internet already provides remarkable speeds and reliability today while also providing the infrastructure for the future. Upgrade to a fiber optic Internet connection if you would like to see the true potential of the modern world wide web.

Ready to upgrade to fiber-optic Internet services in Bloomington? Please get in touch with our fiber Internet experts today to learn more.