What is the internet?

The internet is a worldwide system of interconnected computer networks that lets devices share information almost instantly. It works by breaking data into small packets that travel across cables, wireless links, and satellites, guided by a common set of rules called the Internet Protocol, which ensures the pieces reach the right destination and reassemble correctly. The internet grew out of a US research project called ARPANET in the late 1960s, and it expanded rapidly once standard protocols were adopted in the 1980s. It is important to note that the internet is the underlying network, while the World Wide Web, invented by Tim Berners-Lee around 1989, is one popular service that runs on top of it. Today the internet connects billions of people and underpins communication, commerce, entertainment, and much of modern life.