Background to the Internet. Chapter 2

• Date: 01 January 2005
• DOI: 10.10520/EJC74034
• Published date: 01 January 2005
• Author: Jason Mikellyn Charles Johnson
• Pages: 3-14

CHAPTER 2

BACKGROUND TO THE INTERNET

2.1 What is the Internet

The Internet can best and most basically be described as a world-

wide system of computers, which are all interlinked to one another

using networking technology and a common computer language.3

Authors such as Smith, define the Internet even more simply as a

“network of computer networks”.4As the field of law and the Internet

has grown in popularity and application, the need to provide a de-

finition of the Internet in commercial contracts has come into play.

Among the more common definitions thereof in standard contractual

definition clauses includes: “A network of computer networks ac-

cessible via an Internet Service Provider or ISP”.

The original standard of communication or language used to connect

the Internet was called Network Control Protocol or NCP.5Ether-

net, a protocol for many local networks emerged in 1974 as an

outflow of Harvard University’s Bod Metcalfe’s dissertation on “Packet

Networks”.6This dissertation was initially rejected for not being ana-

lytical enough. Later, NCP was replaced by a more sophisticated

format called TCP/IP or Transmission Control Protocol/Internet

Protocol.7

Contrary to popular belief, the Internet and the World Wide Web

are, not the same thing.8The Internet is the physical collection of

networks of computers, while the World Wide Web is the vast libra-

ry of documents and information available on the Internet.9E-mail

and Internet chat facilities are other examples of services, which

are available as a spin-off of the Internet.10 In addition to this, it is

possible to transfer files over the Internet using FTP or File Transfer

Protocol.

Connection or access to the Internet is possible via an ISP or In-

ternet Service Provider. Every computer connected to the Internet

is assigned a unique number — called an IP address — for the

purposes of identification. IP addresses usually consist of four to

3

3 Buys ea 2000:11-12.

4 Smith 1997:1.

5www.wdvl.com/Internet/History/

6Howe 2001:3.

7 Sterling 1993:1-6.

8 Griffiths 2002:7-12.

9Buys ea 2000:11-12.

10 Hofman ea 1999:18-21.