The global network of interconnected computer networks is called the Internet.
The Internet is a “network of networks”: private, public, academic, business, and government networks connect and exchange data using the Internet protocol suite, principally TCP/IP. Routers move packets between these separate networks, allowing devices in distant locations to communicate.
Its roots lie in 1960s research into time-sharing, packet switching, and computer networking. ARPANET connected its first computers in 1969, while later work by researchers including Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn helped develop protocols for connecting different networks. ARPANET adopted TCP/IP for production use on January 1, 1983, a landmark in the Internet’s development.
A common mix-up is treating the Internet and the World Wide Web as the same thing. The Internet is the underlying global network and infrastructure; the Web is one service that runs on it, using technologies such as URLs, HTTP, and web browsers. Email, online games, streaming, and file transfer also use the Internet without being the Web itself.