National Science Foundation Network

National Science Foundation Network
National Science Foundation Network
	NSFNET logo
Type	Data
Location	USA
Protocols	TCP/IP and OSI
Operator	Merit Network with IBM, MCI, the State of Michigan, and later ANS
Established	1985
Current status	Decommissioned April 30, 1995, superseded by the commercial Internet
Commercial?	No
Funding	National Science Foundation
Website	NSFNET history

The National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET) was a program of coordinated, evolving projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) from 1985 to 1995 to promote advanced research and education networking in the United States.^[1] The program created several nationwide backbone computer networks in support of these initiatives. Initially created to link researchers to the NSF-funded supercomputing centers, through further public funding and private industry partnerships it developed into a major part of the Internet backbone.

The National Science Foundation permitted only government agencies and universities to use the network until 1989 when the first commercial Internet service provider emerged. By 1991, the NSF removed access restrictions and the commercial ISP business grew rapidly.^[2]

^ NSFNET: The Partnership That Changed The World, Web site for an event held to celebrate the NSFNET, November 2007
^ Schuster, Jenna (June 10, 2016). "A brief history of internet service providers". Archived from the original on 2019-04-28. Retrieved January 15, 2020.

[1] NSFNET: The Partnership That Changed The World, Web site for an event held to celebrate the NSFNET, November 2007

[2] Schuster, Jenna (June 10, 2016). "A brief history of internet service providers". Archived from the original on 2019-04-28. Retrieved January 15, 2020.

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