Are Not the Same Thing Many times, the terms “Internet” and “World Wide Web,” or even just “the web,” are used interchangeably. But really, they are not the same thing. The Internet is an interconnected network of networks. Services such as email, voice and video, file transfer, and the World Wide Web all run across the Internet. The World Wide Web is simply one part of the Internet. It is made up of web servers that have HTML pages that are being viewed on devices with web browsers.
The Growth of High-Speed Internet
In the early days of the Internet, most access was accomplished via a modem over an analog telephone line. A modem was connected to the incoming phone line when then connected to a computer. Speeds were measured in bits-per-second (bps), with speeds growing from 1200 bps to 56,000 bps over the years. Connection to the Internet via modems is called dial-up access. As the web became more interactive, dial-up hindered usage when users wanted to transfer more and more data. As a point of reference, downloading a typical 3.5 MB song would take 24 minutes at 1200 bps and 2 minutes at 28,800 bps. High speed Internet speeds, by definition, are a minimum of 256,000 bps, though most connections today are much faster, measured in millions of bits per second (megabits or Mbps) or even billions (gigabits). For the home user, a high-speed connection is usually accomplished via the cable television lines or phone lines using a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL). Both cable and DSL have similar prices and speeds Information Systems for Business and Beyond (2019) pg. 99
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