A chronology of telecommunications from Babbage's earliest theories of a "Difference Engine," to the impact of the Internet in 1998, to future trends.

The prehistory of the Internet, 1843-1956 -- From Sputnik to the ARPAnet, 1957-1969 -- What does a network do? (1970-1978) -- Because it's there, 1979-1984 -- The wild frontier, 1985-1990 -- The World Wide Wonder, 1991-1994 -- Living on Internet time, 1995-1998 -- Future trends.