The full name of ARPANET is Advanced Research Projects Agency Network. It was the world's first packet-switching network and the first to implement the TCP/IP protocol suite. Both technologies became the technical foundation of the Internet. ARPANET was initiated by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the United States Department of Defense.
The purpose of ARPANET was to share data and resources between Department of Defense researchers and contractors. It was created in 1969 by connecting two computers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the Stanford Research Institute (SRI).
In the 1970s, ARPANET expanded rapidly. In 1971, it connected to computers in New York, Massachusetts, and Texas. In 1973, it became connected to computers in Europe.
In the 1980s, ARPANET became known as the Internet. The Internet connected computers around the world, revolutionizing communication and access to information.