Economy
The early internet, ARPANET, had a significant effect on the economy. ARPANET established the framework for an international network that transformed information sharing and business procedures by facilitating data transfer and communication between computers. The ability to quickly and effectively transmit data helped businesses to increase their client base and operational efficiency, which in turn enabled the growth of electronic commerce. ARPANET had created a platform in which new companies and technology allowed for innovation and entrepreneurship. The ARPANET has a positive economic impact on industry, services, and finance. This is because it increased productivity, decreased prices for transactions, and provided a market. In the end, the economic revolution brought about by the ARPANET paved the path for the digital age and still has an impact on our current networked society.
"We recommend that the commercial packet switching industry be encouraged to provide the additional capacity that ARPA and new governmental applications will be seeking from this present ARPANET, rather than permit an open-ended expansion of the ARPANET communications network.”
"I like to argue that the Arpanet was the first of the shared economy systems, a system similar to Airbnb and Uber that used resources that were otherwise idle.”