In the early 1990s, restrictions that had limited the earlier research-oriented internet to academic and government use were lifted, and commercial internet service providers began offering email and networked connections to businesses. Companies started adopting internet-based email and file transfer as a faster, cheaper alternative to telex and fax for routine business correspondence, even as telex and dedicated private networks remained in heavy use for sensitive trade and financial messaging. The World Wide Web, introduced in 1991, began to make networked information easier to access, though widespread commercial and consumer use did not take hold until later in the decade.
Relevance to Trade History
The early commercialization of the internet began a shift away from dedicated telex and private data networks toward general-purpose digital communication, setting the stage for later internet-driven trade.
Read the full story in our article The Telegraph and Faster Commercial Communication.
Source: Computer History Museum. See our Sources & Methodology page for how we select and verify references.