1986

In the course of 1985 five supercomputer centres across the entire United States were installed. Physicists and other scientists pled for the creation of a “backbone” which connects these supercomputers. NSF immediately agreed to set up this backbone network. It was named NSFNET.
NSFNET

At the same time NSF made an offer for academic institutions: If the institutions of a geographical region install a local network, NSF would connect this network to their backbone network. Not only would the local network have access to the backbone, it could also connect with all other local networks. As a reaction to this offer, about a dozen local networks in the whole country arose. All these networks had an exclusive access to the backbone of the NSFNET. In the Northern part of the state of New York NYSERNET emerged. CERFNET – which had nothing to do with Vinton Cerf – came into existence in San Diego. With their backbone NSF provided the science community with a commodity free of charge, which means the regional networks didn’t have to pay for their use in the beginning. The commissioning of NSFNET in 1986 was NSF’s most valuable accomplishment ever.