10 facts you must know about the internet

But what role does the web play in our lives, how do connectivity issues affect work in offices, and how important are Internet Exchange operators such as DE-CIX for handling the increasing global flow of data? Here are 10 facts everyone should know about the internet.

1. How old is the internet?

The origins of the Internet date back to 1957, the year of the Sputnik shock. That year, the USSR sent the first satellite into space. In response, the US Department of Defense established the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) to regain technological leadership, and twelve years later Arpanet emerged. Arpanet, the military forerunner of today’s public internet, was designed to be extremely durable. Therefore, a decentralized and distributed structure was chosen. The infrastructure consisted of many individual networks connected at nodes. Even today, what are called “interconnected networks” form the basis of the network of networks that entered the history books in 1974 as the “Internet”.

2. How many networks make up the Internet?

It is estimated that today’s internet consists of more than 117,000 autonomous subnets that can be identified by Autonomous System Numbers (ASNs). Similar to postal codes, autonomous systems can be accessed and connected using unique AS numbers to exchange data. ASNs include internet service providers (ISPs) and telecommunications companies, content networks and gaming services such as social media, video and music streaming platforms, as well as e-commerce platforms, cloud networks, website hosts and transit network operators. Internet Exchanges (IXs) play a vital role in maintaining an efficient infrastructure: Just as airports are hubs for passengers and cargo, IXs are hubs for data packets in the digital world. DE-CIX has the title of being the world’s leading Internet Exchange, as it is the operator of more than 50 of the approximately 340 Internet exchanges in the world. In 2023, more than 3,600 networks were connected to DE-CIX, and this number continues to grow.

3. How many websites are there on the internet?

Today, approximately 1.1 billion websites are online, but only approximately 200 million of them are active and regularly used. The first website was launched in Switzerland on August 6, 1991. British physicist Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web (WWW) in 1989 to share information at the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva. WWW is a service that runs on the internet.

4. How many emails are sent per year?

Whether for business or personal use, an estimated 131.4 trillion emails will be sent and received in 2024, according to analysts at The Radicati Group. That’s more than 360 billion emails per day, 15 billion per hour, 250 million per minute, and approximately 4.1 million per second. By the way, one in every two e-mails is spam, that is, unsolicited e-mail. The trend shows that spam emails will continue to be a burden. By 2026, there are expected to be approximately 143.3 trillion emails in circulation, which is a 9 percent increase in two years.

5. How many internet users are there?

Approximately 5.4 billion people were online in 2023. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a United Nations agency, shows rapid development. There were approximately 1 billion users in 2005, and the annual growth rate was approximately 10 percent. Considering that there are an estimated 8 billion people in the world in 2023, it is possible to say that two-thirds of humanity is online this year and one-third is not.

6. How many domains are there?

According to the domain name report of the Verisign registrar, by the end of 2023, approximately 360 million domain names were registered worldwide, and these registrations show an average annual increase of 8.9 million entries (2.5 percent). The most popular top-level domains are .com with about 160 million records, .cn with over 20 million records, and .de with about 18 million records. Domain names are unique names assigned to specific internet addresses and make websites easier to remember and find. nordu.net, registered on January 1, 1985, is the first registered domain name. This domain name currently directs users to Nordic Gateway for Research & Education, a Scandinavian knowledge sharing platform.

7. How much data is available on the internet?

According to market research company IDC, in 2023 the amount of data produced, stored, copied and processed worldwide by people, companies, machines and computers reached approximately 126 zettabytes: we are talking about a number with 21 zeros! That’s the equivalent of the data needed to store 9 trillion two-hour 4K movies at 14 gigabytes each. IDC expects this amount to reach approximately 284 zettabytes by 2027; More than double the amount in 2023. While it’s unclear how many bits and bytes are passing over the Internet, DE-CIX’s data offers some clues: In 2023, data traffic on global DE-CIX Internet Exchanges totaled 59 exabytes, an increase of nearly 23 percent compared to the previous year.

8. What role does the Internet play in people’s lives?

For Americans, the situation is clear: Having a reliable internet connection at home is more important than affordable child care, even for parents of young children. Market research company Censuswide conducted a survey of more than 2,000 American adults in 2024 on behalf of DE-CIX. Working from home, remote working and mobile working are among the main reasons behind this development. 44 percent of Americans say they would consider moving if they could work remotely. The research also shows that the “New Work Order” is no longer a trend; It also confirms that whatever role social networks, streaming services and instant messaging play in today’s entertainment world is compatible with what young people expect from online working life.

9. How much money can you make online?

From gaming to the Internet of Things, from e-commerce and online marketing to cloud platforms and Internet Exchange Points such as DE-CIX, many internet-based services contribute to global value creation. For example, it is predicted that the internet economy in Germany will be worth approximately 280 billion euros in 2025, and this information is based on the 2023 sector report of the Internet Industry Association eco. Europe’s largest internet association predicts that the sector will grow by 14 percent annually from 2020 to 2025. DE-CIX found that internet delays cost German office workers 1 week of working time every year in 2022.

10. Who owns the internet and can it be shut down?

The Internet is a network of networks. Many companies, governments, individuals and organizations own and operate small pieces of infrastructure that combine into a larger whole based on common protocols and standards. Therefore, ownership is not centralized. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) coordinates the allocation of domain names, IP addresses, and Autonomous System Numbers (ASN). Organizations such as EuroDIG (European Dialogue on Internet Governance) discuss critical technological development issues with business, society and governments. For example, net neutrality: To strengthen competition and encourage innovation, no data packets should be privileged or disadvantaged as they travel across the Internet. So can the internet be completely shut down? Because it consists of more than 100,000 interconnected autonomous subnets, the internet cannot be completely shut down. Only local or regional outages may be possible.