This chapter is not intended to offer an exhaustive state of the art, but rather to reflect on the evolving trends in the history of data networks. It highlights prominent topics within this history. It starts with the narratives surrounding ARPANET and explores government support, competition among companies, governance, and regulation. It looks at how the history of the Internet is linked with the history of pre-networking technologies and alternative developments in networking technologies in countries outside the United States. It examines the way in which technology has been shaped by both users and organizations, shedding light on several trends including a strong interest in digital cultures, “missing narratives”, and the practices of early adopters. It also delves into significant historical approaches, incorporating reflections on methodologies and sources, including some linked to my own research (starting from 2002, with a PhD on the history of two packet-switching networks developed in France during the 1970s, Cyclades and Transpac). The chapter acknowledges the contributions made by major publications, research communities, and various specific approaches to improving our understanding of the history of data networks.
The first three parts explore narratives that focused more on the genesis of data networks and the way in which research on ARPANET and other networks developed, while also emphasizing how these narratives have co-evolved with STS and benefited from new perspectives on governance and standards. It is in some ways an approach rooted in infrastructures and the lower layers of data networks, but one that also digs into the role of institutions, research centers and innovators, and balances of power in the areas of networks and standards. The fourth part of this chapter focuses on the “missing narratives” that were highlighted a few years ago: the way in which these gaps have progressively been filled and the consequent emergence of new research questions that are less US-centric, less focused on innovation, and more interested in different contexts and multi-layered approaches. This leads to the last section of this chapter, which examines the “user turn” that characterizes some current research, in which researchers draw on born-digital heritage and other sources to explore “networking in society.” The chapter closes with some reflections on the still underexplored avenues that may yet be investigated by the history of data networks, as well as possible future trends for this history, which is not bound to become a field of its own but may continue to reflect the cauldron of innovation that is networks and communication.
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