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Disconnected: The Digital Divide in the 1990s
Who got online, who didn’t — and why it still matters.
In the 1990s, the internet promised a new era of opportunity. But access
wasn’t equal. Geography, race, and class shaped who could log on — and who
was left behind. This site explores the early digital divide through maps,
media, and data from the decade that wired the world.The internet is
considered to have been “born” on January 1, 1983, when ARPANET officially
adopted the TCP/IP protocol suite, switched from the older Network
Controller Protocol (NCP), transforming a patchwork of networks into a
unified system, the Defense Communication Agency decided to separate the
network making it public, “ARPANET” and “MILNET” classified. The system
became accessible to the public in 1989, when Tim Berners-Lee created the
World Wide Web in Switzerland at CERN. European Organization for Nuclear
Research (in French Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire) was
adopted. was founded in 1952 as a global collaboration hub where thousands
of scientists conduct ground-breaking research, advancing knowledge and
peace. Tim Berners-Lee’s invention of the world wide web launched the dawn
of internet usage. The world’s first website was published in 1991 and the
first web browser (Mosaic) was available in 1993 developed by Marc
Andreessen and Eric Bina working at the NSF-supported National Center for
Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign.
NCSA Mosaic 2.0 — The Early Web
Welcome to the World Wide Web
The Web is a wide-area hypermedia information retrieval initiative
aiming to give universal access to a large universe of documents.
This page demonstrates the look and feel of early web browsing in
NCSA Mosaic: inline images, blue hyperlinks, and
simple typographic structure.
Inline image — a hallmark feature popularized by Mosaic.
Getting started
To follow a link, just click the highlighted text. For example:
The Project
explains the origins of the Web. Visited links appear in
purple, unvisited in
blue.
Basic HTML structures
Headings: H1–H3 used for simple page hierarchy.
Lists: Unordered lists organize links and notes.
Images: Displayed inline with text rather than in
separate windows.
The 1990s marked the dawn of the internet age, but access was uneven.
Geographic location, racial identity, and socioeconomic status dictated
who logged on — and who was left behind. This website explores the early
digital divide through maps, media, and data from the decade that wired
the world. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration
(NTIA) within the Department of Commerce published a series of reports
documenting disparities in universal home telephone service, computer
ownership and internet access. The first report was “Falling Through the
Net”, focused on home telephone penetration. In July 1994, the NTIA
contacted the Census Bureau and the Federal Communication Commission (FCC)
requesting them to add questions on computer/modem ownership and usage to
the second survey. The (NTIA) also requested the Census Bureau to
cross-reference information gathered according to the variables of (i.e.,
age, income, education level, race and geographic locations-central city,
rural and urban. (The Digital Divide, MIT pg.8)
We’ll examine how rural infrastructure, income inequality, and systemic
barriers influenced internet adoption — and how those patterns echo in
today’s broadband debates. From dial-up modems to policy memos, this is a
story of connection, exclusion, and the infrastructure of inequality.
Click through the sections above to explore the divide.
Geography: Urban vs Rural Access
In the 1990s, internet access was shaped by physical infrastructure.
Urban areas benefited from early ISP rollouts and university networks,
while rural communities often lacked basic connectivity.
Map: Internet penetration by region, 1998 (NTIA)
Urban centers: Higher adoption due to proximity to
ISPs and research institutions
Rural areas: Slower rollout, limited infrastructure,
and higher costs
Policy response: Clinton-Gore administration’s
“E-rate” program to subsidize school and library access
The Digital Divide in the 1990s
1983
ARPANET Adopts TCP/IP
Creation of a unified internet promises new levels of opportunity
— but not equal access.
1991
World Wide Web Opens
The early ’90s see rapid growth in websites and ISPs — but many
fall behind.
1993
Mosaic Browser Popularizes Internet
Geography, race, and class shape who could get online — and who
couldn’t.
2000
Invest in Digital Inclusion
Clinton’s State of the Union calls to “close the digital divide”
and urges national action.
