Charts
Shown in the 2026 review only. Each chart begins when that metric becomes relevant. Solid lines show historical anchors and estimates; dashed lines identify unverified continuations and hypothetical 2027–2050 scenarios. An observed milestone is not the same as a measured annual series.
Solid = historical observations or clearly labeled historical estimates; dotted = projections/scenarios. Vertical marker = selected year.
Citations
Transport-network animation
From 1969, service hosts are placed first at least 2,300 canvas units apart, with devices distributed 1,000–1,300 units from their host (subject to available space). Earlier years retain their original layout. People are attached to a home machine (one per PC/phone; one to five at shared client/early computers). Network services are remote destinations, not places network people walk to. Objects are converted locally or travel outward and back as packets along a protocol-compatible link. NCP and TCP appear as solid transport lines; SNA, DECnet NSP, XNS SPP, IPX/SPX, and AppleTalk use repeating three-color dashes. Transport capabilities and link density are historically inspired illustrations, not observed network topology or protocol market share.
Visual and population assumptions
Underlying sources and modeling limits
Evidence categories: dated milestone (source-linked); surveyed/estimated aggregate (source with methodology); interpolated or illustrative visualization (model assumption); post-2026 conditional scenario (not measured). Visual icons, routes, protocol shares, OS reach before 2026, and infrastructure prices are not precise global history.
ITU 2026 Internet-use release · Google IPv6 connectivity series · IANA exhaustion (Feb 2011) · CERN Web timeline.
Sources:
Netcraft ·
Web history ·
ITU ·
RIPE ·
Google IPv6 ·
World Bank ·
Computer History Museum ·
PC history. Early computer counts, 1970–74 PCs, non-web destinations, user-facing protocol shares, and early network-user populations are illustrative. The Mercator map plots sourced locations of computing milestones, not country-level adoption; the selected points are representative, not exhaustive. Visual local operators and phone/PC shares are illustrative, not population estimates. Every phone has exactly one owner; after 2007 one illustrated person may own multiple personal devices. Website counts use selected historical survey anchors and modeled interpolations; 2026 website counts are carried forward. ITU estimates 6.3 billion Internet users in 2026. Google reported 46.5% IPv6 connectivity among its users on October 15, 2026; earlier plotted IPv6 values are indicative. None of these are a physical-server census.
Outstanding adjustments
These identify where the historical simulation relies on assumptions rather than verified data, and what still needs research or refinement.