Historical contribution
What Davies contributed
Davies and his NPL team independently developed packet communication in the mid-1960s and introduced the term “packet” for small, standardised blocks of data routed through a network.
Why it mattered
Packet switching made interactive computer communication more efficient and resilient than reserving a complete circuit for every exchange.
Connected topics
Where this fits in ITEM
Evidence
Sources and further reading
- Donald Davies
National Physical Laboratory
- Packet Switching: The First Steps on the Road to the Information Society
NPL
- Internet History of the 1960s
Computer History Museum · 1960
- On Distributed Communications I: Introduction to Distributed Communications Networks
Paul Baran · 1964
- On Distributed Communications VIII: The Multiplexing Station
Paul Baran · 1964
- The Interface Message Processor for the ARPA Computer Network
W. R. Crowther · 1970