Answer: Researchers

It should come as no surprise to anyone that the first thing early computer and networking pioneers attempted to connect together was their research facilities. On the morning of October 29th, 1969 Professor Leonard KleinRock linked his research laboratory at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus to the Stanford Research Institute (SRI)–354 miles North-West in Menlo Park, California.

The connection between the two research facilities is considered the first internet backbone; later additions would link UCLA and SRI with University of California, Santa Barbara and the University of Utah. By 1971 the network had grown to encompass 18 research facilities dotting the East and West coasts. This early and primitive network linking research facilities was known as ARPANET and is the direct predecessor to modern global networks.