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The '''International Packet Switched Service''' (IPSS) was the first international and commercial [[Packet switching|packet switching]] network. It was created in 1978 by a collaboration between Britain's Post Office Telecommunications, and the United States' [[Company:Western Union|Western Union]] International and Tymnet.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Roberts|first=L.G.|date=1978|title=The evolution of packet switching|journal=Proceedings of the IEEE|volume=66|issue=11|pages=1307–1313|doi=10.1109/PROC.1978.11141|issn=1558-2256|s2cid=26876676}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rybczynski|first=Tony|date=2009|title=Commercialization of packet switching (1975-1985): A Canadian perspective [History of Communications]|journal=IEEE Communications Magazine|volume=47|issue=12|pages=26–31|doi=10.1109/MCOM.2009.5350364|issn=1558-1896|s2cid=23243636}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Schwartz|first=Mischa|date=2010|title=X.25 Virtual Circuits - TRANSPAC IN France - Pre-Internet Data Networking [History of communications]|journal=IEEE Communications Magazine|volume=48|issue=11|pages=40–46|doi=10.1109/MCOM.2010.5621965|issn=1558-1896|s2cid=23639680}}</ref>
== History ==
This network grew from [[Earth:Europe|Europe]] and the United States to cover Canada, [[Place:Hong Kong|Hong Kong]] and Australia by 1981, and by the 1990s it provided a worldwide networking infrastructure.<ref>{{cite web|title=Events in British Telecomms History|url=http://www.sigtel.com/tel_hist_brief.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030405153523/http://www.sigtel.com/tel_hist_brief.html|archive-date=April 5, 2003|access-date=November 25, 2005|work=Events in British TelecommsHistory}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Council|first1=National Research|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jh1pORpfvrQC&pg=PA148|title=The Unpredictable Certainty: White Papers|last2=Sciences|first2=Division on Engineering and Physical|last3=Board|first3=Computer Science and Telecommunications|last4=Applications|first4=Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and|last5=Committee|first5=NII 2000 Steering|date=1998-02-05|publisher=National Academies Press|isbn=978-0-309-17414-5|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Schatt 1991 200">{{harv|Schatt|1991|p=200}}.</ref>

Companies and individual users could connect in to the network, via a PSS ([[Packet Switch Stream]]) [[Modem|modem]], or an [[X.25]] PAD (packet assembler/disassembler), and a dedicated PSS line, and use it to connect to a variety of online databases and mainframe systems. There was a choice of about three different speeds<!--which?--> of PSS lines, although a faster line was more costly to rent.

By 1984 British Telecom had joined the PSS to the global network and was providing IPSS services to customers. Companies including Dynatech, were providers of Interconnectivity and infrastructure devices including line drivers, modems, self configuring modems, 4 port, 8 port and 16 port PADs, and switches. These were physical boxes delivering full implementation of x.25, x.28, x.29 and x.3 protocols with physical connectivity conforming to [[RS-232|RS232]] asynchronous connectivity specification.

In 1988 the IPSS directory listed approximately 800 global sites available for connection via X.25.

The network later adopted [[Internet protocol suite|TCP/IP]] and provided infrastructure for the early [[Internet]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hauben |first=Ronda |year=2004 |title=The Internet: On its International Origins and Collaborative Vision |url=http://www.ais.org/~jrh/acn/ACn12-2.a03.txt |journal=Amateur Computerist |volume=12 |issue=2 |access-date=May 29, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Council |first1=National Research |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jh1pORpfvrQC&pg=PA148 |title=The Unpredictable Certainty: White Papers |last2=Sciences |first2=Division on Engineering and Physical |last3=Board |first3=Computer Science and Telecommunications |last4=Applications |first4=Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and |last5=Committee |first5=NII 2000 Steering |date=1998-02-05 |publisher=National Academies Press |isbn=978-0-309-17414-5 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Schatt 1991 2002">{{harv|Schatt|1991|p=200}}.</ref>

== See also ==

* [[History of the Internet]]
* Public data network

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book
|last=Schatt
|first=Stan
|title=Linking LANs: A Micro Manager's Guide
|year=1991
|publisher=McGraw-Hill
|isbn=0-8306-3755-9
}}

[[Category:Packets (information technology)]]

{{Sourceattribution|International Packet Switched Service}}