The Philippine internet history began in 1986 with the first BBS systems and grew from there. By the early 1990s, the first websites and ISPs launched, connecting the Philippines to the global internet. Major milestones included the establishment of PHNet in the early 1990s to connect universities, the first commercial ISPs in 1994-1995, and internet use growing greatly in the late 1990s with the first internet viruses and millions of users by the 2000s. The document outlines the key organizations and events that helped develop internet infrastructure and usage in the Philippines from the 1980s to present day.

1. PHILIPPINE HISTORY OF THE INTERNET CATAJAY, Maria Carielle SUZON, Dianne

2. CIRCA 1986 – EfrenTarciasand James Chua operated the first FidoNetBBS, "STAR BBS" AUGUST 1986 - The first public access Philippine BBS, First-Fil RBBS, goes on-line - Dan Angeles and Ted Castaneda CIRCA 1987 - The First Philippine BBS network was established

3. 1989 - EMC becomes the Philippine's first Internet Service Provider via UUCP. JOEL DISINI- became the ccTLD Manager for the PH Domain by Jon Postel. JON POSTEL– generally regarded as the “father of the Internet". NETWAY – product of Mr. Disini DECEMBER 1990 -(http://www.cyberbayan.org/) –the first Philippine website and discussion group.

4. CIRCA 1991 - Roberto Verzola'sE-Mail Center provided e-mail services to the Philippine NGO community JONATHAN MARSDEN’S FebNet opened up its private e-mail services to the general public 1993 - Philnet Phase I was implemented June 1993 - The Department of Science and Technology convened a Technical Committee

5. JULY 1993 - Phase I of the Philnet Project provided a limited electronic facility NOVEMBER 1993 - Phase II of the Philnet Project whereine a grant-in-aid of P12.5M was disposed MARCH 1994 - Internet via CISCO 7000 in Makati - De La Salle University is the first school to be connected via leased line to the wide area network of PLDT

6. MARCH 29, 1994 - Philippines was linked to the world via the Internet April 1994 - The Advance Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) under the DOST, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the University of Santo Tomas (UST) joined PHNet April 13, 1994 - The PHnet Basic Principles and the Internet Code of Conduct were established PORTALINCis the first commercial service provider launched in the summer of 1994.

7. MAY 1994 - The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) and the DOST central office joined PHNet RON SAN JUAN’S Miss Saigon Page went online in 1994. AUGUST 1994 – MosCom became the first commercial ISP to provide true continuous TCP/IP-based connectivity SEPTEMBER 1994 – Akda, thefirst Philippine literary site went online

8. DECEMBER 10, 1994 - The Network Assistance Group (NAG) was established MARCH 1995 - Republic Act 7925, known as the Public Telecommunications Act of the Philippines, was passed. JUNE 1995 - Mindanao State University (MSU), the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Asian Institute of Management (AIM), and PDX became connected to PHNet

9. JUNE - AUGUST 1995 - Establishment of commercial ISP CIRCA 1996 - Entry of foreign ISPs in the Philippines **Bayantel and Sky Internet teamed up to provide the United Network Access (UNA) **The Philippine Internet Services Organization (PISO) was established

10. JANUARY 1996- Epicnet, Mail and GSI went online JUNE 1996- Connected to Cisco 7000 in Makati: Cebu, Zamboanga, Sorsogon, Davao, Bacolod, Legaspi, Naga LATE 1996- Establishment of the Philippine Internet Exchange (PHIX) CIRCA 1997 -The International Data Corporation (IDC) estimated that there were approximately 85,000 Internet users in the Philippines in 1997

11. 1997 **T1 (1.5 mbps) and E1 (2.048 mbps) connections to US Net providers became more commonplace **Global roaming networks allowed subscribers of local ISPs to access Net services abroad and be billed locally **ABS-CBN went online through its ABS-CBN Interactive Web site, as well as GMA Network by tying up with Webquest and coming up with GMANetwork.com

12. 1997 **Major broadsheets went online **Philippine cybermags sprung up: 1969, Internet World Philippines, The Web Philippines and Link **Establishment of Philippine Network Information Center/Infrastructure Consortium (PHNIC) AUGUST 1997 - There were 1090 PH domains

13. DECEMBER 1998 - The first Philippine Webby Awards was launched Philippine Internet Review: Ten Years of the Internet (1994-2004) – a special publication that chronicles and explains the development of the Internet in the Philippines

14. I Love You Virus ONEL DE GUZMAN - student from AMA Computer College Makati accidentally spread the virus through e-mails in 1999

15. CARLOS MIGUEL ALVAREZ PARAZ - has been involved in the technical directions of the local Internet DANIEL O. ESCASA - operating systems 2009 – Philippines reach 6.3 Million Online Gamers.

16. SOURCES http://www.msc.edu.ph/wired/timeline.html mabelle@msc.net.ph