NEARnet

NEARnet (New England Academic and Regional Network) was a high-speed network of academic, industrial, government, and non-profit organizations centered in Cambridge and Boston, Massachusetts. NEARnet was the precursor to New England's regional Internet, established by Boston University, Harvard University, and MIT late in 1988, after DARPA announced plans to dismantle the ARPANET, then accounting for 71 of its 258 host connections. By June 1990, NEARnet included 40 members, including universities, high-tech companies and non-profits.