Internet origins – ARPANET's sponsor ARPANET, widely recognized as the precursor to today's Internet, was developed and funded by which United States government organization?

Introduction / Context:
Understanding who funded ARPANET clarifies why early networking research focused on resilient, packet-switched communication. ARPANET laid the groundwork for TCP/IP and the global Internet.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• ARPANET stands for Advanced Research Projects Agency Network.
• We are identifying its sponsoring U.S. organization.
• Other options include unrelated agencies or acronyms.

Concept / Approach:
ARPANET was a project of ARPA (later DARPA), an agency within the U.S. Department of Defense. Its goals included robust communication across distributed nodes. University and industrial partners helped implement packet switching and early protocols that evolved toward TCP/IP.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Relate the ARPA/DARPA acronym to its parent department.Confirm that ARPA belongs to the Department of Defense.Choose “Department of Defence.”

Verification / Alternative check:
Historical summaries of ARPANET consistently credit ARPA (Defense) with funding and direction, with the first nodes going live in 1969.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• FAA: regulates aviation; not responsible for ARPANET.
• NATO: multinational defense alliance, not the sponsor of ARPANET.
• UART: stands for Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter, a serial hardware component, not an agency.

Common Pitfalls:
Confusing ARPA/DARPA (the agency) with independent military branches or international bodies.

Final Answer:
Department of Defence