Is that what people would have called it back then? I don't remember using the term internet until much later. Back then, you dialed into the computer system you were trying to access. Dialing into an ISP that allowed you to connect to anything wasn't until later, at least in my part of the world. Once ISPs started sharing/peering with other networks was what I considered internet. The old way was essentially what we now replicate with VPNs to connect to a specific network via the internet. What was old is new again