Anyone with the funds and know-how can connect a host to the Net and each participant pays for their own section of the infrastructure. Several organizations participate in setting standards, management and planning for the Net. An international consortium of corporations and individuals that provide the parent forum for technical and operational management of the Internet. A task force of the IAB that does the actual development of protocol standards. Many different kinds of computers coexist on the internet.
Data is moved through the net using a system known as packet switching.
Each packet is then sent to the next available host which reads the header and forwards it on. The individual packets may take different routes to their destination. The server sends out your requests and relays the replies back to you. However, ease of use will continue to improve as the Net works its way into the mainstream population. Because of its global scope, the Internet is one of the fastest evolving technologies on earth.