September 25, 1987 - The University of Florida made its first connection to the Internet on this date. The connection was to SURAnet via 56Kbps digital data service (DDS) to the University of Maryland via the Proteon P4200 router pictured here http://tinyurl.com/2wneyt and here http://tinyurl.com/3d6cw3. The pictures show the router in its retired state after a processor upgrade and interfaces were introduced.
This connection was made as part of the National Science Foundation's program of coordinated, evolving projects which began in 1985 to support and promote advanced networking among U.S. research and education institutions.
From its inception as a part of NSF's overall inventory of high speed computing and communications infrastructure development, the NSFNET program was a pioneering force in academic computing infrastructure development and in the enhancement of research efforts through advanced network services. The NSFNET backbone, in its support of the broader set of NSFNET programs, linked scientists and educators on university campuses nationwide to each other and to their counterparts in universities, laboratories, government agencies, and research centers throughout the world.
Check out these diagrams of suranet in 1988:
and 1991:
