For the first 20 years or so, ARPA measured Internet traffic, ... Then the NSF [National Science Foundation] took over. But since 1996, when the NSF turned the Internet over to commercial companies, there haven't been any reliable numbers on total backbone traffic.  -   Lawrence Roberts     Quotes
For the first 20 years or so, ARPA measured Internet traffic, ... Then the NSF [National Science Foundation] took over. But since 1996, when the NSF turned the Internet over to commercial companies, there haven't been any reliable numbers on total backbone traffic. Lawrence Roberts