Email

Electronic Mail (Email) is the foundational digital messaging protocol, enabling asynchronous, global communication for billions of users since its 1971 networking breakthrough.

Email is the indispensable, standardized system for digital message exchange. Ray Tomlinson sent the first network email in 1971, pioneering the use of the “@” symbol to separate the user from the host system. This core technology operates via protocols like SMTP, POP3, and IMAP, ensuring reliable, verifiable delivery across the internet. It remains the primary communication backbone for global business, government, and personal correspondence, handling trillions of messages annually. Its longevity and universal adoption confirm its status as a critical, persistent infrastructure for the digital age.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_email