Bitnet

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Bitnet Acronym for because its time network. A system established as a message switching network, originally linking IBM mainframe systems located in North America and with backing from IBM. Bitnet operates in a store-and-forward mode, in which each complete message is transmitted from one mainframe system to the next until the destination is reached. The network has been substantially extended to other parts of the world, usually on a region-by-region basis, and has been implemented on other hardware platforms. Bitnet and its associated networks elsewhere are now fully self-supporting.

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