The document discusses the network infrastructure needed to support e-commerce. It describes how the internet evolved from a restricted military/research network in the 1960s-1990s to becoming a global commercial network by the mid-1990s. Electronic commerce requires an information superhighway infrastructure to transmit content over the internet. This infrastructure includes network interface cards, hubs, switches, gateways, set-top boxes, and wired/satellite internet connections. The information superhighway emerged as the basic network enabling all types of e-commerce by providing integrated voice, data, and video services.