Comments on: What happened to ARCNET https://dfarq.homeip.net/what-happened-to-arcnet/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-happened-to-arcnet David L. Farquhar on technology old and new, computer security, and more Tue, 28 Jul 2026 09:19:51 +0000 hourly 1 By: Jon https://dfarq.homeip.net/what-happened-to-arcnet/#comment-57774 Tue, 28 Jul 2026 09:19:51 +0000 https://dfarq.homeip.net/?p=33897#comment-57774 As a child of the 1980s I remember Acorn’s proprietary Econet standard, which connected the BBC Micros and later the Acorn Archimedes in the various schools I attended. This was my first encounter with the concept of computer networking!

Acorn launched Econet in 1981 so it was a bit later than ARCnet but around the same time as Ethernet, while being a lot slower than either of them. The BBC Micro only ran at 2MHz so luckily this wasn’t much of a problem.

Like ARCnet, Econet went away because Ethernet got faster and cheaper, and because businesses and even schools started buying PC clones rather than proprietary desktops like Acorn’s computers.

]]> By: Gary Robinson https://dfarq.homeip.net/what-happened-to-arcnet/#comment-57770 Mon, 27 Jul 2026 13:16:54 +0000 https://dfarq.homeip.net/?p=33897#comment-57770 I was there during the early Lan days and familiar with Arcnet and Ethernet. I am sure Arcnet failed because it refused to join IEEE P802 and become a standard.

I commend you on the acuracy of you article, well done.

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