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In 1990 February 28, ARPANET was formally decommissioned and the remaining hardware dismantled. Most university computers that were connected to it were moved to networks connected to the NSFNET, passing the torch from the old network to the new. Thus, the 22 year existence of ARPANET finally ended. In turning of the ARPANET Dr. Vinton Cerf, one of the pioneers of the Internet laments:
"It was the first, and being first, was best, but now we lay it down to ever rest. Now pause with me a moment, shed some tears. For auld lang syne, for love, for years and years of faithful service, duty done, I weep. Lay down thy packet, now O Friend, and sleep."
ARPANET (which had been stripped of its military research functions in 1983) became a happy victim of its own overwhelming success. The network had been reduced to a pale shadow of its former self and was wound up. The end of Arpanet closed a chapter in the history of internet but it had reveled, during its life time, much of the potentials of the interconnectivity that the world continues to enjoy.
One of the reasons that we have found regarding the end of Arpanet is Bureaucracy. The success of ARPANET, initially created in 1969 by the Department of Defense to link a number of leading research universities, spurred interest in further efforts at less-regulated systems of information exchange and facilitation of communication across organizational boundaries. But ARPANET was a private network which required its member universities to have a research contract with the Department of Defense. The other research universities to participate in the network they should fulfill the Military requirements interoperability, security, reliability and survebility. Which become more undesirable and more and more people who were capable in enhancing the network further may not be take part in the development of the network. The rules and regulation of the Department of Defense did not allow the distribution of the network for the public purpose. So the commercial use of the network could not proceed. . But ARPA study showed email composing and general public interest matter occupy more than 75% of all ARPANET traffic. It showed the concern of the network should be given towards the commercialization.
Other than that throughout the late 70's and early 80's, there were more networks springing up, such as the Computer Science Research Network (CSNET), the CDnet (Canadian Network), and the National Science Foundation Network (NSFnet). Most of them were using TCP/IP, but ARPANET didn't start using it until New Year's Day, 1983. Some people view this as the birthday of the internet. These other computer networks continued to flourish, becoming to be used more for commercial purposes, and less for research which attract the concern of people to these networks.
For the distribution of the network for the public, the networks like NSFnet, the network funded by the French government and some other networks provide different facility specially targeted for the general people. So they become popular and the more fund is supplied in the development of such networks and they become more advanced. The speed, bandwidth, the facility provided all are superb by the other networks. The ARPANET can not compete to these networks.