In the original ethernet design, routers were not used (because 8-bit processors were too slow and 16-bit processors were just starting to emerge). So the orig

In the original ethernet design, routers were not used (because 8-bit processors were too slow and 16-bit processors were just starting to emerge). So the original standard proposed repeaters as the way to extend a large network, and this was a very very cheap analog way to grow your network. It was quite common to have a whole building or even several nearby buildings on one ethernet and then a high speed (i.e. 56 Kbps or maybe even a T-1) link to other buildings either nearby or in other cities.