Robert Metcalfe developed Ethernet in 1973 to connect hundreds of computers over a building-wide network using coaxial cable transmitting data at 3 Mbits/second. In 1975, Xerox patented Ethernet listing Metcalfe as an inventor. In 1981, 3COM built the first 10 Mbit/sec Ethernet adapter and in the late 1980s twisted pair cables started replacing coaxial cables for Ethernet networks.