Country network died (4)
I believe the answer is:
land
'country' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'network died' is the wordplay.
'network' becomes 'LAN' (Local Area Network).
'died' becomes 'd' (abbreviation next to the year of someone's death).
'lan'+'d'='LAND'
(Other definitions for land that I've seen before include "Country, state" , "Part of Germany" , "Area of ground" , "Secure" , "SECOND PART OF 15" .)