Which network is a private address range allowing hosts to communicate without Internet access?

The correct answer is 172.28.0.0/16 because it falls within the private IP address range defined by RFC 1918 for Class B networks, which is 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255. These addresses are reserved for use within private networks and are not routable on the public internet, allowing for internal communication without requiring unique public IP addresses. 172.9.0.0/16 is incorrect because 172.9.x.x is a public IP address range. 192.0.0.0/8 is incorrect because the private Class C range is 192.168.0.0/16, and 192.0.0.0/8 is a public range. 209.165.201.0/24 is incorrect as it is a public IP address range commonly used in documentation examples.