Low Earth Orbit satellite networks are dismantling traditional IP address allocation models. As signals defy borders, Regional Internet Registries face challenges in geolocation accuracy, routing security, and the definition of digital territory itself.
The gTLD race is not just about technical readiness. Governance strategy, institutional stamina, and adversarial foresight will define success in ICANN's 2026 round, where geopolitical resistance, not DNS errors, threatens survival.
Starlink expanded to 42 new countries in 2025, added 2.7 million customers, improved network speeds and latency, and continued satellite launches as it nears its first-phase constellation goal of 12,000 satellites.
As AI shifts from experimentation to real-world deployment, its unseen foundation - undersea cables - emerges as a strategic frontier. Their resilience may shape not only infrastructure policy but the outcome of US-China AI competition.
ICANN's Nominating Committee is calling for community input to help shape its 2026 leadership selection. Feedback on candidate criteria, job descriptions, and process improvements is due by 21 January 2026.
The Internet Society is accepting nominations for two seats on the 2026 Board of the Public Interest Registry, the non-profit behind .ORG and other domains serving civil society. Deadline: 30 January 2026.
In African Internet governance, procedural authorship is quietly displacing community legitimacy. When conveners, not members, define reform processes, legitimacy becomes retrospective and trust erodes -- not by intention, but through unchecked structural roles.
Internet governance is shifting from participatory forums to security-driven mandates. As authority accelerates ahead of legitimacy, technical systems face growing instability and operators absorb the risks of politically motivated control.
Global internet use has surpassed six billion users, yet stark divides persist between regions, genders and urban-rural populations. Meanwhile, download speeds have surged and smartphones now dominate how people access the web worldwide.
What began as an emergency response evolved into critical wartime infrastructure. Ukraine's experience with Starlink reveals the strategic risks and benefits of relying on privately operated networks for national resilience and defence.