I've been trying to avoid writing about the Internet as such. With as "At the Edge" I'm looking at larger issues but can't escape writing more directly about the Internet. It seems as if everyone wants a say in Internet policy without distinguishing between technical and social issues. Today the term "The Internet" or, for many simply "Internet" is more of brand than a term for a specific technology and its implications. It has become too easy to talk about the Internet in lieu of understanding. We also see the converse -- a failure to recognize "Internet" issues. more
A LinkedIn short-link anomaly in Iran reveals how sanctions, corporate compliance and geolocation controls can translate geopolitical boundaries into infrastructure-level restrictions, creating an Internet that remains globally connected while becoming functionally unequal. more
Estonia's data embassy model offers African governments a different approach to digital sovereignty, combining cross-border infrastructure, legal safeguards and geographic redundancy to keep critical state systems secure, recoverable and operational during major disruptions. more
MTN Nigeria’s FTTH network has grown from barely 300 home connections to more than 150,000, showing how infrastructure, skilled people, vendor coordination and disciplined operating systems must evolve as connectivity moves from deployment to scale. more
Ghana has expanded digital connectivity, but many rural communities remain underserved. Community networks could close the gap, provided policymakers create proportionate regulation, improve infrastructure access and build sustainable models that complement commercial operators. more
Community networks can bridge Africa's persistent digital divide by shifting connectivity from infrastructure alone to community ownership, supported by strong governance, sustainable financing and enabling policies that make last-mile access resilient, inclusive and locally driven. more
Africa has digital strategies in abundance, but weak institutions, inconsistent leadership, poor governance and limited execution keep ambitious policies from delivering trusted, interoperable public services and sustainable digital transformation across the continent in practice today. more
IPv4 transfers accelerated in the first half of 2026, but surging activity masked a decisive pricing reset as average values fell, sellers accepted lower valuations, and the market settled into a more mature equilibrium overall. more
Africa's digital ambitions face threats beyond software and infrastructure. Lasting transformation depends on governance, trust, interoperability, political continuity, and user adoption, making socio-technical challenges as critical as the technologies themselves. more
As governments, economies and essential services become ever more dependent on connectivity, the internet can no longer be viewed solely as a right. It must be treated as critical infrastructure, protected, regulated and made resilient against disruption. more
Community networks could become a crucial pillar of Africa's digital sovereignty, extending connectivity while giving underserved communities greater ownership, resilience, technical capacity, and influence over the infrastructure and services that increasingly shape economic opportunity. more
Community networks, locally built and governed, are emerging across Africa as cost-effective tools to extend connectivity, bolster digital sovereignty, and improve cyber resilience, despite regulatory, financial, and technical constraints that hinder broader adoption. more
Regional internet registries, once coordinators of technical scarcity, now effectively cap liability at $100 while retaining control over national numbering systems, shifting risk to states and entrenching a governance model critics argue today inverts sovereignty. more
Regional Internet registries, built for coordination, now sit atop scarce IPv4 assets while bearing little liability, suppressing capitalization and imposing "double extraction" that weakens operators, distorts markets and threatens the stability of global internet uniqueness. more
Iran's deliberate disconnection from the global internet reveals a deeper crisis in digital governance, where state-led suppression and procedural legitimacy now threaten the foundational architecture and human rights principles of an open web. more