/ Most Commented

Network Protocols and Their Use

In June, I participated in a workshop, organized by the Internet Architecture Board, on the topic of protocol design and effect, looking at the differences between initial design expectations and deployment realities. These are my impressions of the discussions that took place at this workshop. ... In this first part of my report, I'll report on the case studies of two protocol efforts and their expectations and deployment experience. more

Meeker Report: Global Internet User Growth Slowing Down

Mary Meeker delivered her Internet Trends Report, tech communities most anticipated slide deck at the Code Conference 2019 in Arizona today. more

All Domain Name Professionals – Now Is the Time for a Portfolio Review

As we move further into the summer months and the demands made upon domain professionals typically ease, now is the ideal time to review domain name portfolios. And technology solutions can greatly automate this process. Ensuring that portfolios are pared, appropriate levels of security are implemented, and domains point to relevant content are all key areas upon which to focus. more

State Department Should Return to Its Knitting

Having researched and written about the 100 year history of U.S. State Department's institutional machinations in the telecom/cyber sector, taught law school graduate courses, and worked with its bureaus and staff over the past 45 years, the latest twists and turns seem to repeat past mistakes. The fundamental problem is that the U.S. is the only country whose Foreign Ministry is given a significant role and engaged in telecom and cyber matters in global venues. more

Happy Birthday BGP

The first RFC describing Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), RFC 1105, was published in June 1989, thirty years ago. By any metric that makes BGP a venerable protocol in the Internet context and considering that it holds the Internet together, it's still a central piece of the Internet's infrastructure. How has this critically important routing protocol fared over these thirty years, and what are its prospects? Is BGP approaching its dotage or will it be a feature of the Internet for decades to come? more

Google Reported to Be Pushing Trump Administration for Exemption on Huawei Ban, Citing Security Risk

Reports on Friday said Google has indicated that the Huawei ban poses security risks for US consumers and is asking the Trump administration for an exception. According to a report by the Financial Times, Google executives are warning the ban will force China to develop its own Android software independent from Google and thus leading to security flaws and bugs. more

Afnic Reveals the Results of Its Study of the World’s Domain Name Market in 2018

A new publication of Afnic deals with the overall trends of the Domain Name market in 2018. The publication of ICANN statistics as at the end of last year allows a quantified assessment of 2018, a period of moderate upswing after the "set-down" of 2017. The data on which this study is based come from ICANN reports from information provided by registries in certain frameworks. more

Domestic Internet of Russia, Iran Far Deeper Kind of Fragmentation, More Physical Than Seen Before

The internet fragmentation practiced by various countries have, for the most part, been alternations to the information flows on top of the internet architecture, not the architecture itself. China, for instance, still relies on the global DNS and is yet to unplug from major internet exchange points. more

Squirrels Are the Number One Culprit for Animal Damage to Aerial Fiber

These cute rodents are the number one culprit for animal damage to aerial fiber. To a lesser degree, fiber owners report similar damage by rats and mice. Squirrels mainly chew on cables as a way to sharpen their teeth. Squirrel teeth grow up to 8 inches per year and if squirrels aren't wearing their teeth down from their diet, they look for other things to chew. more

Hongyun Project – China’s Low-Earth Orbit Broadband Internet Project

Last December, State-owned China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) launched the first experimental Hongyun (rainbow cloud) Project satellite, and they began testing it in March. The 247 kg test satellite is in orbit at an altitude of around 1,100 km, and they plan to launch four more test satellites this year and begin operating with a 156-satellite constellation in 2022. more

Loon Balloons Restore Internet After a Massive Earthquake Strikes Remote Parts of Peru

On Sunday, when a magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck remote parts of Peru’s Amazon region, at the request of the government of Peru and Telefónica, Alphabet re-directs a group of its Loon balloons to the impacted area to restore Internet access. Within 48 hours, people on the ground had wireless broadband communication, reports Alphabet. more

ICANN and Voodoo Economics in Wonderland

The exposed areas needing improvement by ICANN - both the organization as well as its global community of stakeholders - provide a target-rich environment. In the nearly three years since the completion of the transition of the Internet Assigned Names Authority (IANA), ICANN has persistently sought to drive top-down dictatorial policymaking; to shroud its activities and decision-making from public view; and, to evade accountability -- in some cases even doubling down on its efforts. more

Trade War Is Turning Into a Technology War

President Trump knows that in the current trade war, the Huawei issue is perhaps one of the most important issues for the Chinese government. It directly undermines the Chinese prestige and the ban create global anxiety. This is resulting in discussions in many countries, assessing their relationship with China. It highlights the domination of the Chinese in telecoms manufacturing, but at the same time, it opens up other discussions in relation to Chinese dominance and influence. more

Does China’s Digital Silk Road to Latin America and the Caribbean Run Through Cuba?

China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an ambitious, long-term, global investment and development program. It was launched in 2013 with a focus on infrastructure -- roads, railroads, pipelines, undersea cables and ports. Since then China has invested $80 billion and signed 173 BRI agreements with 125 countries and 29 international organizations. more

Critics Say FCC’s New Report Declaring US Broadband Healthier Than Ever is Based on Flawed Data

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released its 2019 Broadband Deployment Report on Wednesday stating the digital divide is shrinking substantially, and more Americans than ever have access to high-speed broadband. more