When Will We See Real 5G?

The non-stop wireless industry claims that we've moved from 4G to 5G finally slowed to the point that I stopped paying attention to it during the last year. There is an interesting article in PC Magazine that explains why 5G has dropped off the front burner. The article cites interviews with Art Pouttu of Finland's University of Oulu about the current state and the future of 5G. That university has been at the forefront of the development of 5G technology and is already looking at 6G technology. more

Tactics for Responding to Cyber Attacks - Squeezing Your Cyber Response-Curve: Part 1

Many cyber attacks against companies today go unreported, and more still are undetected... Timing and context are everything. The faster a company identifies a problem, and the faster and deeper it is understood and its relevance to the business, the more effectively the company can respond. We call this squeezing the cyber response curve. This two-part post will discuss the current state of cyber threats, what the cyber response curve is and its impact your organization and how you can effectively squeeze this curve to improve attack response. more

Towards a More Fully Accountable and Transparent ICANN

ICANN held its second international meeting of 2012 last week in Prague, Czech Republic. While the agenda focused heavily on issues related to new gTLDs and on welcoming incoming CEO Fadi Chehade, ICANN also conducted a community consultation on its accountability and transparency reviews. more

IANA: Keeping the Ultimate Objective in Mind

Later this week, ICANN's Chartering Organizations will indicate whether they will support the third draft proposal of the CCWG-Accountability Work Stream 1 Recommendations. This is a significant moment in the IANA transition process. Support for the accountability proposal by the ICANN community will mean that we are very close to a point when the transition can move to its next phase. more

Average Connection Speeds on Mobile Networks Fastest in Greece, Says Akamai

In the fourth quarter of 2010, a mobile provider in Greece (GR-1) had the highest average connection speed, at just over 4.5 Mbps, according to Akamai's latest State of the Internet Report. "The mobile providers in Slovakia and Russia that had previously been reported as having the highest average connection speeds were removed from consideration in the fourth quarter, as further research determined that their autonomous systems carried a mix of traffic from fixed and mobile connections." more

Internet Society Seeks Nominations for 2020 Board of Trustees

Are you passionate about working toward a stronger, open Internet available to everyone? Do you have experience in Internet standards, technology, development or public policy? If so, please consider applying for a seat on the Internet Society Board of Trustees. The Internet Society serves a pivotal role in the world as a leader on Internet policy, technical, economic, and social matters, and as the organizational home of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). more

“Open” or “Closed” Generic TLDs: Let the Operators Decide

(The following is an edited version of comments I submitted to ICANN regarding "closed" generic TLDs.) On February 5th, ICANN solicited comments on whether ICANN should determine the circumstances under which a generic TLD operator is permitted to adopt "open" or "closed" registration policies. Allowing gTLD operators to make these determinations, as opposed to ICANN, will promote innovation on the Internet to the benefit of consumers. more

New Wireless Data Transmission Can Send Contents of a Conventional DVD in Under 10 Seconds

With a data rate of 6 Gigabit per second over a distance of 37 kilometers, a collaborative project in Germany including researchers from the University of Stuttgart and the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF has exceeded "the state of the art by a factor of 10" -- equivalent to transmitting the contents of a conventional DVD in under ten seconds. more

The Missing Data: Measuring ISP User Populations

In our physical world, census information is used to inform the planning processes behind the provision of infrastructure, such as schools, hospitals, housing, and similar. It can be used to assess the impact of natural disasters or to understand a society's needs in terms of food and energy security. Demographic data is also used to inform investment and business decisions. You'd think that the Internet itself would be awash with similar information. more

NCUC Workshop: One World, One Internet? New gTLDs & Competition in a Changing Global Environment

The Noncommercial Users Constituency (NCUC) has organized and is holding a policy workshop, One World, One Internet? New gTLDs & Competition in a Changing Global Environment, next week in Beijing at ICANN-46. The program, which brings together top Western and Chinese experts, will explore pressures for integration versus fragmentation of the Internet and implications for ICANN, as well as different competition and regulation perspectives as they relate to new gTLDs. more

IPv4 Leasing: Myths vs. Reality

IPv4 leasing divides opinion as concerns over abuse, sustainability, and obsolescence persist. A recent IPXO webinar examined the evidence, challenging myths and advocating for transparency, flexibility, and cooperation in a shifting internet landscape. more

Hole in Space - the Mother of All Video Chats

New technology enables new art forms and artists Kit Galloway and Sherrie Rabinowitz (K&S) began working with geostationary satellite links in 1977. Their first work was an experiment in remote dance and music. Video of dancers at The Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and an educational television center in California was transmitted to a central control studio where a composite was formed and sent back to monitors the dancers could see. more

Dusty Name System

Every IT person has some interaction with a DNS server, even if it is not managing it. Most DNS servers, certainly the majority are sitting in some closet or rack somewhere dutifully running and collecting dust. Like a certain battery operated bunny, these services just keep on running. The durability of DNS (Domain Name System, that is) is a testimony of just how well it was designed... How often do you think about your DNS server? Here is my plan for how to keep your relationship with your DNS server alive and well. more

Deadline of September 6 for Grant Funding for Internet Exchange Points (IXPs)

If you operate an Internet Exchange Point (IXP) or are interested in creating one, the Internet Society has a “Sustainable Peering Infrastructure” funding program that is open for applications until this Friday, September 6, 2024... Grant funds from USD $5,000 up to $50,000 are open to all regions and are available to assist in equipment purchases (switches, optic modules, servers, and routers), training, capacity building, and community development. more

5G Funny Numbers: 10M Sign on October, Only 5M Phones in November

Ten million Chinese "reserved" 5G phones in the first two weeks of October, a powerful signal of high demand. Huawei thought they could all get phones in October. But the official figures are less than 1M 5G phones in October and ~5M in November. WTF? It could be an ordinary problem of ramping supply of a new product. It could be the official figures on phone sales are lagging reality by several weeks. more