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In 2026, internet infrastructure will be reshaped by geopolitics, grid constraints, and regulatory shifts. Firms that treat data location, power access, and legal compliance as strategic priorities will gain competitive advantage. more
Internet users are acutely aware of their exposure on the Internet and clearly concerned about their safety. Increased downloads of scareware as Conficker made headlines in the mainstream media are only the latest evidence. Desktop software is often viewed as a one-stop shop for fighting Internet threats such as viruses, worms and other forms of malware and phishing. These solutions have served us well but more protections are needed to address the dynamic and increasingly sophisticated web based exploits being launched... more
It's been a quarter of a century since the world's governments convened to draft up a common set of regulations about the conduct of international telecommunications. In December of 2012 the world's governments will convene to reconsider these regulations, to hopefully sign an updated set of regulations. This time around, this activity is generating considerable levels of public interest. Congressional hearings in the United States have been held, and various pronouncements of intent from various governmental, regional, and industry groups have been made. more
A group of major telecommunications companies -- Vodafone, BT, Telefonica and Deutsche Telekom -- recently announced something a bit unexpected. In the Open BNG Operator Position Paper, they call for a fundamental, industry-wide change to the way broadband networks are built. Specifically, they advocate for collaboration throughout the telco world, with a convergence around open broadband network gateways (BNGs). more
I'm just stepping back a minute to think about what Emerging Telephony actually is. You might have seen my earlier musings on the different philosophical underpinnings of "Western" telephony and "Eastern" thought. In an oversimplified nutshell, the Western approach puts the individual in the centre of the universe. The Eastern idea is to put the group in the middle. more
The Gaza Strip is experiencing an almost complete blackout of internet and cellphone services. A communication blackout isolates Gaza's residents, impeding emergency responses and potentially escalating humanitarian crises. more
Scientists led by a team at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have broken a record for data transmission, sending data at 26Tb/s on a single laser beam over 50km. To put this into context, the researchers suggest that this is the equivalent of transferring the contents of 700 DVDs per second, or the entire collection of the Library of Congress in ten seconds.
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Starlink is satellite internet access from SpaceX, one of Elon Musk's other companies. If it lives up to its hype, it will cure the problem of broadband availability in rural areas, although affordability will still be an issue. Most satellite-based Internet access sucks (that's a technical term). If based on geostationary satellites (ones you can point a dish at), the distance to the satellite is so great that the round-trip time for data is forever; this problem is called latency. more
Dutch telecoms group KPN reports that The Netherlands has become the first country in the world to implement a nationwide long range (LoRa) network for the Internet of Things. more
Let's say that providing communications infrastructure is an inherent function of a state. Most people think of the internet as a telephone system, and most people think the telephone companies aren't supposed to choose which calls will go through based on their content. People think that because they think internet access, like telephone access, is a utility -- like electricity conduit, water pipes, etc. -- that has something to do with the government, and the government isn't supposed to discriminate. more
It was just last year that those of us raising alarms about the massive half-decade market failure in the United States to adequately provision broadband services were facing a misinformation campaign that raw numbers mattered more than percentage rankings. According to this argument, the U.S. broadband market was sound because we had more broadband lines than anyone else. The misinformation brigade got so much attention that public interest groups had to issue reports systematically refuting the PR are marketing hype. more
It looks as if the big boys like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast are passing on the stimulus money. The official reason is that they don't need it, that they enough cash on hand to build out their networks on their own. Fair enough. Perhaps the funding should be reserved for those more in need, those that just need a boost to fund a new business model or expand service. But there are probably other reasons. more
A group of 24 CEO's and Internet company founders submitted a letter today to the Federal Communications Commission in support of the Net Neutrality initiative. Also last week, in a similar letter, Vinton Cerf, Stephen Crocker and other Internet pioneers spoke out on Net Neutrality supporting FCC's recent open Internet initiative. more
In the midst of the election season, Congress passed a plethora of Internet related laws. Most involved child protection. One involved webcaster protection. Wasting no time, the impact of the new laws is already being felt through federal agency implementation. On Friday, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in the Department of Commerce released the following notice... more
Network Neutrality is a hot topic in the US. The FCC held hearings in my neighborhood recently (while I was in Asia). Now I see Professor Susan Crawford will be testifying next Tuesday at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on "Net Neutrality and the First Amendment." I look forward to her remarks, but I worry that the whole discussion will be focused on "IP Pipes," that is connectivity at network layer 3. This distracts us from the fundamental problem... more
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