The most contentious issue throughout negotiations was that of scope—whether the Convention would cover the private sector at all, and if so, to what extent. Leaks of the negotiations and commentary by journalists indicate that several states, primarily the United States, were keen to see the Convention not directly applying to private entities. more
Today's blog talks about a critical part of the broadband network that most people don't know about -- carrier hotels. These are locations that have been created for the specific purpose of allowing carriers to connect to each other. The need for carrier hotels became apparent in the year after the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. That new law allowed local competition for telephone service. more
The unveiling of the Global Digital Compact's (GDC) zero draft on April 1, 2024, heralds a critical juncture in the quest to frame a digital future that is equitable, secure, and human-centered. Orchestrated under the leadership of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, the initiative endeavors to forge a consensus-driven framework for global digital cooperation. more
The IPv4 market has created serious interest in the protocol far beyond the natural confines of networking professionals. These assets are worth a lot. Marketplaces, IPv4.Global's especially, have grown to be large centers of asset transfer by buyers and sellers of IPv4 addresses. IPv4.Global has helped transfer over $1 billion in IPv4 blocks. more
During the ICANN79 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in March 2024, the North America School of Internet Governance (NASIG 2024) convened with an over-encompassing theme, "Confronting Truth, Trust, and Hope in Internet Governance." A pivotal panel discussion titled "Can We Survive Digital Fragmentation?" underscored the essentiality of global connectivity and the urgency to understand and address the layers of fragmentation impacting the internet's universal fabric. more
Eight countries in West Africa reported Internet outages after damage was reported to four different undersea fiber cables. The most affected countries are Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Benin, with additional problems caused in Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon. Lesser impact was felt in South Africa, Senegal, and Portugal. There has been no official word on what caused the problem, but it's likely due to the shifting of the seabed due to seismic activity. more
Sixty years ago, Paul Baran and Sharla Boehm at The RAND Corporation released a seminal paper that would fundamentally reshape the cyber world forever more. Their paper, simply known as Memorandum RM -- 1303, described how specialized computers could be used to route digital communications among a distributed universe of other computers. It set the stage for a flood of endless developments that resulted in the interconnected world of everything, everywhere, all the time. more
On 6 March 2024, the ICANN At Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) held a plenary session entitled "Building Trust on the Internet Through Registrant Verification" at the ICANN79 Community Forum in San Juan, Puerto Rico, that Michael Palage and Avri Doria co-moderated. This session was inspired in part by a recent World Economic Forum report entitled "Reimagining Digital ID"... more
A recent article in the MIT Technology Review described the benefits that remote learning can bring to preschoolers. The article described a study by the MacArthur Foundation that has not yet been peer-reviewed. The research described the results of bringing preschool to Syrian refugees. more
As we advance into 2024, the global landscape remains etched with the marks of a tumultuous previous year. The world economy grappled with challenges on multiple fronts in 2023, from surging inflation rates across significant economies to geopolitical conflicts and instability fostering a climate of uncertainty. Compounded by ongoing disruptions in global supply chains, these factors painted a rather somber picture of the economic outlook for many sectors. more
A World-Renowned Source for Internet Developments. Serving Since 2002.