As policymakers search for an IAEA for AI, lessons from ICANN and internet governance loom large, raising questions about multistakeholder legitimacy, mission creep, technical fragmentation and whether AI demands sector-specific regulation rather than grand global architectures.
At NANOG 96, the AI boom dominated discussions as firms race to build gigawatt-scale data centres packed with advanced GPUs, liquid cooling, and lossless networks, raising fears of overinvestment, neglected security priorities, and a looming infrastructure bubble.
America has declared its intent to win the 6G race, casting next-generation wireless as vital to security and growth. Yet standards are global, vendors multinational, and the rhetoric looks like spectrum lobbying than technological rivalry.
Under ICANN's ICP-2 framework, RIR emergency operations extend beyond technical redundancy to encompass legal relocation, policy divergence and geopolitical risk, exposing tensions between operational resilience and national sovereignty in safeguarding global internet governance.
Pew Research finds most Americans are online, yet access still tracks income, age and geography. Broadband gaps persist as subsidies fade, while smartphone dependence rises, reshaping how millions connect to work, services and civic life.
A six year study of Global 2000 firms finds progress on email authentication but worrying gaps elsewhere. Despite rising DMARC adoption, falling DNS redundancy and uneven regional uptake leave companies exposed to domain based attacks.
In February 1996, a libertarian myth of cyberspace and sweeping US platform immunity collided, hardwiring digital exceptionalism. Three decades on, that original sin still shields tech and AI from accountability, with legal and social consequences.
SpaceX has filed a plan to place more than a million satellites in low Earth orbit, recasting data centres as spaceborne infrastructure while testing regulators, safety, competition and the line between vision and paper ambition.
Iran's 2026 internet shutdown was not a glitch but a trial of digital sovereignty, revealing how easily connectivity can be weaponised to silence society, concentrate state power, and fracture the promise of a global internet.
Predictions of IPv4's demise were premature. A market webinar shows demand has diversified, prices reflect structure not relevance, and leasing, policy shifts and broadband funding will keep the ageing protocol strategically important for years ahead.
Meltnet envisions a federated internet model led by BRICS nations, combining digital sovereignty with cross-border interoperability. It challenges US-centric governance by proposing a trust-based architecture rooted in shared standards and mutual recognition.
Starlink is leveraging its growing dominance with data-hungry AI ambitions, regulatory demands, and space infrastructure plans. A merger with xAI could solidify its position as an unregulated gatekeeper of orbital connectivity and intelligence.
With the NIS2 Directive now in effect, a new annex to ICANN contracts offers registries and registrars a practical, flexible path to Article 28 compliance. Early adoption has drawn international praise.
During California's devastating 2025 wildfires, Starlink, Tesla, and T-Mobile offered vital emergency connectivity. Their improvised response reveals both the promise of satellite-based disaster aid and the need for formalised coordination with public agencies.
DNSSEC promised to secure DNS with cryptographic proof, yet messy rollouts, outages, and hype backlash ruined its reputation. This piece argues that storytelling and emotions shape adoption as much as specs, and that automation enables a reset.
Iran Expands Digital Dragnet After Crushing Protests
David J. Farber, Early Architect of the Internet, Dies at 91
Iran Cuts Off Internet Nationwide as Regime Disrupts Even Starlink Amid Expanding Protests
US Senators Move to Shield Undersea Internet Cables from Global Threats
Configuration Chaos: Cloudflare Explains Major Outage in Detailed Post-Mortem
Cloudflare Outage Highlights Internet’s Growing Single Points of Failure
AI Boom Spurs Record Investment in Undersea Cables Amid Geopolitical and Security Concerns
Verizon and AWS Expand Network Ties to Meet AI Data Demands