The internet was designed around principles of openness, simplicity, and decentralization, but Big Tech's private networks and protocols threaten the 'net, say internet registries

2021-12-09 11:03:59

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

So says a Study on the Internet's Technical Success Factors commissioned by APNIC and LACNIC – the regional internet address registries for the Asia–Pacific and Latin America and Caribbean regions respectively – and written by consultancy Analysys Mason.

The document states that "a significant fraction of global IP traffic now consists of data that is moved between the datacentres and edge networks of large internet companies." Those companies' needs, and growing networks, lead the analysts to suggest that "over time, we could see the internet transform into a more centralised system with a few global private networks carrying most of the content and services.

Another risk is that when private networks break, many users suffer. Exhibit A: yesterday's AWS brownout, which hurt Netflix and Disney+, among others.

Yet, if you look at nearly all the alternative social networks springing up, you'll see decentralisation, openness, interoperability, chronological feeds, no Big Tech...

See Big Tech's private networks and protocols threaten the 'net

#technology #interoperability #BigTech #openstandards #decentralisation

APNIC and LACNIC worry about who will set the rules of future internetworking

technology decentralisation BigTech openstandards interoperability

show all 4 comentários

2021-12-09 16:49:11

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

I think right now Starlink is really operating as an ISP to connect users to the internet. If however they actually started hosting websites etc, then yes, that would be fragmenting things. I think the traffic part they speak about, relates to some big streaming companies developing own traffic routes and protocols, so that they become virtually separated. Concentration points like Facebook, Amazon, etc become massive single points of failure. If I think of networks like XMPP, IRC, e-mail, etc if one node or instance goes down, it does not bring the whole network down. However, if the whole world were all to say use GMail, and it went down, all e-mail goes offline. I think that is the point they are trying to make.

To some extent, one could say that peer-to-peer social networks actually do this - they use their own protocol and connect point-to-point directly...

2021-12-09 17:10:37

Chip Gallo

chipgallo@fsphub.org

The public planning/marketing has shown that it will be a planetary internet backbone in space. From where I sit in West Virginia, USA, I could host a Hubzilla site in my basement, uplink to Starlink, and you could access my site via your Starlink connection without touching Big Tech fiber. There are various technical, manufacturing and marketing hurdles but if it works out, a game changer in access for many previously under-served or unserved populations.

This is from 2019 but gives a good sense of why we should be excited:
https://caseyhandmer.wordpress.com/2019/11/02/starlink-is-a-very-big-deal/

2021-12-09 18:01:28

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

From that perspective though, anyone can host from home (I already do). It's really about the reachability (apart from what you firewall coming into your home) and whether your hosting "could" still be generally available. The "touching" you're speaking of is the "routing" side, and it can/will route outside of Starlink. Problem is I've hosted on peer-to-peer as well as IPFS, and the problem is it many others are not using the same protocol or network, you're on your own island with no-one to see your hosting.

Yes certainly the remote area reach of Starlink is the game changer, but I'd be fairly surprised if Elon was going to splinter it off on it's own without connecting to the greater web.