We had a good time combining our research, the latest headlines, and a hearty dose of telecoms history in our blog this year.
Here's a look back at 10 of our favorite pieces from 2016.
Bandwidth and IP Pricing Trends in 15 Minutes
In 2016, Brianna Boudreau brought the latest bandwidth and IP pricing trends to the Pacific Telecommunications Council's Annual Conference. If you've got 15 minutes to spare, we recommend catching the highlights here.
Are All These New Undersea Cables Really Giving Us Faster Internet? Not Exactly.
Fun fact: when you dive into oceanic cable speeds, what you're actually talking about is an expanded rate expressed in bits per second. Erik Kreifeldt explores why we've got "internet speed" wrong.
Rising Tide: Content Providers' Investment in Submarine Cables Continues
In 2016, Facebook, Microsoft, and Telefonica’s Telxius group announced they're investing in a new trans-Atlantic submarine cable. Unlike previous submarine cable construction booms, content providers are taking a more active role in this recent surge.
Mythbusters: Revenge of the Cable Myths
In this three-part video series, Alan Mauldin and Tim Stronge take on 11 of the biggest myths about the submarine cable industry. (That includes that pesky myth that sharks are constantly biting undersea cables.)
Flashback Friday: An Underwater Cable of 1939
For our friends who appreciate a good telecoms throwback, try this on for size: a 1939 Bell Systems reel showcasing scenes from the San Francisco Harbor. Workmen ready a submarine telephone cable that is to live at the bottom of the San Francisco Bay.
The Scoop on Google's New Subsea Cable (And What it Means for Future Capacity Investments)
Here's one that was ripped from the headlines. In an interview with Bloomberg, Jon Hjembo discusses companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook. These companies have such a high demand for bandwidth that it makes sense for them to provision their own oceanic cables instead of leaning on other carriers; this is something we're seeing more of.
IP Transit vs. Peering: How a Network of Networks is Built
In a continuation of our TeleGeography Takeaways series, Senior Analyst Paul Brodsky walks us through IP transit and peering, outlining the major differences, benefits, and challenges of each approach.
The Dystopian Future of International Networks
Did you know that international networks are kind of like The Hunger Games or Mad Max? In another stand-out presentation from PTC 2016, our own Alan Mauldin uses a dystopian cinema analogy to capture the state of international networks. May the odds be ever in your favor.
A Primer For Anyone Who Has Ever Googled “What is SD-WAN?"
What is SD-WAN and how is it deployed across the network? What benefits can it provide for corporate WANs? Our in-house SD-WAN expert Brianna Boudreau broke it down for us.
4G Breaks Through That Great Chinese Wall
With almost 576 million 4G customers at the end of June 2016, China is home to twice as many 4G users as the next largest market. But why? This summer, Pete Bell explored in his TeleGeography Trends series.
