Networks

Nov 8, 2022

A 2022 Update on Interconnection Geography

I recently had the pleasure of not only attending the 2022 European Peering Forum, but also presenting my own update on interconnection geography.

Unsurprisingly, there was a lot to cover. A full 47 slides, to be exact.

Here are some highlights from my presentation.

Oct 27, 2022

Did a Laser-Powered Chip Just Break a World Record?

This just in: a laser-powered chip may have broken a world record by transmitting a dizzying amount of data through a fiber optic cable in one second.

Somebody call Guinness—or just keep reading to learn more. 

Oct 25, 2022

Webinar: Africa, Continent of Digital Opportunity

On Wednesday, November 2 at 11:00 a.m. ET, Senior Research Manager Patrick Christian will join Ciena's Brian Lavallée for a live webinar.

As always, you can expect lively conversation and fresh data—starting with the latest Sub-Saharan Africa bandwidth trends.

Oct 18, 2022

What Role Do Satellites Play in Global Communication?

It's kind of an inside joke among telecom insiders.

We've all had that conversation with a friend or family member where we've told them the hard truth: the internet is actually made up of wires and satellite plays a very minor role in global communications!

Okay. This remains true, but today on TeleGeography Explains the Internet we're going to flip the script and look to the sky. Let's do it. Let's talk satellites!

Oct 13, 2022

Cutting off Europe? A Look at How the Continent Connects to the World

With the recent damage to the Nord Stream gas pipeline, there's been lots of talk about the potential risk to submarine telecommunications cables in Europe.

This incident has led to speculation about whether it would be possible to somehow “cut off” Europe from the rest of the world. While I don't want to speculate on the risk of sabotage, I did think it would be worthwhile to explain exactly how the continent connects to the rest of the world. 

Oct 3, 2022

Gloomy Economic Indicators… Scary Future for the Subsea Cable Industry?

Some pretty ominous headlines have been circulating around the world lately regarding the risk of a global recession and the ongoing threat of inflation.

At TeleGeography, we've received several questions about how these economic indicators could impact the submarine cable industry.

In particular, people are curious to know if slowing economic growth impair international bandwidth demand growth on subsea cables. And will inflation lead to rising international bandwidth prices?

Sep 28, 2022

The Factors Shaping Global Internet Development

The combined effects of new internet-enabled devices, growing broadband penetration in developing markets, higher broadband access rates, and bandwidth-intensive applications will continue to fuel strong internet traffic growth.

While end-user traffic requirements will continue to rise, not all of this demand will translate directly into the need for new long-haul capacity.

A variety of factors shape how the global internet will develop in coming years.

Sep 27, 2022

Simply Illuminating: Considering the Future of Optical Transport

Welcome back, podcast listeners. We're thrilled to dive into a new season of telecom tech talk.

First, you might have noticed that we look a little different than when we were last in your headphones. That's because we did a little old-fashioned rebranding while on summer break. What was once the WAN Manager Podcast is now TeleGeography Explains the Internet.

Sep 26, 2022

T-Mobile Offers Cogent a Lot of Bang for Its Buck

A dollar doesn’t go very far these days. That is, unless you’re Cogent Communications, and in the market to buy Sprint’s fiber assets from T-Mobile.

This surprising story kicks off our latest list of recommended telecom reads.

Sep 20, 2022

Measuring Provider Connectivity

If you want a single, simple number to identify the best-connected provider in the world, you may come away disappointed.

There are several ways to measure connectivity, and each highlights different strengths and weaknesses of a provider’s presence.

One basic metric is to count the number of unique Autonomous Systems (AS) to which a backbone provider connects, while filtering out internal company connections.

Here’s what we found.