Networks

Dec 4, 2023

The Data Center Industry Faces New Obstacles

Recently, we’ve been closely monitoring the intensifying pressures of insatiable demand and supply constraints in key data center markets.

Supply constraints have come in the form of both short-term and long-term challenges.

In the short term, supply chain disruptions have hindered development timelines. On the long-term side, regulators and utility providers have begun taking a hard look at the data center sector and how to grow it sustainably going forward. In some cases, these entities have severely disrupted development during the interim period.

None of these challenges have been resolved. And as we move through 2023, another major disruptive component has been added to the mix—the accelerated growth of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Nov 30, 2023

Want To Retire in Your 20s? Become a Submarine Cable

Wouldn't it be great to be fully retired before your 30th birthday?

Because they are engineered with a minimum design life of 25 years, it's common for the submarine cables that keep our world connected to experience this luxury.

Let’s talk about why, and what happens to cables after they reach retirement age.

Nov 24, 2023

What We’re Reading: Good News Edition

To spread some cheer and celebrate the beginning of the holiday season, we’re dubbing this month’s reading list the “good news edition.”

Here are three feel-good telecom headlines that you can be thankful for while waiting in line for those Black Friday deals.

Nov 21, 2023

Head in the Cloud, Toes at the Edge

I'm back with a new episode of TeleGeography Explains the Internet.

In the hot seat this time: Nokia's Paul Unbehagen. Paul has a deep history in the networking world, so he approaches his role at Nokia—NE Americas CTO—from the perspective of a network engineer.

Although our main topics this week are enterprise cloud and right-sizing cloud utilization, we use those as a springboard into many topics circling the state of the network in 2023.

Nov 13, 2023

Beware of Deep Fake TeleGeography

The age of generative AI is certainly exciting. The ability to quickly access answers to complex questions is poised to revolutionize the world. However, with great power comes great responsibility.  

When using these tools, it’s important to be mindful of some of the risks. Deep fakes are a growing concern for society at large and may have found their way to market research.

As we mentioned earlier this year, when it comes to submarine cable facts, AI may get some stuff right, but not everything.

In fact, you may be wondering, “does this mean there’s no need to subscribe to TeleGeography research anymore?” After all, can’t you just ask your favorite AI tool—whether it’s ChatGPT, Bard, etc.—to provide you with TeleGeography data?

I thought I’d ask Bard to show me some TeleGeography data. Are the results real or deep fakes? 

Nov 9, 2023

Satellite Operators and Telcos Are Teaming Up. Here’s What That Might Mean for Enterprise Networks.

The Latin American Satellite Congress held in Rio de Janeiro at the end of September provided a great opportunity to engage with some of the largest satellite communication companies in the world.

Looking back, there was one common theme that stood out: collaboration.

As we at TeleGeography have noted many times, the vast majority of global connectivity passes through submarine cables. But satellite networks are growing ever more important, both as complements to terrestrial systems and as last resorts for where it is hard (or expensive) to lay fiber.

For enterprises, that means a hybrid Wide Area Network (WAN) combining satellite and terrestrial connectivity is increasingly relevant.

Nov 7, 2023

Why 4G Is Still Relevant for Enterprise Connectivity

This week on TeleGeography Explains the Internet, we welcome SmartCIC CEO Toby Forman to the show.

Oct 31, 2023

The Scary Truth About Space Junk

Need a last-minute idea for a Halloween costume contest? Try dressing up as space junk.

If anyone asks why your costume is so scary, tell them that according to NASA, “as of January 2022, the amount of material orbiting the Earth exceeded 9,000 metric tons.”

That’s over 19 million pounds of orbital debris—and a massive problem. However, the FCC has begun cracking down on the issue, recently issuing its first fine on the matter.

Oct 31, 2023

How Geography Influences Network Security

Today’s TeleGeography Explains the Internet guest comes to the security world with a deep background in cloud and networks.

Joe DePalo is Chief Platform Officer at Netskope, and the ideal person to help us understand how and why location matters in network security.

Oct 19, 2023

These Factors Will Influence the Development of the Global Internet

While artificial intelligence (AI) has been the most hyped demand driver in recent years, its impact on international internet capacity is not entirely clear.

A large amount of AI-driven demand is likely to be carried over the private networks of Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta. Microsoft's infrastructure is also supporting OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT.

Here are some other factors that will shape how the global internet develops in the coming years.