The Blog

In early 2022, AWS announced a new element to its cloud network infrastructure: the local zone.

With increased focus on moving cloud services closer to end-users, the local zone provides low-latency access to applications running closer to customers.

Google offers a similar service with its dedicated interconnect service, an option to connect to a low-latency colocation facility that provides latencies of less than 5 milliseconds between the workloads in a specified region and the on-ramp location.

OVH launched the same local zone service in the first quarter of 2024, and Microsoft joined in as well with their extended zone service launched in the summer of 2024.

Here's how these services differ—and how many have launched.

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Patrick Christian

We're pumped to have Dennis Thankachan, Co-Founder and CEO of Lightyear, back on TeleGeography Explains the Internet.

Last time Dennis joined us on the show, we dug into Lightyear's approach to creating a digital telecom lifecycle automation platform for enterprise networks.

This time, we discuss their State of Connectivity Report, which dovetails nicely with many of the issues we research here at TeleGeography. (Perhaps this read is a perfect companion to our State of the Network? A match made in heaven, etc.)

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Greg Bryan

When discussing submarine cable bandwidth, it’s crucial to distinguish between lit capacity and potential capacity.

These terms are not interchangeable, and the difference between them explains a key aspect of the submarine cable market.

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Lane Burdette

In 2024, 13 new cloud regions were launched globally. This marks a significant slowdown in the deployment of new cloud regions.

There hasn't been a year with fewer than 20 new regions since 2017. As you may recall, 26 regions launched in 2023, 24 in 2022, 27 in 2021, and 25 in 2020. At the peak in 2019, 41 regions came online.

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Patrick Christian

From cross connects to PUE, the data center industry is packed with technical jargon.

Today, we’re breaking down 13 key colocation terms. Whether you're new to the field or just need a refresher, this simple glossary can help.

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Jon Hjembo

Fiber broadband is now by far the most common means of fixed broadband connectivity worldwide, although the picture varies from region to region.

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Pete Bell

Latency is a term that’s frequently cited when discussing long-haul networks. But what is it really?

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Paul Brodsky

TeleGeography’s Submarine Cable Map recently hit a new milestone: depicting over 650 cable systems.

As of February 2025, that’s a whopping 570 in-service systems, with another 81 planned.

The number of cable systems we study is constantly increasing. This is due to massive investment in this infrastructure—both along major routes and to small islands—as well as our ongoing efforts to track global systems in more detail. 

The number of in-service systems is greater now than in any other year within the last two decades.

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Lane Burdette