Decoupling in Cyberspace? Internet Traffic Begins to Bypass the US!

The following article by New York Times' John Markoff accounts of a monumental watershed development in the world's cyber traffic. This is a compelling read. Here are some excerpts...

``The era of the American Internet is ending.

``Invented by American computer scientists during the 1970s, the Internet has been embraced around the globe. During the network’s first three decades, most Internet traffic flowed through the United States. In many cases, data sent between two locations within a given country also passed through the United States.

``Engineers who help run the Internet said that it would have been impossible for the United States to maintain its hegemony over the long run because of the very nature of the Internet; it has no central point of control.

``And now, the balance of power is shifting. Data is increasingly flowing around the United States, which may have intelligence — and conceivably military — consequences...

``Ms. Claffy said that the shift away from the United States was not limited to developing countries. The Japanese “are on a rampage to build out across India and China so they have alternative routes and so they don’t have to route through the U.S.”

``Andrew M. Odlyzko, a professor at the University of Minnesota who tracks the growth of the global Internet, added, “We discovered the Internet, but we couldn’t keep it a secret.” While the United States carried 70 percent of the world’s Internet traffic a decade ago, he estimates that portion has fallen to about 25 percent.

``Internet technologists say that the global data network that was once a competitive advantage for the United States is now increasingly outside the control of American companies. They decided not to invest in lower-cost optical fiber lines, which have rapidly become a commodity business...

Important Lessons:

1. Government intrusions have been driving away internet traffic from the US.

2. The snowballing realization of the significance of the Internet to the economic sphere has prompted for diversification of internet providers.

3. Developing countries have been pouring massive capital to the industry more than the US

4. The growing diffusion of world internet usage world wide could be seen in the prism of "one of many indicators that the world is becoming a more level playing field both economically and politically." In short, decoupling!

5. Expanding global competition helps drive the spread of internet usage.