While no one “owns” the Internet (for now, despite republican plans) there are a handful of companies that control the Internet. Unless you are a techno-geek, these six organizations that control how the Internet works, most likely fly under your radar.
International Telecommunications Union
The first organization that is actively trying to take over the functions of the Internet is the United Nations International Telecommunications Union (ITU). The ITU in my and many other opinions an outdated, pointless throw-back to the days of the telegraph, with policies to match. I covered the last power grabs by the UN’s ITU here.
Internet Architecture Board
Next is the Internet Architecture Board (AIB). The IAB is the overseer of the technical evolution of the Internet. The IAB supervises the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), which oversees the evolution of TCP/IP, and the Internet Research Task Force (IRTF), which works on network technology.
The IAB declared a major strategic move for the Internet. The Internet Architecture Board is calling for global encryption on the web (which I have covered many times from my Bach Seat) to become the norm across the Internet in a move to lock down the privacy and security of information exchange according to Dark Reading.
Internet Engineering Task Force
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) develops and promotes voluntary Internet standards. It is most well known for the standards that make up the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP). It is an open standards organization, with no formal membership or membership requirements. All participants and managers are volunteers, though their work is usually funded by their employers or sponsors. The IETF is also well-known for its RFCs or Request for Comment documents like RFC RFC 1918 and RFC 873.
Internet Society
Another organization that shapes the Intertubes is ISOC. The Internet Society (which I am a member of) was formed in 1992 by Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn. ISOC was formed to provide a corporate structure to support the Internet standards development process.
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is perhaps the most critical organization that helps run the Internet. ICANN coordinates the distribution of IP addresses and the Internet’s Domain Name System (DNS). IP addresses are the numbers that are assigned to every computer on the Net to uniquely identify each device. There are two types of IP addresses, IPv4 and IPv6. The web has run out of IPv4 addresses (which I covered here and here) and is very slowly being replaced with IPv6 addresses. ICANN doles out these addresses.
ICANN also manages the Domain Naming System (DNS) on the web that converts IP addresses to names. DNS makes it possible to remember www.google.com, which is easy for humans to remember instead of remembering https://web.archive.org/web/20150507211330/http://74.125.224.72/, which is easy for computers to deal with, to get to Google.
The U.S. government funds ICANN. They Feds have gotten heat from around the globe after Eric Snowden’s revaluations about global spying operations. The role of ICANN is changing.
Internet Service Providers
The only group that makes money on the Internet but does not help run the Internet (yet) are the Internet Service Providers (ISP). ISP’s control nearly everyone accesses it. The gatekeepers to the web are ATT (T), Comcast (CMCSA), Charter (CHTR) and Time Warner Cable (TWC) are the biggest names of ISP’s. ISP’s “perform” two key functions. First, they provide last-mile connections, that is the connection to your home or business to their offices, which we all over-pay for. Next, they provide back-haul or backbone services that move your email across the town or across the globe. The ISP’s also make money on these ISP-ISP connections.
Right now the FCC is considering the future of the Internet during its Net Neutrality decisions. If the ISP’s get their way, it is likely that homes and businesses will be required to pay the ISP’s more money to maintain the crappy service we already get.
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Let’s add this up big business telecom money + millionaire politicians = the 1% screwing the rest of us. Get involved, save the Internet, get in touch with your alleged representatives and tell them NO MORE.
Related articles
- When the US lets go of the keys to the internet, what about our protocols? (go.theregister.com)
Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
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