info_tfgrid/collections/tech/internet/t.md

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2024-06-23 18:17:49 +00:00
# Rethinking the Internet
**Understanding the Three Layers of the Internet**
![](internet_3layers.png)
The Internet is made of 3 layers:
1. **Compute & Storage:** This layer houses applications and is predominantly centralized, operating from vast data centers.
2. **Network:** The network layer facilitates the movement of information, whether it's wireless, via cables like fiber, or through satellite links. Today, information often travels long distances, with a few companies controlling over 80% of the internets network capacity.
3. **Applications:** These are hosted in large data centers, relying on the centralized compute and storage layers. This centralization makes the system vulnerable.
**Current Challenges**
Digital information primarily flows through extensive fiber backbone networks, as shown here:
![](global_net.png)
The internets design causes inefficiencies, such as when two people in Zanzibar use a service like Zoom. Their data travels all the way to European data centers where Zoom's servers are hosted and back, leading to slow performance, decreased reliability, and increased costs.
![](network_path.png)
**Issues with Autonomy and Sovereignty**
Our current internet model compromises autonomy and sovereignty. Most data is stored in large data centers controlled by a few major corporations, effectively turning users into products.
![](we_are_products.png)
Moreover, the internet is replicated many times across various applications, each requiring its own full infrastructure. This approach is unsustainable and inefficient.
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