[bc-gnso] Who controls the internet

["Chris Chaplow" <chris@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Interesting article in Todays UK Guardian Newspaper.

 

Ahead of a  <https://plus.google.com/events/ccctkbj9ldslvsm392t6mae48ac>
Google+ Hangout on the
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/series/battle-for-the-internet> battle
for the internet, Jemima Kiss looks at how tech giants are fighting for
supremacy

 

Have you ever noticed that wherever you are in the world, every telephone
keypad looks the same? Or wondered why satellites don't crash into each
other? Or why you dial 64 to reach New Zealand, but 65 for Singapore? These
are some of the mundane but essential logistical achievements of the
<http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.itu.int%2Fen%2FPages%2Fdefault
.aspx&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGkPS1MSVqJVle3MAJ6siz-iQ55Bw> International
Telecommunication Union, a specialist UN agency that dates back to 1865.



Yet as it gears up for its first global conference in 14 years, the ITU has
found itself under unprecedented attack. The first assailant is the powerful
US technology lobby. Companies, including Google, are claiming that new ITU
proposals would mean  <http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/internet>
internet companies paying hefty fees to local telecoms companies, reigniting
historic tensions between US internet giants and incumbent telecoms firms
across the world.



But that's not the only battle that will be played out this December when
the ITU's 193 member states gather in Dubai. Russia and China have been
explicit in their goal of taking control of the internet away from the US,
while developing countries feel the western technology hegemony is limiting
their economic opportunities. With the world's internet population predicted
to reach 3.4 billion by 2016, there is everything to play for.

 <http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/oct/17/who-rules-internet>
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/oct/17/who-rules-internet

 

 

 

Chris Chaplow
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