Have you ever wondered who owns the Internet, or what companies the Internet is composed of? Is it a republic, democracy, anarchy, or what? In this article, we'll find out! Read on!

Summary

No one person, company, organization, or government runs the Internet. It is a globally distributed network comprising many voluntarily interconnected autonomous networks. It operates without a central governing body, with each constituent network setting and enforcing its own policies.

A bit deeper

The internet is decentralized, meaning that power, control, and decision-making are spread among many individuals or groups instead of having one central authority in charge.

An analogy

Let's look at it by means of an analogy:
Imagine the internet as a massive highway system that connects people and places all around the world. Just like the highway system, the internet doesn't have a single owner. Instead, it is collectively owned by many entities, just like how highways are owned and maintained by governments, organizations, and private entities. To explain the analogy a bit more, let's look at some of the Internet's features and see how they fit in with our analogy (remember, however, that no analogy is perfect).

Just like highways are owned and maintained by different entities, the internet is governed and regulated by various organizations. Here are some organizations that are involved in the management and operation of the internet and how they fit into our analogy:

1. Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA): Similar to how highways have designated exit numbers and addresses, IANA is responsible for managing the allocation of IP addresses, domain names, and protocol parameters. It ensures that each entity on the internet has a unique identifier.

2. Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN): ICANN oversees the domain name system (DNS) and ensures that domain names are registered and managed correctly. It coordinates with domain registrars and sets policies for domain name registration.

3. Regional Internet Registries (RIRs): Just like highways may have regional departments responsible for specific areas, RIRs are organizations that manage the allocation and registration of IP addresses within specific regions. Examples of RIRs include ARIN (North America), RIPE NCC (Europe), APNIC (Asia-Pacific), and LACNIC (Latin America and the Caribbean).

4. Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF): This organization develops and promotes internet standards, protocols, and best practices. It plays a crucial role in ensuring interoperability and compatibility across different internet technologies.

5. World Wide Web Consortium (W3C): W3C focuses on the development of web standards, including HTML, CSS, and web accessibility. It helps ensure that websites and web applications work consistently across different browsers and devices.

These and countless other organizations collaborate to uphold the framework, guidelines, and oversight of the internet, making it the global platform we rely on today.

Conclusion

In summary, the internet is a global network of interconnected computers that allows communication and sharing of information worldwide. It is a vast network infrastructure that comprises various technologies, protocols, and services.

In terms of distribution, the internet is decentralized and distributed across multiple interconnected networks. These networks, operated by different entities such as Internet Service Providers (ISPs), connect to form the internet backbone. The backbone consists of high-speed connections and routing equipment that facilitate data transmission between different parts of the world.

To ensure redundancy and reliability, the internet utilizes a distributed architecture. Data is broken down into packets and sent across multiple routes, dynamically choosing the most efficient path. This approach allows the internet to adapt to changes in network conditions and maintain connectivity even if certain parts of the network are disrupted.

In summary, the internet is a global network that connects computers worldwide, and its distribution is achieved through a decentralized and distributed architecture, ensuring robustness and connectivity.

To find out more, you must check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_governance, a very interesting page about this whole subject on Wikipedia.

Be sure to let me know what you think about this article and what you know about the internet in the comments!

Credit to https://www.orangewebsite.com/articles/just-who-owns-the-internet/ for the cover image (actually a Google Image search), and for more intriguing information that helped me research.

If you want to find out more about me, be sure to check out my website, https://the-best-codes.github.io/. Thanks for reading!

Happy coding!