The US used to be the center of the online world. The United States pioneered the World Wide Web, and until recently the majority of Web traffic around the world was routed through the United States. Among other benefits, this gave the US a distinct intelligence gathering advantage, making it easy to monitor the communications of individuals in other countries.
But the days of the US being the center of the cyberspace world are apparently over. According to Cnet.com, more and more Web traffic from other countries is now bypassing the US, as developing countries such as China and Korea invest in their own high-speed telecommunications networks.
Only 10 years ago the US was responsible for handling more than 70% of global Internet traffic. Current estimates suggest that only 25% of international Web traffic is routed through the US today, a substantial decline from America’s position as the Internet switching station to the world back in the late 1990s.
There are several reasons why other nations have begun routing their Web traffic to “avoid” the US networks. The introduction of the Patriot Act is one clear deterrent, allowing US government officials to intercept nearly any communications in the US. Obviously, this is an undesirable situation for other countries who have more strict privacy laws, and are not comfortable with “Big Brother” type surveillance tactics.
But there are other reasons why the online world is increasingly centered outside the U. S. Economic issues and investment play a large role in the cyber-migration that is taking place. Telecommunications experts point out that US telecom firms have not properly invested in online infrastructure, as compared to companies in other countries.
According to Renesys, an Internet provider monitoring organization, the three fastest growing telecommunications companies in the world are located outside the United States. Companies like AT&T, Verizon and Qwest in the US have fallen substantially behind their foreign counterparts when it comes to Internet infrastructure investment.
Earl Zmijewski of Renesys says, “the rest of the world has caught up,” pointing out the lack of investment by large American companies: “They see Internet service as a commodity.”
In fact, experts say that Internet usage in the United States has just about peaked, with nearly 72% of the population online. This amounts to about 240 million Internet users in the United States and Canada. But in China, only about 15% of the population is currently online, so the investment in infrastructure is necessary to ensure that China can meet the demand for increasing Internet service well in the future.
