You’re on the Internet. What does that mean?
Most likely, it means one of a handful of telecommunications providers is middlemanning your information from Point A to Point B. Fire off an email or a tweet, broadcast a livestream or upload video to YouTube, and you’re relying on vast networks of fiber optic cables deep underground and undersea, working with satellites high above, to move your data around the world, and to bring the world to your fingertips.
It’s an infrastructure largely out of sight and mind. AT&T, Level 3, Hurricane Electric, Tata Indicom – to most these are simply invisible magicians performing the act of getting one online and kicking. To many open-source advocates, however, these are a few of the big, dirty names responsible for what they see as the Web’s rapid consolidation. The prospect of an irreparably centralized Internet, a physical Internet in the hands of a shrinking core of so-called Tier 1 transit networks, keeps Isaac Wilder up at night.
Watch the rest over at Motherboard.
More From This Show
-
Click, Print, Gun: The Inside Story of the 3D-Printed Gun Movement
Cody R. Wilson is a 25-year-old University of Texas law student who is working to build semiautomatic weapons using a 3D printer. Cody is an articulate and tech-savvy mouthpiece for the fight against
-
'Click. Print. Gun.' (Trailer)
Cody R. Wilson has figured out how to print a semiautomatic rifle from the comfort of his own home. Now he's putting all the information online so that others will join him. Our documentary 'Click. Pr…
-
The Space Suit Makers
When they first met in 2007, Ted Southern and Nik Moiseev came from two very different worlds. They didn't imagine they'd eventually be in business designing space couture in a modest studio at the Br…
-
Valley of the UFOs
We ventured to Hooper, Colorado (population: 105) to investigate some of the stranger things that have gone down there—from shooting stars to strange weather patterns to aliens descending to Earth in…
-
The Space Composer
As we started planning the second season of our 'Spaced Out' series, we wanted to feature non-scientists thinking about the future of space. Enter composer Robert Alexander, who is helping NASA make n…
-
Libya in Vitro
Last summer, we met Mohammed and Nadia, a couple from Tripoli who had left their distressed home for six months to live in Jordan. They hoped to conceive through in vitro fertilization with the help o…
-
Open Source Outer Space
Anyone with enough brains and balls can build their own rocket and fly it to space. Or at least that’s what the nonprofit, open-source space-project Copenhagen Suborbitals wants the world to realize…
-
Drone On
From weapon expos in Jordan to idyllic California beaches, we caught up with the people who are building and selling unmanned aerial vehicles all over the world, and even convinced a few companies to
-
The Satellite Hunter
Thierry Legault is not your average amateur astronomer. He’s a renowned astrophotographer, painstakingly chronicling the orbits of planets, distant galaxies, spaceships, and—to the chagrin of the inte…
-
The Silent Dish
In 1956, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory was formed in rural Green Bank, West Virginia, and became the hotbed of radio astronomy in the United States. But now, with cell phones, wi-fi, and ra…
-
The Strongest Dwarf in New Jersey
I beat him up as a toddler.
-
Meet the Malaysian Neo-Nazis Fighting for a Pure Malay Race
Yes, they do realize that Nazis generally don't like Asian people.
-
VICE News: In Saddam's Shadow
A tour of a city that used to be covered nonstop in the American media.
-
Hamilton's Pharmacopeia: Tanks for the Memories
What happens to the mind, body, and spirit while inside the tank.
-
VICE News: This Is What Winning Looks Like
A documentary about the ineptitude and corruption of the Afghan security forces.
-
Question of the Day: How Would You Feel if Your Mayor Smoked Crack?
"I would be surprised."
-
The Feds Are Making It Hurt in Every Way Possible For Weev, But for What?
A #weevroadtrip to the Pennsylvania prison where the hacker is being held.
-
I Went Snooping Around Nicolas Cage's House
And it was kind of upsetting.
-
Noel Rodo-Vankeulen's Photography Is from Another Dimension
It appears that some of these shots were taken on the moon.
-
Thought and Memory
Back in 2008, when my first novel came out, my publisher sent me on a West Coast tour.
-
Las Vegas Needs to Get Creative with Its Homeless Problem
Here are some ideas.
-
Let VICE School You on the Web This Internet Week
There's a lot more to the web than carnal perversions and dwarfed felines.
-
I Tested out Three Cambodian Spiritual Practices
And learned that Cambodian ghosts apparently don't believe in Jesus.
-
How Are We Supposed to Know What the Government Does?
It's pretty terrifying how little we know.
-
The Cosmic Adventures of Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire
Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire's hard-partying, lecherous persona couldn't be further from the truth.
-
Here Is Action Bronson's New Video, Featuring Riff Raff and Some Pit Bulls
Here's his new video for "Strictly 4 My Jeeps," which is set in Queens and features Riff Raff.
-
Really, Ryan?: Gay Men and Their Not-So-Cute Misogyny Problem
It's not OK to call your lady friends dumb sluts just because you like the same private parts.
-
The VICE Podcast Show - Stoya on Gender Roles and the Future of Monogamy
An unedited chat about about gender roles, homeschooling, safe sex, and the future of monogamy.
-
Saudi Arabia Isn't Having a Feminist Revolution
Weirdly, Saudi photographer Nouf Alhimiary thinks being allowed to cycle doesn't count as women's rights.
-
Weev Is Being Treated Horribly in Prison
Weev is sharing a ten-by-ten cell in solitary with a cell mate.
-
The Feds Are Making It Hurt in Every Way Possible For Weev, But for What?
A #weevroadtrip to the Pennsylvania prison where the hacker is being held.
-
Dogmageddon: Don't Bet on the Apocalypse
Or you'll end up dead broke, instead of just plain dead.
-
The Strongest Dwarf in New Jersey
I beat him up as a toddler.
-
Noel Rodo-Vankeulen's Photography Is from Another Dimension
It appears that some of these shots were taken on the moon.
-
VICE News: Teenage Riot - São Paulo
The fight for a free pass on public transportation in São Paulo is not only for students anymore.
-
Rob Ford, the World's Greatest Mayor, Smokes Crack
What's the big deal? Everyone finds themselves in this position once in a while.
-
VICE News: Triple Hate - Trailer
A doc about Nathan Bedford Forrest, the Memphis City Council, the Klan, and the Crips.
-
Art Talk: Matt Mignanelli
A chat about his work, life, and strong American work ethic.
-
The Mercy Rule: Hearing the Spurs
They're not too boring; you're too young.
-
Pigeon Racing Is a Dying Sport in Canada
We hung out with one of Toronto's finest pigeon racers to find out why anyone would want to pigeon race.
-
Suck on the Monolith
Ken Baumann's first novel is, in short, fucked.
-
VICE News: This Is What Winning Looks Like
A documentary about the ineptitude and corruption of the Afghan security forces.
-
A Few Impressions: 'Gatsby'
In the end, Luhrmann made it work, and that’s all that matters.
-
Why Don’t Dudes Like My Crotchless Panties?
Crotchless panties make me hornier than a nude Jake Johnson offering me a burrito.
-
The Cute Show: Capybara Bathhouse!
We met a herd of capybara who love to take dips in the park's hot springs.
-
Austerity's Drug of Choice
Greece's infamous new drug, sisa, is meth mixed with filler ingredients like battery acid.
Related Shows
-
01100011 01110101 01101110 01110100 01110011
-
Higher tech for humankind.
Thought and Memory
New Fiction by Ed Park 
Malaysian Neo-Nazis
Fighting for a Pure Malay Race 
The Strongest Dwarf in New Jersey
Remembering My Tormentor 
Gay Men and Their Misogyny Problem
It's Not Cute Anymore 
Snooping Around Nicolas Cage's House
So Many Bummers 
Saudi Arabia's Feminist Revolution
It's Not Happening 
Comments