Internet traffic begins to bypass the U.S.

The increasing flow of data around the United States may have intelligence, and possibly military, consequences.
The New York Times

The story "Internet traffic begins to bypass the U.S." published August 31, 2008 at 5:20 PM is no longer available on CNET News.

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in your so called well balanced article you tend to leave the reader with the negative of the articles more than the positives. Maybe negative sells and you are no different that some of the tabloids when it comes to marketing your service.

[artistjoh]

The USA is increasingly lead by people who believe that a god created the earth a few thousand years ago and that evolution is not factually based. These sort of people are not the sort of people with vision in the sciences. The sort of vision that created the Internet in the first place. Starting with the cancellation of the Super Collider in Texas in 1993 we have seen the big science based projects and innovation increasingly located outside the USA. The large collider in Switzerland is the latest example. Without a belief in secular scientific exploration the US is losing its competitive advantage and it is no surprise it loses it with the internet as well. It is sad to witness.

[aboteler]

Why did you bring religion into this discussion? It has nothing to do with the article. FYI, Leonard Euler, famous mathematician, was a devout protestant. Isaac Newton study biblical prophecy. Here is a question for you to ponder, there are known irrational numbers, i.e. PI, that have infinite precision. All we can do is make an approximation. How does randomness produce infinite precision?

[bob2600]

This "melting pot" that once attracted skilled laborers, craftsmen, and the independent-minded is now a festering incubator of ignorant, unskilled undesirables who switch off what little mental capacity they have at the behest of religion.

[The_Decider]

Given that there are few examples of a circle(countless ellipses though) in nature, what exactly is your point?

Science and religion are not disjoint. It is just the fundamentalist nutjobs in the US with absolutely no scientific background are gaining power and science is suffering.

[quash_bug]

must i state of obvious.
the planet is in a constant state of change, including the things living on said planet. The US, like many leading countries before, will lose its edge, as will any other country that comes to power.
Its always going to be a matter of time before the next big country looses its edge.

[Xtoo]

Thee Romans stayed in power for a few hundred years.
Will the US be able to match 1/2 of that?

[bob2600]

This "melting pot" that once attracted skilled laborers, craftsmen, and the independent-minded is now a festering incubator of ignorant, unskilled undesirables who switch off what little mental capacity they have at the behest of religion.

[Midwestjack]

@bob2600:

Well said.

[jemiller0]

I would call this common sense. Why would other countries route their traffic through the U.S.? Especially now that the government can wiretap without warrant. The United States is going down because it has a bunch of fools running it and a bunch of fools that keep electing fools.

[GlennAllen]

It's funny really... in their desire to "protect" the U.S., the PTB are perfectly willing to destroy everything that the U.S. stands for. They should go back and read the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence... maybe they'd begin to understand that the U.S. was born out of a desire of the Founding Fathers to protect the country and its citizens from people just like the current PTB (though I doubt it--such realizations require Common Sense).

[Midwestjack]

@OP:

"...leave the reader with the negative of the articles more than the positives."

Well, sometimes the focus of a story is just how bad things are! Get used to it; there's a lot wrong with the state of the world right now!

The fact is the United States now lags far behind other countries in the state of its broadband infrastructure because the companies that own these networks would rather generate as much profit for as long as possible, with as little investment as possible, until it's too late. It's the modus operandi for virtually every American business monopoly since time out of mind.

Why re-invest profit into advancing your services when you can allocate that profit to your shareholders and your executives? Why continue to advance when you can spend half as much to lobby and enforce the status quo while simultaneously increase your own personal wealth? It's exactly the same situation with the American automobile industry.

This is a classic example of "absolute power corrupts absolutely".

[quash_bug]

A book called "Animal Farm" lends quite a bit of thought on the Constitution and Bill of Rights.. i think the book is quite accurate..
The desire for power and controle will be this country's demise PERIOD..
thanks political leaders and lobbyists, you have done a great job of looking after the wealthy hands that feed you

[JimMcDish]

QWell duh! Thats why they call it the good ole WWW or World Wide Web! its everywhere.

Jist
http://www.useurl.us/17n

[akshat21]

The internet was invented at CERN in Europe (Switzerlan to be exact)... GET YOURS FACTS RIGHT.

[DavyDan08]

akshat21, I think you are confusing the Internet with the World Wide Web, which are not the same. The Internet was invented in the US under DARPA sponsorship. Tim Burners Lee invented the WWW and html at CERN.

[americablind]

Americas growth to a super power was built on the backs of poor emigrants fighting to survive,pushing to advance and build....america is now full of fat lazy and "satisfied" people who dont have to push anymore to get comfortable.all they want is a bed a tv internet and fast food(and a few patriotic sports) they think the world still revolves around america and that it still rules the world... the rest of the world has woken up and sees america for what it is.you moan about china but if you look at american news it is just as controlling and oppressive .wire tappers. overbearing security. sanitized media. america still thinks it can control everything but is is just another country now.... these "3rd world" countries are still full of people hungry for success.education.they fight to get it(china,india) and so have and will bypass america in alll stakes
satisfaction and self rightiousness are the downfall of all great countries..
all i want is america to stop thinking it is the big cheese and take a serious look at itself.. the internet looping around you is just one symptom open your eyes you are just another country.AT LAST .

[americablind]

Americas growth to a super power was built on the backs of poor emigrants fighting to survive,pushing to advance and build....america is now full of fat lazy and "satisfied" people who dont have to push anymore to get comfortable.all they want is a bed a tv internet and fast food(and a few patriotic sports) they think the world still revolves around america and that it still rules the world... the rest of the world has woken up and sees america for what it is.you moan about china but if you look at american news it is just as controlling and oppressive .wire tappers. overbearing security. sanitized media. america still thinks it can control everything but is is just another country now.... these "3rd world" countries are still full of people hungry for success.education.they fight to get it(china,india) and so have and will bypass america in alll stakes
satisfaction and self rightiousness are the downfall of all great countries..
all i want is america to stop thinking it is the big cheese and take a serious look at itself.. the internet looping around you is just one symptom open your eyes you are just another country.AT LAST .

[tecmic]

Hi,
It's interesting and refreshing to read these types of comment coming from native Americans but may I suggest that the USA is repeating what has already occurred here in the UK. Everything cycles around eg. China, Rome, Greece etc. etc. Success is not a permanent state, it requires effort and innovation just to extend the time in which it occurs. Unfortunately, the successful, as already mentioned, become lazy and comfortable with their condition and neglect to keep their 'eyes on the ball'. In any case, the environment that enabled success changes as do the factors that contribute to success, so it follows that maintaining the status quo becomes increasingly difficult and ultimately, impossible.

The trick is to adapt to these changes!

Mike.

[keschrich]

Regarding other countries routing their traffic around the US, it just makes sense, both from a logistical standpoint and data security. Given the administrations absolute abuse of power and failure to abide by its own laws, I wouldn't want my data stored in the US, and I live there!

Regarding the US falling out of the lead when it comes to technology and innovation, I believe its due to over-regulation and the mislabeled "progressive" ideology that is taking over the country. We've taken away the incentives to innovate, and then wonder why there is no longer innovation.

[as901]

America has gone off the deep end and our leaders have become power mad. Telling the world that "all our treaties and prohibitions against torture are no longer valid" has not helped our image. We are perceived by the rest of the world as a nation of conquerers rather than a nation that respects our neighbors. First Clinton states, "There is a new world order!". Now Bush tells the world that we are above all laws. It is no wonder that the world would like to bypass us!

To the rest of the world we are seen as a nation without laws or ethics. It is my hope that Obama can reverse some of the harm done by Bush and Cheney!

Mark Heinemann
US Veteran

[JBSimmons]

Well, the real truth, we've learned over the last 8 years was that Bush was never very bright. One for lying to the American people, who found out about "slam dunk" and failed to excercise thier power to impeach. Bush was really that dumb. He needed Cheney because Cheney ran huge corporations that got most of the gov contracts at no-bid prices and for that he was elected VP. Half the war in Iraq is outsourced by the Pentagon to Cheney's companies. When he leaves the VP, he's going right back to them. Count on it. The American people should have seen this corruption and dealt with it. The GAO is nothing now. The DOJ is getting everyone on perjury charges. There's better things to do. Obama is not the answer. Just like McCain stated - "I don't work for any party". It's true. I live in the state he's a senator from and we don't have the problems the Feds do. We are not a bipartisan bickering state. 80% of the AZ people work, live and play in the same valley. We have to get along to get things done. If we want change, we do it ourselves. We don't wait for someone to do it for us. McCain at least taught us that much in 25 years he's been here.

[expositus]

While all of you have valid reasons for why investment in the internet hasn't kept up with other countries, I'd like to point out a few things and then add a couple of my own reasons.

Religion: well, maybe. It's not that they don't believe in technology. They are investing in surveillance technology. Remember that thousands of years ago, the Christians were persecuted like the Jews were in the last century. Those memories still echo in their minds. While they cling to their beliefs as if that is the only thing that will save them, they have no faith that God will. If they did, they wouldn't need to rely upon technology. They might just rely upon God instead of playing god and let technology be their servant.

The internet is a commodity. Perhaps. But there are still miles of dark fiber that need to be put to use.

My own two cents. The cable companies and the telcos both want to get into the content business. They're walking a fine line between content and pipes, but the content business has a higher margin than the pipes business.

Here's the cut. If they increase their capacity at the expense of their content business, they're doomed. They owe a special allegiance to the content creators in Hollywood. They can't increase capacity unless it's for their own broadband video services.

So what really has to happen, in order for capacity to increase for us, like Japan, for example, is a split of the two businesses. Content creators cannot be in the same business as the carriers. There is simply too much of a conflict of interest.

The cable companies are a perfect example. Their bread and butter is cable tv. But if they increase capacity, people will use MIro to watch alternative sources of entertainment, news, and education. God forbid that anyone should be watching Al Jazeera through Miro TV. The last thing powerful interests want is another point of view on the air.

So to tie it all together, we have a large religious faction in this country that wants information in cathedrals, rather than a bazaar. Can you say Obama for president? I'd prefer John Hagelin, but Obama might be our best chance at an open internet.

[jopsen]

I guess you say US have gone from controlling 70% of all traffic to 25% in a decade...
But how much have the internet grown in the same decade? And how much of this growth happened outside the US?