5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

vox

40 maps that
explain the internet
by Timothy B. Lee on June 2, 2014

The internet increasingly pervades our lives, delivering information to us no

matter where we are. It takes a complex system of cables, servers, towers, and other
infrastructure, developed over decades, to allow us to stay in touch with our friends
and family so eortlessly. Here are 40 maps that will help you better understand
the internet where it came from, how it works, and how it's used by people
around the world.

How the internet was created

Before the internet, there was the ARPANET

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 1/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

vox

BBN/DARPA

ARPANET,theprecursortothemoderninternet,wasanacademicresearchprojectfundedbythe
AdvancedResearchProjectsAgency,abranchofthemilitaryknownforfundingambitiousresearch
projectswithoutimmediatecommercialormilitaryapplications.Initially,thenetworkonlyconnected
theUniversityofUtahwiththreeresearchcentersinCalifornia.ARPANETwasatestofathennovel
technologycalledpacketswitching,whichbreaksdataintosmall"packets"sotheycanbe
transmittedefficientlyacrossthenetwork.Italsohadamorepracticalgoal:allowingmoreefficient
useofexpensivecomputingresources.ComputerscientistssometimesusedARPAmoneytobuy
computers,andtheagencyhopedthatARPANETwouldallowuniversitiestosharetheseexpensive
resourcesmoreefficiently.OneofthefirstARPANETapplicationswasTelnet,whichalloweda
researcheratoneARPANETsitetologintoacomputeratanothersite.

1970: ARPANET expands

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 2/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

vox

BBN/DARPA

Bytheendof1970,ARPANEThadgrownto13nodes,includingEastCoastschoolslikeHarvardand
MIT.AmongtheearlynodeswasBolt,Beranek,andNewman(BBN),anengineeringconsulting
companythatdidtheengineeringworkrequiredtobuildARPANET.EachARPANETsitehadarouter
knownasanInterfaceMessageProcessor.Thesecost$82,200,orhalfamilliondollarsintoday's
money.

3
1973: ARPANET goes international

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 3/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

vox

BBN/DARPA

In1973,theARPANETbecameinternational,withasatellitelinkconnectingNorwayandLondonto
theothernodesintheUnitedStates.Hawaiialsojoinedthenetworkbysatellite.Atthispoint,the
networkhadaround40nodes.NewARPANETapplicationshadbeguntoemerge.Emailwasinvented
in1971byaBBNengineernamedRayTomlinson,whoalsoinventedtheuseofthe"@"symbolin
emailaddresses.TheFileTransferProtocol,whichisstillusedtoday,allowedARPANETuserstosend
filestoeachother.

4
1982: the ARPANET community grows

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 4/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

vox

BBN/DARPA

AstheARPANETentereditsseconddecade,itwasstilllargelyconfinedtotheUnitedStates.
Academicinstitutionsdependedonfederalfundingtojointhenetwork,sothenumberofnodes
expandedslowly.By1982,thenetworkonlyhadabout100nodes.Butthatwasenoughtosupporta
vibrantonlinecommunity.LongbeforeFacebookandTwitter,ARPANETallowedcomputerscientists
whohadaccesstothenetworktostayintouch.AnewbulletinboardsystemcalledUsenetwas
inventedin1980andcaughtonquickly.Usenetwasorganizedbytopic,allowinguserstoswap
programmingtips,recipes,jokes,opinionsaboutsciencefiction,andmuchmore.

5
1984: ARPANET becomes the internet

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 5/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

vox

NSF

Originally,theentireARPANETwasmanagedbythemilitary.Butnetworkoperatorsrealizedthata
centralizednetworkwouldeventuallybecomeunmanageableifitcontinuedtogrow.Theydecided
thatthenetworkshouldbereorganizedasadecentralized"networkofnetworks."Underthisscheme,
differentnetworkswouldbecontrolledbydifferentorganizations,butallthenetworksableto
communicateusingsharedstandards,formingashared"internet."Themilitaryaskedthecomputer
scientistsRobertKahnandVintCerftodevelopnewnetworkingstandardstomakethispossible.The
resultwasasetofstandardsknownasTCP/IP.Thesestandardsspecifiedthebasicformatofdata
packetstransmittedacrosstheinternet.OnJanuary1,1983,theARPANETswitchedtousingTCP/IP,
markingthebirthofthemoderninternet.TheswitchtoTCP/IPdidn'tmakemuchdifferencefroma
userperspectiveapplicationslikeemailandTelnetworkedaboutthesameastheyhadbefore.But
thenewstandardpavedthewayformuchfasternetworkgrowthbyloweringthebarriertoentryfor
newnetworks.OneofthefirstnewnetworkstoconnecttothenewinternetwasCSNET,whichwas
fundedbytheNationalScienceFoundationtolinkcomputersciencedepartmentsacrossthecountry.
ThismapshowsthelocationofARPANETandCSNETnodes(labeled"Phonenet"),whichafter1983
communicatedwitheachotherusingTCP/IP.BythetimetheARPANETwasdecommissionedin1990,
itwasjustoneofmanynetworksthatcomprisedtheinternet.Today,theinternetismadeupofmore
than40,000differentnetworks.ThesenetworksstillcommunicatewitheachotherusingtheTCP/IP
standardsCerfandKahndevelopedinthe1970s.

NSFNET: The first internet backbone

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 6/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

vox

MeritNetwork,Inc.

Duringthe1980s,theNationalScienceNetworkfundedseveralsupercomputingcentersaroundthe
UnitedStates.Andin1986theagencycreatedaTCP/IPbasednetworkcalledNSFNETtolinkthose
supercomputingcenterstogetherandallowresearchersacrossthecountrytousethem.Theprimary
goalwastoallowcomputerscienceresearcherstologintothesupercomputersandperformacademic
research.ButNSFdecidednottolimitNSFNETtothatpurpose,allowingthenetworktobeusedfora
widevarietyofacademicpurposes.Asaresult,theNSFNETbecametheinternet's"backbone,"the
highspeed,longdistancenetworkthatalloweddifferentpartsoftheinternettocommunicate.
Schoolsthatdidn'thaveadirectconnectiontotheNSFNETworkedtogethertobuildregional
networksthatlinkedthemtoeachotherandtothenearestNSFnode.ThisshowstheNSFNETasit
existedin1992.Bythistime,therewere6,000networksconnectedtoNSFNET,withathirdofthem
locatedoverseas.Thatmeantthatstudentsandfacultyatagrowingnumberofuniversitieshad
accesstoemail,Usenet,andevenarecentlyinventedapplicationcalledtheWorldWideWeb.And
althoughtheNSFNETwasofficiallyrestrictedtononcommercialuse,forprofitcompanieswere
increasinglyconnectingtothenetworkaswell,settingthestageforthecommercializationofthe
internetthatfollowed.

The internet becomes a global network

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 7/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

vox

BrianReid

In1993,theinternetwasstilldominatedbytheUnitedStatesbutitwasbecomingatrulyglobal
network.ThisisamapofinformationflowonUsenet,anbulletinboardapplicationthatallowedusers
toswaprecipes,jokes,programmingtips,andmore.

The privatization of the internet backbone

Verizon,AT&T,Sprint,andLevel3

In1994,theClintonAdministrationprivatizedtheinternetbackbone.Commercialfirmstookoverthe
jobofcarryinglongdistanceinternettraffic,allowingthegovernmentfundedNSFNETtobe
decommissioned.Officialswerecarefultoensurethatnosinglecompanycontrolledtoomuchofthe
backbone,helpingtocreateacompetitivemarketforinternetconnectivitythatstillexiststoday.
Thesefourmapsillustratehowthemarkethadevolvedbytheturnofthecentury.Fourofthelargest
privatelongdistancenetworkproviderswereUUNet,AT&T,Sprint,andLevel3.Eachhaditsown

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 8/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

nationwide(andglobal)network,andtheycompetedwitheachothertoprovidelongdistance
vox
connectivitytosmallernetworks.UUNetbecamepartofWorldComin1996,andbecamepartof

Verizonin2006.Today,Verizonoperatesoneoftheworld'slargestinternetbackbones,incompetition
withAT&T,Sprint,Level3andmanyothercompanies.

The internet around the world

The internet conquers the world

reddituserDMan9797,basedonWorldBankdata

By2000,almosthalfofAmericanswereontheinternet,butordinarypeopleinmostothercountries
hadnotyetjoinedthenetwork.Therewerefewerthan400millioninternetusersworldwide.Since
then,theinternethasgonefromanAmericannetworktoatrulyglobalone.Thismapillustrateshow
theinternetcamefirsttowealthycountries,thentomiddleincomecountries,andfinallytopoor
countries.Today,therearemorethan2.5billioninternetusers,andhundredsofmillionsofnew
usersarejoiningeachyear.

10

How the world gets online: fixed broadband penetration in 2012

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 9/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

vox

JeffOgden

Therearetwobasicwayspeoplecanlogontotheinternet:throughafixedbroadbandconnectionat
homeorinanofficeandviaawirelessconnectiononacellphoneortablet.Thisdatafromthe
InternationalTelecommunicationsUnionshowshowpopularfixedinternetaccessisaroundtheworld.
Itshowsinternetaccessiswidespreadinmostpartsoftheworld,butisstillfairlyscarceinmuchof
subSaharanAfricaandtheMiddleEast.Fixedinternetaccessallowsmultipledevicesinacustomer's
hometoaccesstheinternet.Fixedconnectionsarealsoidealforstreamingvideoservicessuchas
Netflixbecausetheytendtohavegreatercapacitythanwirelessnetworks.

11

How the world gets online: mobile broadband penetration in 2012

JeffOgden

Thismapshowsthepercentageofconsumersaroundtheworldwhohavemobileinternetaccess
(notethatthecolorsonthismaparenotdirectlycomparabletothepreviousmap).Inthedeveloped
world,peopleusuallygotfixedinternetaccessfirstandobtainedmobileinternetdeviceslater.But
somedevelopingcountriesareskippingtheconstructionoffixedbroadbandnetworksaltogether.This
iscosteffectivebecauseasinglecellphonetowercanprovideservicetohundredsofcustomers.For
examle,2.7percentofEgyptianshavefixedbroadbandserviceathome,but10timesasmany
Egyptianshaveinternetaccessusingacellphone.ThestoryissimilarinGhana,Uzbekistan,
Indonesia,SouthAfrica,andNigeria.Mobileinternetaccesscanhaveprofoundimplicationsforpeople
inisolatedareas.Farmerscanusemobilephonestolearnaboutrecentmarketdevelopments,
increasingtheamounttheycangetfortheircrops.Somemobilephoneoperatorsalsooffer
sophisticatedpaymentcapabilities,allowingpeoplewhodon'thaveaccesstotheconventional
https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 10/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

bankingsystemtomakeelectronicpayments.Afewwealthycountries,includingJapan,SouthKorea,
vox
andSweden,thathavemoremobileinternetsubscriptionsthanpeople.Somecustomershavetwo

moreorsmartphones,tablets,orotherconnectedmobiledevices.

12

World broadband speeds, 2014

reddituserDMan9797,basedonSpeedtest.netdata

Internetaccessisalotfasterinsomeplacesthanothers.AccordingtoSpeedtest.net,awebsitethat
letsuserstesttheirowninternetconnections,thefastestinternetintheworldisinHongKong,with
anaverageofalmost80millionbitspersecond(Mbps).OtherhighspeedcountriesincludeJapan,
SouthKorea,Sweden,Romania,theNetherlands,andSwitzerland.TheUnitedStatesclocksinat
number30,withaveragespeedsof24Mbps.Thesefiguresareworthtakingwithagrainofsalt
becausethey'rebasedonaselfselectedsample.Usersmustvisitthespeedtest.netwebsitetotest
theirownbroadbandspeeds,anditstandstoreasonthatuserswithfastconnectionswouldbemost
likelytotryit.Still,thedatapermitsinterestingcrosscountrycomparisons.

13

Who controls IP addresses

ARIN

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 11/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

vox
Fortheinternettowork,everyoneneedsauniqueInternetProtocol(IP)address.Tocoordinatethe

distributionoftheseaddresses,theinternetisbrokenupintofivezones.Eachzonehasbeen
assignedhundredsofmillionsofIPaddressestomanage.Unfortunately,theoriginalinternet
architecture,calledIPv4,onlyallowsforabout4billionaddresses,andthenetworkhasnearly
exhaustedthesupply.TheproblemisparticularlygrowinginfastgrowingregionslikeAsia.Engineers
havedevelopedalongrunsolutiontothisproblem:switchingtoanewinternetstandardcalledIPv6.
IPv6offerssuchalargenumberofpotentialaddressesthattheworldwillneverrunout.Butadoption
ofIPv6hasbeenslow.Today,theoverwhelmingmajorityofinternettrafficusestheoldstandard.But
withfewIPv4addressesleft,peoplejoiningtheinternetinthefuturewillhavelittlechoicebuttouse
IPv6.

14

Domain names around the world

KlausWrle

IPaddresseshaveanumericformatlikethis:216.146.46.10.Butit'seasierforpeopletoremember
domainnamessuchasvox.com.Thedomainnamesystem(DNS)actslikeadirectorysystem,telling
computerswantingtoviewawebsitelikewww.vox.comwhatIPaddresstoaccess.Thesystemis
hierarchical:the.comdomainismanagedbyacompanycaledVerisign,whichhasdelegatedtoVox
themanagementofthevox.comdomain.Domainslike.com,.org,and.eduarecalledgenerictop
leveldomains,andtheyareespeciallypopularintheUnitedStates.Butothercountriesaremore
likelytousewhat'sknownascountrycodetopleveldomains(ccTLD).Everycountryintheworldhas
accTLD.ThismapshowstheccTLDsinEurope.Forexample,theUnitedKingdom'sccTLDis.uk,so
theBritishBroadcastingService'swebsitecanbefoundatwww.bbc.co.uk.

15

Some small island nations lend their domains to internet startups

MarcoPanizza

EvenverysmallcountriesgetccTLDs.Here'sacloseupoftheareaaroundAustraliaandthemany
smallislandnationsthathavetheirowndomainnames.Someofthesecountriesrealizedthatthey
couldmakealotofmoneyiftheyopenedtheirdomainstoforeigners.Theresult:popularwebsites
likelast.fm(.fmisthedomainoftheFederatedStatesofMicronesia)andtwitch.tv(.tvisthedomain
fortheislandnationofTuvalu).The.iodomain,assignedtotheBritishIndianOceanTerritory,has
becomepopularamongprogrammers.Theyassociatethedomainwiththetechnicalterm
input/outputanduseittocreate"artisinalwebsites."Clicktoseeafullworldmap.

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 12/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

16 ox
v

Fiber optic cables around the world

TeleGeography

Todaythefastestwaytotransmitinformationoverlongdistancesiswithfiberopticslong,thin
strandsofglassthatcarryinformationaspulsesoflight.Becauseasinglefibercantransmitasmuch
as100billionbitspersecond(100Gbps,abouttenthousandtimesfasterthanatypicalhome
broadbandconnection)andacablecancontainhundredsoffibers,asinglecablecanhaveenough
capacityforthecommunicationsofmillionsofusers.Allthatdatahasprovenirresistibletothe
NationalSecurityAgency,whichhasdevelopedavarietyoftechniquestoscoopupdataasitflows
throughfiberopticcables.

Threats to the internet

17

How internet access in Egypt was disrupted in 2008

Renesys

Fiberopticcablesarerelativelyfragile.In2008,twofiberopticcablesthatconnectMiddleEastern
countriestoIndiawerecut,leadingtodisruptionsformanyinternetusersinEgyptandIndia.Some
pressreportssuggestedthatthedamagewascausedbyaship'sanchorbeingdraggedalongthe
bottomoftheMediterranean,buttheEgyptianauthoritieshavesaidnoshipswereintheareaatthe
timethecablesweredamaged.Theexactcauseoftheoutageremainsamystery.

18
Countries at risk of getting disconnected from the internet

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 13/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

vox

Renesys

Sometimesinternetaccessisdisruptedduetoaccidents.Inothercases,it'sdeliberategovernment
policy.Forexample,duringthe2011TahrirSquareprotests,theEgyptiangovernmentcutoffEgypt's
connectionstotherestoftheinternet.ThiswaspossiblebecauseEgypt'slinkstotheoutsideworld
werecontrolledbyahandfuloflargecompanies.Thismapshowswhichcountrieshavefewenough
linkstotheoutsideworldtobeatriskofthiskindofcensorship.Somecountries,suchastheUnited
States,havedozensoflinkstotheoutsideworld,makingacoordinatedshutdownoftheUSinternet
almostimpossible.Othershavemanyfewerlinksandarecorrespondinglymorevulnerableto
censorship.

19

Syria's largest city dropped off the internet in 2013

Renesys

InApril2013,Syria'slargestcity,Aleppo,disappearedfromtheinternetforseveralhours,oneof
severaloutagesthathaveoccurredduringthecivilwarthere.ThesouthernpartsofSyriareceive
internetaccessfromunderseafiberopticcables,butAleppoaccessestheinternetviaaland
connectiontoTurkey.It'snotcleariftheoutagewasduetoaccidentaldamagefromfightinginthe
area,orwhethertheregimeofBasharalAssadhaddeliberatelydisruptedrebelheldAleppo's
internetaccess.AstheWashingtonPost'sAndreaPetersonputsit,"InternetoutagesinSyriahavea
curioushistoryofhappeningattimesconvenientfortheAssadregime."

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 14/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

20 ox
v

How Superstorm Sandy looked to the internet

ZakirDurumeric,EricWustrow,andJ.AlexHalderman

WhenSuperstormSandyhitNewJerseyinOctober2012,itknockedanumberofcomputersoffthe
internet.AteamofcomputerscientistsattheUniversityofMichiganhadrecentlybuiltZMap,atool
thatallowedthemtoscaneverycomputerontheinternetinlessthananhour.Thatallowedthemto
makethismap,whichshowslocationswherethenumberofwebserversrunningtheSSLencryption
softwaredeclinedby30percentormore,whichturnsouttobeagoodproxyforheavystorm
damage.

21

Internet censorship around the world

FreedomHouse

InmostWesterncountries,theinternetisafreespeechzonewhereordinarypeoplecanexpress
themselveswithoutfearofcensorship.Butthat'snottrueeverywhere.ThismapfromFreedom
Housedetailswhichcountriesrespectfreedomofspeechandwhichcountriesfloutit.Cubaand
severalcountriesinSoutheastAsiaandtheMiddleEastengageinpervasivecensorshipandare
markedinpurple.China,forexample,hasa"greatfirewall"thatmakesitdifficultforitscitizensto
readaboutsensitivetopicssuchastheFalunGongorthe1989TiananmenSquaremassacre.Other
countrieshaveapartiallyfreeinternet.InRussia,forexample,thegovernmenthasengagedinmore
aggressiveinternetcensorshipsinceVladimirPutinreturnedtopowerin2012.

22

Countries that block social media sites

MotherJones

ThesocialmediasitesFacebook,YouTube,andTwitterarefrequenttargetsforcensorious
governments.ThismapfromMotherJonesshowswhichcountriesrestricttheirusersfromaccessing
thesesites.Chinadoesn'tjustblockaccesstoWesternsocialmediasites,ithasalsocultivatedhome
grownalternativesthatareunderthethumboftheChineseauthorities.Thesesocialmediasites
enableuserstoengageinrelativelyunfettereddiscusion,buttheprovidersarerequiredto
participateinanelaboratemonitoringandcensorshipregimetoensurethatsensitivetopicsdonot
receivewidespreaddiscussion.

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 15/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

vox

The geography of online services

23

Silicon Valley, the capital of the internet

Vox

Theprivatizationoftheinternettransformedwhathadbeenanobscureacademicnetworkintoa
hotbedofcommercialinnovation.Inthelate1990s,hundredsofnewcompaniessprouteduptotake
advantageoftheseopportunities.AndmanyofthemwereclusteredinSiliconValley,astripofland
onthepeninsulasouthofSanFrancisco.Inthemid1990s,SiliconValleywasalreadyhometo
establishedtechnologycompanieslikeIntel,Apple,Adobe,andCisco.Thedotcomboombroughta
newcropofcompanies,includingYahoo,eBay,andGoogle.Sincetheturnofthecentury,newer
companiessuchasFacebookandNesthavebeenfoundedinSiliconValleytoo.Mozilla,thenonprofit
organizaitonbehindthepopularFirefoxbrowser,isbasedinMountainView,notfarfromGoogle.

24

"Silicon Valley" is moving downtown

Vox

Weuse"SiliconValley"asashorthandforthetechnologycompaniesintheSanFranciscoBayArea,
butthemonikerisbecomingincreasinglyoutofdate.Since2000,agrowingshareofinternet
startupsarebeingformednotinsuburbslikeMountainVieworPaloAltobutintheheartofSan
Francisco.Twitter,Dropbox,Yelp,andAirbnbareallsuccessfultechnologycompaniesthathavebeen
foundedinthelastdecade.Andthey'realllocatedwithinacoupleofmilesofoneanotherinaSan
FrancisconeighborhoodcalledSoma(forSouthofMarket).ThenonprofitWikimediaFoundation,
foundedin2003tomanageWikipedia,isalsolocatedhere.Onebigreasonthisneighborhoodhas
emergedasSanFrancisco'sinnovatincenterisitsproximitytotheCaltrainstationat4thandKing
Streets.Thestationprovideseasyaccesstotheventurecapitalistsandestablishedcompaniesatthe
otherendoftheCaltrainlineinSiliconValley.

25

Watch Google Chrome take over the web

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 16/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

vox
Statcounter

Forthefirstdecadeofthe21stcentury,theinternetwasdominatedbyMicrosoftInternetExplorer.
In2009,thesoftwarewasthemostpopularwaytobrowsethewebinmostcountries,withFirefox
popularinsomepartsofEasternEuropeandAsia.SincethenGoogle'sChromebrowser,whichfirst
releasedin2008,hasexplodedinpopularity.Itisnowthemostpopularbrowserinalmostevery
developedcountry.Ontheotherhand,inmuchofsubSaharanAfrica,themostpopularbrowseris
Opera.Thisisprobablybecausemanypeopleinthesecountriesaccesstheinternetusingtheircell
phones,andOperaoffersamobilebrowserthatworkswellonlowendsmartphones.

26

Most popular mobile phone brands

Statcounter

Rightnow,threecompaniesdominatetheglobalmarketformobilephones,andthey'velargely
dividedthemarketbyincome.Inwealthycountries,Apple'siPhoneispopular.Inmiddleincome
countries,especiallyinLatinAmerica,EasternEurope,andtheMiddleEast,Samsungdeviceshave
thelead.Inpoorcountries,especiallyinsubSaharanAfrica,Nokiaoftendominates.Thesedataare
basedonwebbrowsingpatterns,soitmaynotbeaperfectreflectionofthenumberofunitssoldby
thesecompanies.

27

Watch Facebook take over the internet

VincenzoConsenza

In2009,Facebookwasalreadyoneofthemostpopularsocialnetworksintheworld,butoverthelast
fiveyearsithasbecometotallydominant.Forexample,in2009BrazilwasdominatedbyOrkut,a
socialnetworkcreatedbyGooglein2004.ButFacebooksurpassedOrkutinBrazilin2011.Onefactor
inFacebook'sgrowingglobalpopularlityisFacebookZero.Underthisprogram,Facebookpaysthe
datachargesforuserswhologintoastrippeddownversionofFacebookfromtheirmobilephones.
TheprogramhasmadeFacebookaccessibletomillionsofuserswhowouldn'totherwisebeableto
affordit.

28

Here's where your data lives

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 17/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

vox
Vox

Ifyou'veentrustedyourdatatoGoogle,Facebook,Yahoo,orMicrosoft,there'sagoodchanceit's
storedatalocationmarkedbyoneofthesepins.Smallerwebcompaniesstoretheirserversindata
centersmanagedbythirdparties,buttheinternet'slargestcompanieshavetheirowndedicateddata
centerswithhundredsofthousandsofserversinthem.Thesedatacentersarelocatedaroundthe
world.Thathastwoadvantages.First,locatingdatacentersclosetousersallowsdatatobedelivered
morequickly.Second,ithelpsprovideredundancy:ifuserdataiskeptinmultiplelocaitons,itwillbe
safeevenintheeventofacatastrophicfailureatonedatacenter.Onthismap,Googledatacenters
arered,Microsoftdatacentersareyellow,Yahoodatacentersarepurple,andFacebookdatacenters
areblue.Thisisnotanexhaustivelistofthesecompanies'facilities.Allofthesecompaniesare
secretiveabouttheiroperationaldetails,andsosomeofthecompanies'datacenterlocationshaven't
beenpubliclydisclosed.

29

Data centers in the United States

Vox

Thebiggestinternetcompanieshavedatacentersaroundtheworld,butadisproportionateshareof
theirdatacentersarelocatedintheUnitedStates.AndAmericandatacentersareclusteredinafew
states,notablyOregon,Iowa,andtheCarolinas.Thesestateshaveseveralimportantadvantages.
Oneischeappower.Forexample,Oregonhascheaphydroelectricpowerthathasattractedseveral
companiestoOregon.IowaandNorthCarolinaalsoofferaffordableelectricity.Taxbreaksplayarole
aswellIowarecentlyluredabilliondollarMicrosoftdatacenterbyoffering$20millionintax
incentives.

How America gets online

30

Broadband penetration in the United States

BroadbandpenetrationintheUnitedStates

NationalTelecommunicationsandInformationAdministration,DepartmentofCommerce

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 18/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

vox
ThismapshowswhatpercentageofAmericanhomeshadbroadbandinternetaccessin2011.

BroadbandpenetrationintheUSisheavilylinkedtogeography.TheWest,Northeast,andupper
midwesthavethehighestbroadbandadoption,whilehighspeedinternetaccessislesscommonin
thesouth.

31

Broadband isn't available everywhere

Broadbandisn'tavailableeverywhere

FederalCommunicationsCommission

OnereasonforthelowlevelsofbroadbandsubscriptioninsomepartsoftheUnitedStatesis
availability.Attheendof2011,therewerestillsignificantpartsofthecountrywherefixed
broadbandservicewasn'toffered.SatelliteinternetserviceisavailablealmosteveryoneintheUnited
States,butittendstobealotmoreexpensivethanfixedbroadbandconnections.Andthelong
delaysinsatellitecommunicationsmakeitunsuitableforinteractiveapplicationssuchasvideogames
andvoicecalls.Notethatthedataonthismapshouldbetakenwithagrainofsalt.It'sthebestdata
wehaveavailable,butit'sbasedonselfreporteddatafromISPsthatisn'talwaysaccurate.

32

Most popular ISPs in the US

MostpopularISPsintheUS

WebpageFX

InternetaccessintheUnitedStatesisdominatedbytwobigtelephonecompaniesAT&Tand
VerizonandtwobigcablecompaniesComcastandTimeWarnerCable.Together,thosefour
companiesaccountformorethantwothirdsofallresidentialinternetsubscriptionsintheUnited
States.Cablecompaniesaccountforalmost60percentofsubscriptions,withtelephonecompanies
accountingformostoftheremainder.Thesestatisticsactuallyoverstatetheamountofbroadband
competitionintheUnitedStates,becausealthoughthereareaboutadozenISPswithatleasta
millionsubscribers,mosthouseholdsdon'thavemorethantwooptionsforhighspeedresidential
internetaccess:alocalcablemonopolyandalocalphonemonopoly.Cablecompaniesgenerallydon't
trytoenterareasalreadyservedbyothercablecompanies,nordotelephonecompaniestrytopoach
customersfromothertelephoneproviders.

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 19/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

33 ox
v

Google Fiber cities

GoogleFibercities

Google

Forthemostpart,thebroadbandmarketisdominatedbythesamephoneandcablecompaniesthat
havedominatedtelecommunicationsfordecades.Butonebigadditiontothebroadbandmarketis
Google,whichlaunchedafiberopticnetworkinKansasCityin2012.Sincethen,thesearchgianthas
addednetworksinAustin,TX,andProvo,UT.AndGoogleisconsideringexpandingintoabout10
othermetroareasintheAmericansouthandwest.

34

Municipal fiber networks

Municipalfibernetworks

InstituteforLocalSelfReliance

Frustratedwithpoorserviceofferedbyincumbentbroadbandproviders,about400municipalities
acrossthecountryhavebuilttheirowngovernmentownedbroadbandnetworks.While400might
seemlikeabignumber,mostofthesetownsarequitesmall.Thelargest,Chattanooga,TN,onlyhas
about170,000residents,andsomehaveasfewas200.Sothose400townsaccountforatiny
fractionoftheUSpopulation.Someofthesenetworksareextremelyfast.Forexample,residentsof
Chattanoogacangeta1000Mbpsconnectionabout50timesfasterthanatypicalconnection
elsewhereinthecountryfor$70permonth.Clickforaninteractiveversionofthemap.

35

Where municipal fiber is restricted

Wheremunicipalfiberisrestricted

InstituteforLocalSelfReliance

Incumbentbroadbandprovidershavereactedtothemunicipalbroadbandtrendbyarguingthatit's
notfairforgovernmentstocompetewiththeprivatesector.In19states,statelegislatureshave
respondedwithlegislationrestrictingmunicipalitiesfrombuildingtheirownbroadbandnetworks.
Thathastakensomeofthewindoutofthesailsofthemunicipalbroadbandmovement,butnew
municipalnetworkskeeppoppingupinstateswherethelawallowsthem.
https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 20/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

vox

How we use the internet

36

Twerking vs. Syria

Twerkingvs.Syria

FloatingSheep.org

SocialmediasiteslikeTwitterenablealotofpublicdiscussionoftheimportantissuesoftheday.But
theyalsoenableanevenlargerquantityoffrivolousconversation.LastSeptemberwasagood
example.Thenationwasdiscussingtwobigtopics:possibleUSinvolvementinathewarinSyriaand
MileyCyrus'sscandalousdancemoves.InWashingtonDC,SyriaconversationsonTwitterwereway
morecommonthantwerkingconversations.Buttwerkingwasamorepopularsubjectinmostother
states.

37

Watch people wake up on Twitter

WatchpeoplewakeuponTwitter

Oneoftheamazingthingsabouttheinternetisthewayitpermitsthecollectionandaggregationof
largescaledataabouthumanbehavior.Forexample,thismapshowswherepeoplearetweeting
aboutsunrisesoverthecourseofa24hourperiod.There'sayellowflashofsunrisetweetswhenever
thesunrisesabovethehorizoninapartoftheworld.Youcanseeaninteractiveversionofthismap
here.

38

Porn consumption by state

Pornconsumptionbystate

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 21/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

vox
Pornhub

Viewingpornographyisoneofthemostpopularusesoftheinternet.Thismapshowsdatafromthe
popularpornsitePornhub.ThedatasuggestthatliberalstatessuchasIllinoisandMassachusettsare
theheaviestpornographyconsumers,whileconservativestatessuchasIdahoandSouthDakota
consumetheleastpornography.TheaverageMassachusettsresidentisresponsibleforalmosttwice
asmanypageviewspercapitaastheaverageIdahoresident.(I'veomittedKansasduetoa
methodologicalproblemwithPornhub'sdata.)

39

What Wikipedia knows

WhatWikipediaknows

OxfordInternetInstitute

Wikipediaisaglobalonlineencyclopediathatanyonecanedit,andithaseditionsinmorethan280
languages.Manyarticlesare"geotagged"withaphysicallocation.ResearchersattheOxfordInternet
Instituteplottedthesepointsonamap,providingabeautifulmapofthelocationsthataresubjects
ofWikipediaarticles.Unsurprisingly,Wikipediacontributorswritingindifferentlanguagesfocuson
differentpartsoftheworld.MostoftheyellowdotsfromthePersianeditionofWikipediaareinor
nearIran.FrenchWikipediahasmoreinformationaboutcontinentalEuropewhileEnglishWikipedia
dominatesEnglishspeakingcountries.Thedensityofinformationreflectedbythismapisamazing.
WikipediahasarticlesaboutalmosteverypartoftheEarththat'sinhabitedbyhumanbeings,and
thismapwouldlikelybeevendenserifitincludedothermajorlanguagessuchasSpanish,Russian,
andChinese.

40

Languages of the world according to Twitter

LanguagesoftheworldaccordingtoTwitter

EricFischer

Here'sanothermapshowingwhichlanguagespeoplearoundtheworlduseonline.Eachdotonthe
maprepresentsaclusteroftweets,andthecolorrepresentsthelanguagespokeninthosetweets.
Englishisubiquitousonline,soFischerchoseaneutralgreycolorforitsoitwouldn'toverpowerthe
othercolors.Fischerdidn'texplicitlylabelthecountriesonthemap,butit'sstilleasytoseenational
borders.Youcanalsoseemsignificantlinguisticminorities.Forexample,ifyouclickthelinkforthe
fullmap,youcanseewherepeoplespeakFrenchinCanada.

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 22/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

vox

Learn more

40 maps that explain the Middle East

The new battle for the future of the internet

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 23/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

vox

Everything you need to know about the internet

BACKTOTOP

Credits

Editor Eleanor Barkhorn

Designer Uy Tieu

Developer Yuri Victor

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 24/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 25/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 26/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 27/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 28/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 29/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 30/31
5/24/2017 40mapsthatexplaintheinternet

https://www.vox.com/a/internetmaps 31/31