Introduction
Have you ever thought about who runs the internet? Who controls the
internet worldwide? Maybe you could think that internet provider companies like
Jio, Airtel, and BSNL control the internet. But this isn't true because if one
company stops providing it, other companies are present. Then, you'd think
maybe our government controls it, but that isn't true either. At most, the
government can remove 2-3 Facebook posts or block websites. But these can be
bypassed easily and this does not amount to control over the internet
worldwide.
Major Internet Companies
Then, you could think that companies like Google, Facebook, and YouTube
control it because they have the largest data. But that isn't true either
because you can build a website of your own and these companies would not be
able to interfere in it. So, the question is when you are building a website of
your own, who is providing you with the space to create the website on the Internet?
Is there a website that can tell you which website you can build and which
website you cannot?
Domain Names
The internet is an important innovation or you can say a tool which helps
in maintaining freedom and democracy worldwide. Some countries keep their
citizens blocked off completely from certain websites. Some websites like
Google, YouTube, and Facebook are permanently blocked there because the Chinese
government wants to brainwash its citizens in a particular way. Therefore, I
think it's essential to understand how the Internet works and what it is. There
is a URL/link to www.youtube.com. "YouTube" here, is called a domain
name and the ".com" is called the top-level domain. If you want to
build your website, then you will have to buy your domain name from websites that
sell domain names, like GoDaddy.com.
The Role of ICANN
Now the question is, who gave GoDaddy the authority to sell domain names?
Who is GoDaddy to sell domain names? There must be someone who gives assent to
GoDaddy to sell domain names. And if there's no one, then GoDaddy has become
the boss of the internet in a way. That is, it would be the one to sell domain
names as well as decide who can own which website. But this isn't so. There is
another authority above it. The name of this authority is ICANN, the Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). This is a non-profit
organization based in Los Angeles. You could say that this is the top-level
authority regarding the Internet. It has the power to authorize which websites
can sell domain names. There could be .com, .in, .info, or .gov. All of this is
decided by ICANN. For example, we may make a website with .gov in its name. We
may build domain names with .com in it.
Structure of the Internet
ICANN sells top-level domain names to the rest of the companies by
bidding. The companies that it sells to are called "registries".
Below the registries are the registrars. Companies like GoDaddy.com can sell
both top-level domains as well as domain names to the people. So, is ICANN the
God of the internet? This cannot be said because the internet is a very
decentralized network. All the mobile phones and computers that are connected
to the internet make up the internet providers. You could call it a
"server". Your mobile phones and computers are data centres and
servers that are connected through wires. Huge underwater cables have been laid
worldwide across the continents that connect the computers worldwide to one
another which make up the internet.
Mobile Internet
How do the networks work? Mobile phones operate through mobile towers
and offer 3G and 4G, which do not have an extremely wide range. Your mobile
phones have the 3G/4G signal only when you are close to the mobile towers. But
if you move a little further away, then the signals on your phone won't show
up. So, the towers of mobile phones are connected to wires and they are
eventually connected to those wires that are connected to the wires connected
worldwide. So, in a way, you could say that the company that has laid down
these wires holds a huge amount of significant power because it is supplying Comcast Xfinity Internet's best broadband deals to many different places.
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
The companies lay down cables on land to help the optimum internet near me reach every household by connecting these wires to the main cable and connecting your computers to the internet worldwide. They too hold a huge amount of significant power. They are called Internet service providers (ISPs). These would be companies like Airtel, Jio, Att fibre internet, Starlink internet and BSNL that supply Tmobile home internet/Verizon home internet. And yes, they do hold significant power because these ISPs can block certain websites upon the direction of the Government if the Government says so. However, they do not hold sufficient powers to control a lot of things because you could use VPNs to overcome the blockages of the ISPs.
IP Addresses and Internet
Just like every mobile phone has a number from which you can call another
mobile phone, similarly, every device that is connected to the internet has an
IP address. Be it your computer, your smartphone, or any other server like a
data centre, if it's connected to the spectrum internet, it will have an IP
address. Each website too has an IP address. Humans cannot read IP addresses
because it is written in digits and numbers. So, the domain name is a
human-readable form of an IP address. When you type the domain name of a
website in your browser, then the thing that converts the domain name into the
IP address is called the Domain Name Server (DNS). Sometimes the Internet
Service Providers block certain websites from the DNS so that when you type the
domain name, it is not able to link it to the particular IP address. So, the
DNS of the Internet Service Providers blocks you from reaching certain
websites.
0 Comments