[kictanet] Who Controls the Internet?

[waudo siganga]

Interesting article in Today's UK Guardian Newspaper.

Ahead of a [1]Google+ Hangout on the [2]battle for the internet, Jemima
Kiss looks at how tech giants are fighting for supremacy

Have you ever noticed that wherever you are in the world, every
telephone keypad looks the same? Or wondered why satellites don't crash
into each other? Or why you dial 64 to reach New Zealand, but 65 for
Singapore? These are some of the mundane but essential logistical
achievements of the [3]International Telecommunication Union, a
specialist UN agency that dates back to 1865.

Yet as it gears up for its first global conference in 14 years, the ITU
has found itself under unprecedented attack. The first assailant is the
powerful US technology lobby. Companies, including Google, are claiming
that new ITU proposals would mean [4]internet companies paying hefty
fees to local telecoms companies, reigniting historic tensions between
US internet giants and incumbent telecoms firms across the world.

But that's not the only battle that will be played out this December
when the ITU's 193 member states gather in Dubai. Russia and China have
been explicit in their goal of taking control of the internet away from
the US, while developing countries feel the western technology hegemony
is limiting their economic opportunities. With the world's internet
population predicted to reach 3.4 billion by 2016, there is everything
to play for.
[5]http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/oct/17/who-rules-internet

References

1. https://plus.google.com/events/ccctkbj9ldslvsm392t6mae48ac
2. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/series/battle-for-the-internet
3. http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.itu.int%2Fen%2FPages%2Fdefault.aspx&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGkPS1MSVqJVle3MAJ6siz-iQ55Bw
4. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/internet
5. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/oct/17/who-rules-internet
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