Introduction
Over the past two and a half decades, the internet has evolved and grown into something barely recognizable from its humble beginnings.
Trying to understand what the Internet is and how it works can be incredibly confusing.
But who really owns the internet? For various reasons, this question is difficult to answer.
Who Is The Owner Of Internet ?
So who really owns the Internet? There are two answers to this question:
- No one
- Many people
No one
If you think of the Internet as a single, single entity, then it belongs to no one. There are organizations that define the structure of the Internet and how it works, but they don’t own the Internet itself.
Neither the government nor the company can claim ownership of the Internet. The Internet is like a telephone system no one owns everything.
Many people
From another perspective, thousands of people and organizations own the Internet. The Internet is made up of many different pieces, each with an owner.
Some of these owners may control the quality and level of your Internet access. They may not own the entire system, but they can affect your browsing experience.
Who Is The Owner Of Internet In The World ?
The physical network that carries Internet traffic between different computer systems is the backbone of the Internet. In the early days of the Internet, ARPANET served as the backbone of the system.
Today, several large corporations supply the routers and cables that make up the backbone of the Internet. These companies are upstream Internet Service Providers (ISPs). This means that anyone who wants to access the internet will eventually have to work with these companies, including:
- UUNET
- Level 3
- Verizon
- AT&T
- Quest
- Sprint
- IBM
Then you have all the smaller ISPs. Many individuals and businesses subscribe to ISPs that are not part of the Internet backbone. These ISPs negotiate with upstream ISPs for Internet access.
Cable and DSL companies are examples of small ISPs. These companies are concerned with what the industry calls the last mile, the distance between the end consumer and the Internet connection.
The individual computer networks that make up the Internet may have owners. Each provider has its own network. Several governments control computer networks.
Many companies have local area networks (LANs) that are connected to the Internet. Each of these networks is both parts of the Internet and a separate entity.
Depending on local laws, the owners of these networks can control the level of access users have to the Internet.
You can consider yourself the owner of the Internet. Do you have a device that you use to connect to the Internet?
If so, it means that your device is becoming part of a huge internetwork system.
You are the proud owner of a piece of the Internet.
it’s just a very small part.
Who Is The Owner Of Internet In India ?
The Internet in India appeared in 1986 and was available only to the educational and research community.
Internet general access began on August 15, 1995, and as of 2020, there are 718.74 million active Internet users, representing 54.29% of the population.
As of May 2014, the Internet is delivered to India mainly on 9 different submarine fibers including SEA-ME-WE 3, Bay of Bengal Gateway, and Europe-India Gateway which reach 5 different landing points.
India also has one terrestrial Internet connection in the city of Agartala near the border with Bangladesh.
The Government of India has launched projects such as BharatNet, Digital India, Mad India, and Startup India to further accelerate the growth of the internet ecosystem.
Who Is The Owner Of Internet In Pakistan ?
The Internet has been available in Pakistan since the early 1990s. Pakistan has about 118.8 million internet users making it the 8th largest population of internet users in the world.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is one of the fastest-growing industries in the country. In 2001, only 1.3% of the population used the Internet, by 2006 this figure had risen to 6.5%, and in 2012 to 10.0%.
As of July 2021, the percentage of Internet users in Pakistan is 54%, which means that about 118 million citizens have access to the Internet.
Conslusion
The short answer is that the Internet is owned by a few large companies. The vast majority of Internet infrastructure is owned by a very small number of large communications companies.
When it comes to who has power over the Internet, again, the answer is a very small group of companies.
While governments are trying to regulate certain aspects of the Internet, the law has not kept pace with the evolution of the Internet.
This means that now only four or five companies control most of the Internet.
It is much more difficult to determine ownership with data than with physical cables, especially since laws vary from country to country.
But, again, when it comes to data ownership on the Internet, the same companies are the answer, at least for the most part.
