Technology
The Spatial Distribution of Internet Infrastructure and Digital Divides
Quick fact
Over 95% of intercontinental internet data travels through a network of only about 400 submarine cables, many of which are clustered along established trade routes, creating physical bottlenecks.
Why this is interesting
On the internet, data can circle the globe in under a second—yet a peasant in rural Africa might wait minutes to load a webpage that a New Yorker opens instantly. Why does the digital world have such wildly different speeds?