The Infrastructure of the Internet: Telecommunications Facilities and Uneven Access

互联网基础设施：电信设施与接入不均

• 批准号: 9911222
• 负责人: Edward Malecki
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Florida
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2000
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2000-04-01 至 2001-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9911222&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Infrastructure; Internet; Telecommunications; Facilities; Uneven

The Internet may be available to anyone with a telephone line, but the speed at which Web pages come to residential and small business computers depends on the links that connect each user to the Internet. This research examines the geography of the Internet, specifically its three layers and the interconnections between those layers. The three layers, or scales of analysis, of the Internet's infrastructure include: the backbone layer, the point of presence (POP) layer, and the central office switch level. The project organizes and analyzes these layers using a geographic information system (GIS) to address three questions. (1) What is the degree of variation in access to the infrastructure of the Internet, including broadband (high-speed) access? (2) To what degree is that access dependent on the national, regional, and local layers of telecommunications infrastructure? (3) Why does access vary over space?The research first analyzes Internet backbones to determine the Internet accessibility of urban areas across the USA via fiber-optic lines, which vary in their bandwidth, or speed. The backbone networks link with the local telephone networks and their central office switches, which households and small businesses must use dial-up service, but which vary in digital capability. This project identifies the types of customers - office-based businesses, such as producer services and call centers, and high-density, high-income residential areas - that have been targeted for broadband. Taken together, the research identifies micro-to-macro "paths" to the Internet, differentiated by infrastructure quality or bandwidth. By analyzing historical data, the project analyzes the diffusion of Internet and particularly its broadband technology. The results from this project will generate basic understanding on Internet access or uneven access on a national basis and will contribute to the current issue of "digital divide".

任何有电话线的人都可以使用互联网，但是网页进入住宅和小型企业计算机的速度取决于将每个用户连接到互联网的链接。本研究考察了互联网的地理分布，特别是它的三个层次和这些层次之间的相互联系。Internet基础设施的三层或分析尺度包括：骨干层、存在点（POP）层和中心局交换机层。该项目使用地理信息系统（GIS）组织和分析这些层，以解决三个问题。(1)包括宽带（高速）接入在内的互联网基础设施接入的差异程度如何？(2)这种接入在多大程度上依赖于国家、区域和地方电信基础设施层？(3)为什么访问会因空间而异？该研究首先分析了互联网主干，以确定美国城市地区通过光纤线路的互联网可访问性，这些光纤线路的带宽或速度各不相同。骨干网与本地电话网及其中央办公室交换机连接，家庭和小型企业必须使用拨号服务，但数字能力各不相同。该项目确定了以宽带为目标的客户类型——以办公室为基础的企业，如生产性服务和呼叫中心，以及高密度、高收入的住宅区。总的来说，这项研究确定了从微观到宏观的互联网“路径”，根据基础设施质量或带宽进行区分。通过分析历史数据，该项目分析了互联网的扩散，特别是其宽带技术。该项目的结果将使人们对互联网接入或国家基础上的不均衡接入有基本的了解，并将有助于解决当前的“数字鸿沟”问题。