Making the next-gen Internet happen: open standards, neutrality & cooperation

In my last two articles I briefly explained what the “metaverse” (or, as I call it, the immersive Internet) is and what technologies and infrastructure are necessary to deliver its life-like virtual experiences. As I mentioned in my last article, the infrastructure of today’s commercial Internet is already the largest infrastructure project in the history of humanity. But even this massive and often high-performance infrastructure will not be enough to power the immersive Internet of the future. So, what is now needed is the collaboration of all players in the infrastructure industry to make the next generation of the Internet happen.

Community and alliances for infrastructure density & innovation

To create an experience that is seamless and authentic, digital infrastructure providers need to build out densely and globally distributed interconnected infrastructure. Taken together, this creates a densely woven global mesh of infrastructure that encompasses different network technologies working in concert, different sizes of datacenters moving closer to the end user, and interconnection platforms offering an increasing array of specialized and customized interconnection services to meet the demands of businesses and organizations across all sectors. I am convinced that no single digital infrastructure operator can hope to offer all of this on their own. Instead, we are now entering the age of infrastructure community and alliances, leaving behind the silo-mentality of infrastructure incumbency.

All digital infrastructure providers are called upon to continue their programs of expansion to offer increased access to digital services across a larger and denser geographical scope. We are currently seeing productive 5G networks, an accelerating rollout of LEO satellite networks, and all manner of new sub-sea cables being laid on ocean beds around the world. For the future demands on data transfer, all of this and more will be needed, intelligently networked and orchestrated. While infrastructure providers everywhere need to ensure they maintain their business case and are ahead of their own competition, what is nonetheless required is a healthy mix of cooperation and convergence. In the long run, all networks need to cooperate in an increasingly fine-grained manner to enable access to the Internet of the future.

When it comes to interconnection, neutrality and innovation are key. If the required density of interconnection platforms for the immersive Internet is to be reached, we need them to be open to every infrastructure player – regardless of the carrier, network operator, or data center in question. At DE-CIX, we are already working on our contribution towards this vision of a global digital future. We are taking a two-pronged approach to achieve this: firstly, through geographical densification – bringing our carrier and data center neutral services out of the major metropolitan hubs and into the regions, extending our footprint not only globally, but also locally, collaborating with other Internet Exchange operators in markets where we do not have our own infrastructure, and taking interconnection closer to the edge by operating IXs for partners as a service. Secondly, through the development of innovative interconnection services, tailor-made to support enterprises in overcoming the challenges they face with digital transformation. Through the growing number of our own locations as well as the locations available through our extensive partner program, a mesh network is unfolding which can provide interconnection services where and when they are needed. Connected networks are thus able to provide their services wherever their customers require them – as locally as possible, and as globally as required.

But it’s not only about infrastructure!

I believe that the infrastructure community has what it takes to build alliances based on openness and neutrality and is ready to do their part in building the technological backbone for the future of the Internet. But it’s not only about infrastructure! The principles of open standards, neutrality, and interoperability that a lot of the infrastructure community is built upon also need to be taken into consideration when we look at the application layer of the immersive Internet. If it’s left to just a few major players to decide upon the future form of the immersive Internet, then what will develop will be a walled garden, not an open and accessible environment. And while there is a legitimate need for companies to protect their interests in the Internet of the future, there also is a need to preserve the openness and neutrality of the Internet as a whole, and to ensure flexibility for users. With Web 2.0 applications like social networks and cloud services, we have already seen what happens when interoperability and data portability are not at the core of an iteration of Internet services. This led to massive concerns and e.g. slowed down the move of enterprise IT and applications to the cloud due to a fear of vendor lock-in. Had this development been handled differently, there would have been no need for projects like Gaia-X in Europe, which aims at making services interoperable and guaranteeing the portability of data in order to easily change providers.

And think about it: The very foundations of the Internet are openness, interoperability, and standardization. They are the reason for the development we have seen in the past few decades: the commercial Internet is now accessible by around five billion people across the planet and the infrastructure to power it stands as a modern wonder of the world. In my opinion, it only makes sense to build the next generation of the Internet on the same foundation, and we at DE-CIX are at the starting gates: ready to collaborate with you and play our role in it. Let’s work together to make the future and build the infrastructure for as yet unimaginable digital experiences and applications – be it getting a real-time virtual lesson from your favorite tennis star, or having an experienced surgeon perform remote surgery without the need to travel. Get in touch if you’re interested in building this future together!