Key Idea: The internet was designed so that no single machine mattered. The routing layer is still decentralised and the service layer is not — so the design's guarantee no longer covers what people actually depend on.
Paper 1
- Part a: distinguish the internet from the web
- Part b: explain why protocols matter more than hardware
- Part c: is the internet decentralised, or should access be a right?
Paper 2
- Q2: explain a source's claim about providers or outages
- Q3: compare sources on openness and control
- Q4: synthesise sources on internet governance
Everywhere else
- Space: the route is one of the four access choke points
- Politics: providers are where a state can instruct
- Conflict: infrastructure attacks reach civilians directly
Two layers, two different stories
| Routing layer | Service layer | |
|---|---|---|
| Design goal | Survive the loss of any machine | None — services were run by whoever used them |
| Today | Still decentralised | Concentrated in a few providers |
| When one fails | Traffic finds another path | Many unrelated services stop at once |
| Who can be instructed | Nobody in particular | A handful of identifiable companies |
The design solved the problem it was given, and the problem changed. Saying that is more accurate than claiming the designers failed to anticipate the future.
Where control actually sits
Four points at which the network can be controlled
- Providers — all of a user's traffic passes through a few licensed companies located inside a country.
- Hosting and delivery — a small number of firms carry most of what people use, so instructing them reaches everybody at once.
- Naming — the system that turns names into addresses has central points.
- Ranking — what is findable is decided by search, so publishing without being indexed reaches nobody.
Important: The core protocols assumed a network of trusted institutions, so identity was never built in. Changing them would require every machine to change at once, which is why the gap is repaired at every layer above instead.
Exam-style questions
Suggest two reasons why an organization may not know which infrastructure providers it depends on.
🔒 Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Justify the claim that internet access should carry obligations on providers similar to those on a water or electricity supplier.
🔒 Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Quick check
Internet or web? The internet is the network and its protocols; the web is one service on it. Email uses the internet and not the web.
Why does routing redundancy not help in an outage? Traffic reaches the provider perfectly well. The provider is the thing that has stopped.
Why are providers the control point? All traffic passes through a few identifiable, licensed companies — so control there is cheap and complete.
Why is the absence of built-in identity still a problem? Changing a core protocol needs every machine to change at once, so the gap is patched at every layer above instead.
Exam tips
- Separate the routing layer from the service layer in your first sentence. Several questions in this topic become straightforward.
- 'The design solved the problem it was given, and the problem changed' is the fair criticism.
- Access questions: name which of the four choke points you mean.