The map shows the paths taken by the long-distance fiber-optic cables that carry Internet data across the continental U.S. internet.įor MIT Technology Review, Tom Simonite writes that computer scientist Paul Barford and his colleagues took four years to produce the map.
Computer scientists at the University of Wisconsin just released the first public map of the infrastructure that supports the heart of the U.S. Yet it is possible to map almost anything, including the internet. Although the internet is now a ubiquitous part of many people’s lives, it still can be tricky to think about as a whole, especially for those seeking to visualize it.