Many people think that internet in the US is the fastest in the world. The truth is that the internet network in the United States is fundamentally broken. It requires huge investments in order to compete with the nationwide networks of Norway, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and many other developed countries. You can use an internet speed test if you’re curious about your own bandwidth speed.
Such a slow internet often obstructs the implementation of various advanced systems, processes and technologies. Since big data requires a complex infrastructure and extremely high computer performance, storing, structuring and analysis processes are sometimes directly affected by the low internet speeds and various other forms of outdated technology.
Why is U.S. internet so slow?
While Tier 1 and Tier 2 networks work relatively fine, the so called last mile part of the network drastically decreases overall internet speed. This is the last stretch of infrastructure that connects individual homes and corporate offices with the rest of the network and brings worldwide data directly to our modems.
A huge part of this last mile infrastructure is made of outdated coaxial copper cables that have connected our phones to the network since the time of Alexander Graham Bell. These cables have many bottlenecks that slow data flow down. Although data easily travels thousands of miles through fiber-optic cables, it gets jammed in the last mile, just in front of our home. This problem degrades both internet speed and bandwidth throughout the United States, and it often impedes the wider implementation of big data technologies.
Fortunately, during Obamas term, the government has cooperated with private companies and built more fiber-optic cables. This has resulted in a great increase of internet speed and more reliable and affordable internet. Internet users can experience these changes through the latest fast and unlimited plans, like the AT&T U Verse internet, for example.
The importance of good infrastructure
The appropriate infrastructure is one of the most crucial factors for the effective use of big data. Companies that want to make use of data patterns need to develop a suitable IT foundation that will provide the adequate levels of speed and agility. Thats why companies that want to use big data to their advantage need to create a comprehensive data center infrastructure.
Big data velocity
For many years, data science experts have been talking about 4Vs. Velocity is among the four most important dimensions of big data. This dimension doesnt only refer to data generation speed, but also to the processing speed necessary for accessing and analyzing big data sets and drawing conclusions from data patterns. The velocity of big data analytics is often limited by various outside factors.
Factors that affect big data velocity
Many companies use legacy data centers, which are flooded with bottlenecks that cause constant jams and slow down the analytic processes. Many of these delays happen because of the outdated internet infrastructure. Big data generation and analysis cause datasets to scale and interconnect, and these processes require sufficient internet speed and bandwidth. In addition to a slow internet speed, big data implementation can also be hindered by other types of outdated hardware. Data bottlenecks are usually caused by:
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Old servers They dont have the capacity to deliver the adequate computation performance and memory capacity. Thats why they often cause delays in data analysis.
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Outdated rotating hard disk drives Old hard disks use a mechanical arm system for data retrieval, which is much slower than the microchip technology used in solid-state drives.
The Internet of Things concept
The majority of data that we analyze at this moment is generated from desktop computers and mobile phones. Since the Internet of Things concept is already knocking on our door, in the next couple of years, machine-generated data will quickly overshadow business and human data sets.
Real-time data analysis is one of the most important characteristics of the Internet of Things concept, and it can be seriously obstructed by slow internet speeds. Since the Gartner research has projected that theres going to be 20.8 billion connected devices in the world by 2020, its easy to realize that some of the most popular internet providers will need to update their outdated last mile infrastructure. Experts claim that one of the solutions for this problem would be the scalable pay as you grow bandwidth and internet speed model.
Its hard to say who we should blame for the slow internet speeds in the United States. The only thing we know for sure is that in the future, big data and IoT technologies will reshape the U.S. internet network, not the other way around. Data generation wont stop or decrease in the future, and companies will want to stretch the benefits of big data analysis, even if it requires them to invest a lot of money into building the appropriate infrastructure. That is the only way companies, the government and individuals will be able to continue to enjoy the amazing benefits that big data provides.
