How Does the Internet Work? - Glad You Asked S1

Summary

El guion del video ofrece una visión detallada de cómo funciona el internet, desde su infraestructura física hasta las futuras tecnologías como el 5G y los sistemas de conexión por satélite. Explora cómo los datos viajan a través de cables submarinos y la importancia de esta infraestructura para nuestra vida diaria. Además, destaca los desafíos de brindar acceso a internet a áreas no conectadas y las iniciativas innovadoras como los globos de Loon para proporcionar cobertura en áreas afectadas por desastres naturales.

Takeaways

• 🌐 La conexión a Internet a través del océano se realiza a través de cables submarinos que pueden parecer pequeños pero son esenciales para el tráfico de datos.
• 📷 Los datos, como una foto enviada por correo electrónico, se fragmentan en paquetes y se envían siguiendo un formato de encabezado que incluye información de origen y destino.
• 🔢 Los paquetes de datos se representan en binario, compuesto de 1 y 0, que es la forma en que las computadoras procesan y transmiten información.
• 📶 Los datos se transmiten como ondas de radio desde los teléfonos móviles hasta los routers, utilizando la modulación de frecuencia para representar los ceros y unos.
• 🌌 Los routers convierten las ondas de radio en impulsos de electricidad o luz láser, dependiendo del material del cable, para su transporte a través de la red.
• 🏢 Los núcleos de Internet, ubicados en edificios que podrían pasar desapercibidos, son puntos clave donde diferentes redes se interconectan para enviar datos a su destino.
• 🚢 Las compañías como SubCom son importantes para la instalación y mantenimiento de los cables submarinos que enlazan el mundo.
• 🔬 Los cables submarinos están hechos de fibra de vidrio y están diseñados para ser fuertes pero también delicados, requiriendo una instalación cuidadosa y un mantenimiento constante.
• ⏳ La reparación de cables submarinos en caso de daño puede tomar mucho tiempo, lo que demuestra la importancia de esta infraestructura y nuestra dependencia de ella.
• 🌍 Existen esfuerzos para aumentar la cantidad de fibras en los cables para mejorar la capacidad de datos, pero aún hay desafíos en aumentar la conectividad global.
• 📡 Iniciativas como Loon de Alphabet usan globos en la estratósfera para proporcionar acceso a Internet en áreas no conectadas o mal conectadas, complementando a las tecnologías de cable existentes.

Q & A

¿Por qué se sorprenden los personajes al ver el tamaño del cable de internet submarino?

Los personajes se sorprenden porque esperan que algo tan crítico para la conectividad global sea más grande, pero en realidad, el cable es bastante delgado y puede no ser evidente su importancia a simple vista.

¿Cómo se describe la evolución del internet desde su nacimiento hasta el presente?

La evolución del internet se describe como un proceso en el que, al principio, las personas apenas comenzaban a aprender sobre él y no lo consideraban crucial. Sin embargo, con el tiempo, se ha convertido en esencial para muchas actividades cotidianas, desde buscar empleo hasta la educación y la comunicación.

¿Qué es el 'último kilómetro' en el contexto del internet y por qué es importante?

El 'último kilómetro' se refiere a la conexión entre la red global del internet y el usuario final, incluyendo los textos, notificaciones y aplicaciones que usamos para conectarnos o recibir información. Es importante porque es la primera y última etapa en la que interactuamos directamente con el internet.

¿Cómo se explica el proceso de envío de un correo electrónico desde un teléfono móvil a otro?

El proceso comienza con el teléfono móvil que toma una foto y la divide en paquetes más manejables, cada uno con un encabezado que incluye información de origen y destino. Estos paquetes se convierten en ondas de radio que viajan hasta el router y luego se transforman en pulsos eléctricos o de luz láser que viajan a través de cables hasta su destino.

¿Qué es un 'hub de internet' y qué función cumple?

Un 'hub de internet' es un punto central donde todas las conexiones de red se reúnen y se interconectan. Sirve como el centro de intercambio de datos entre diferentes redes, asegurando que la información llegue a su destino de la manera más eficiente posible.

¿Cómo se describe la infraestructura física del internet y por qué es importante?

La infraestructura física del internet incluye cables submarinos, centros de datos, routers y repetidores. Es importante porque soporta la transmisión de datos y la conectividad global, mostrando que el internet no es solo virtual sino que tiene una dimensión física significativa.

¿Qué es el 'cableado de fibra óptica' y cómo afecta la accesibilidad del internet a larga distancia?

El 'cableado de fibra óptica' se refiere a los cables que transmiten datos a través de ondas de luz. Es crucial para la conectividad a larga distancia, pero su implementación puede ser costosa y desafiante, lo que puede afectar la accesibilidad del internet en regiones lejanas o con bajos ingresos.

¿Qué es Loon y cómo ayuda a proporcionar acceso a internet en áreas no conectadas?

Loon es una compañía de conectividad que envía globos al estratósfero para proporcionar acceso a internet a través de ondas de radio. Estos globos se desplazan y se mantienen en el aire gracias a los vientos estratospéricos y se comunican entre sí y con estaciones terrestres para transmitir señales a usuarios en el suelo.

¿Por qué es improbable que las soluciones de internet basadas en el espacio reemplacen a los cables terrestres?

Las soluciones de internet basadas en el espacio, como los satélites o los globos de Loon, son complementarias a los cables terrestres y no buscan reemplazarlos. Los cables ofrecen una conexión más estable y de alta velocidad, mientras que las soluciones espaciales pueden ser útiles para alcanzar áreas remotas o no conectadas.

¿Cómo se aborda el problema de la desigualdad en el acceso al internet en el script?

El script destaca la desigualdad en el acceso al internet a través de mapas que muestran las áreas donde las compañías no tienen incentivos económicos para instalar infraestructura debido a la baja densidad de población o bajos ingresos, lo que resulta en un menor acceso y mayor costo del servicio de internet.

¿Qué es 5G y cómo podría afectar la conectividad del internet en el futuro?

5G es la próxima generación de tecnología de redes de telecomunicaciones que promete velocidades mucho más rápidas que las actuales. Sin embargo, requiere una infraestructura física más densa, con antenas en cada bloque, lo que podría aumentar los costos y potencialmente no beneficiar a las áreas rurales o de bajos ingresos en un futuro cercano.

Outlines

00:00

🌐 La sorpresa del cable de internet

Este párrafo introduce el tema del funcionamiento del internet, destacando la sorpresa de la protagonista al descubrir la diminuta escala de un cable que transporta tráfico de internet a través del océano. Se menciona la importancia de estos cables para el tráfico de internet global y cómo la infraestructura física del internet afecta su uso y el futuro de la conectividad. La narradora expresa su deseo de comprender mejor cómo funciona el internet y lo que se avecina.

05:03

📶 De bits a ondas: la transformación de la información

En este segmento, se explora cómo la información en forma de ones y zeros se convierte en ondas radiofónicas y luego en impulsos de luz láser en cables de fibra óptica. Se describe el proceso de envío de una selfie a través de correo electrónico, que se divide en paquetes con encabezados que siguen un formato estándar, similar a un sistema postal en línea. Además, se discute la modulación de frecuencia como método para transmitir información binaria a través de ondas y se compara el teléfono móvil con una radio, resaltando la naturaleza física de la comunicación inalámbrica.

10:03

🌌 La red de cables submarinos que une el mundo

Este párrafo se enfoca en la infraestructura de los cables submarinos que son esenciales para la conectividad a larga distancia. Se presenta a SubCom, una de las principales proveedoras de cables submarinos, y se describe el proceso de construcción y mantenimiento de estos cables. Se menciona la complejidad del trabajo de ingeniería y ciencias materiales, así como el proceso de instalación de los cables en el lecho marino. También se discuten los desafíos en la construcción y reparación de estos cables, destacando la delicadeza de las fibras de vidrio que transportan las ondas de luz.

15:04

📡 El desafío de la conectividad global

En este segmento, se abordan los desafíos de brindar acceso a internet a áreas remotas y de bajos ingresos. Se muestra un mapa de la red troncal de internet en los Estados Unidos y se analiza cómo la disponibilidad y el costo del servicio se ven afectados por factores geográficos y económicos. Se destaca la importancia de la infraestructura de cables y se menciona el impacto que tienen las soluciones como las balonas de Loon y otros proyectos de conectividad aérea en el esfuerzo por alcanzar a las personas desfavorecidas.

🚀 La evolución hacia la conectividad 5G y más allá

Este párrafo explora el avance hacia la tecnología 5G y su potencial para ofrecer conexiones de internet más rápidas. Se discuten los desafíos de implementar 5G, incluida la necesidad de una infraestructura física más extensa debido a la mayor susceptibilidad de las ondas de alta frecuencia a ser bloqueadas. Además, se mencionan las iniciativas de empresas como Amazon y SpaceX para proporcionar acceso a internet a través de sistemas de espacio o casi espacio, y se enfatiza la importancia de una variedad de tecnologías para satisfacer las necesidades de conectividad global.

Keywords

💡Cable de internet

Un cable de internet es un conductor físico utilizado para transmitir datos a través de la red. En el video, se destaca la sorpresa del tamaño reducido de estos cables, que son fundamentales para el tráfico de internet a gran escala, especialmente para cruzar océanos, y cómo estos cables son esenciales para la conectividad global.

💡Internet

El Internet es una red global de redes que permite la interconexión y comunicación entre dispositivos a través de protocolos estándar. El video explora cómo el Internet, aunque a menudo considerado un concepto virtual, tiene una dimensión física que incluye cables y otras infraestructuras que son vitales para su funcionamiento y accesibilidad.

💡Fibra óptica

La fibra óptica es un tipo de cable que transmite datos a través de rayos de luz. En el contexto del video, las fibras ópticas son el material principal utilizado en los cables de internet submarinos, destacando su capacidad para transmitir grandes volúmenes de información a largas distancias.

💡Red de acceso

La red de acceso, también conocida como el último milla, se refiere a la parte de la infraestructura de Internet que conecta a los usuarios finales a la red. En el video, se describe cómo la red de acceso incluye Wi-Fi, routers y torres de celular, y es la primera y última etapa en la conexión de un usuario a Internet.

💡Paquetes de datos

Los paquetes de datos son unidades de información que se transmiten a través de Internet. El video ilustra cómo una imagen, por ejemplo, se divide en paquetes para su transmisión y luego se reensambla en el destino final, siguiendo un conjunto de reglas que se comparan con el sistema postal.

💡Binario

El binario es un sistema de numeración que utiliza solo dos dígitos: cero y uno. En el video, se explica que toda la información enviada a través de Internet se traduce a binario, el cual es el lenguaje básico que entiende el ordenador y que se traduce en ondas de radio o luz para la transmisión.

💡Modulación de frecuencia

La modulación de frecuencia es un método para transmitir información binaria a través de ondas de radio. En el video, se describe cómo se puede utilizar para enviar un cero y un uno representando diferentes frecuencias, permitiendo que el receptor determine el patrón de bits enviado.

💡ISP (Proveedor de servicios de Internet)

Un ISP es una empresa que proporciona servicios de Internet a los usuarios finales. El video menciona que los ISPs son responsables de determinar las rutas más eficientes para la transmisión de datos y de conectar entre redes en un punto de concentración conocido como un nodo de Internet.

💡Nodo de Internet

Un nodo de Internet es un punto central donde convergen varias redes de ISPs para intercambiar tráfico de datos. El video destaca su importancia en la conectividad, ya que es en estos nodos donde se conectan diferentes redes para permitir la comunicación entre ellas.

💡Cable submarino

Un cable submarino es un tipo especializado de cable de fibra óptica que se utiliza para conectar diferentes partes del mundo a través de los océanos. El video muestra cómo estos cables son fabricados, instalados y son esenciales para la conectividad a nivel mundial, aunque también son susceptibles a daños mecánicos y ambientales.

💡5G

El 5G es la quinta generación de tecnología de red móvil que promete velocidades de conexión mucho más rápidas que las actuales. El video discute cómo el 5G utilizará ondas de radio de alta frecuencia para transmitir más información, pero también señala los desafíos de implementación, especialmente en áreas rurales o de bajos ingresos.

💡Balon de conexión

Los balones de conexión, como los utilizados por Loon, son una forma innovadora de proporcionar acceso a Internet en áreas remotas o afectadas por desastres. El video muestra cómo estos balones se elevan en la estratosfera y utilizan el viento para navegar y proporcionar cobertura de señal inalámbrica a usuarios en la tierra.

Highlights

The internet is a physical infrastructure as well as a virtual one, with cables playing a crucial role in global connectivity.

Surprisingly, the undersea internet cables are much smaller than expected, yet they carry a vast amount of data across oceans.

The 'last mile' concept refers to the initial and final stage of internet connectivity, including Wi-Fi and mobile networks.

Data packets are the fundamental units of internet communication, each containing a header with source and destination information.

Binary data is translated into radio waves and then into laser light pulses for transmission through fiber optic cables.

The internet's physical path involves complex routing decisions made by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to optimize data transfer.

Internet hubs are crucial junctions where data from various networks converge and are directed to their next destinations.

Submarine cable installations are a significant yet delicate process, requiring specialized ships and careful handling.

The cables used for long-distance internet transmission are made of fiberglass and are incredibly thin, akin to a human hair.

Despite the robust engineering of undersea cables, they can be vulnerable to damage from human activities such as fishing and anchoring.

The internet's physical infrastructure is highlighted by the impact of a severed cable on the Kingdom of Tonga, cutting off connectivity for 13 days.

The digital divide is evident in the US internet backbone map, showing disparities in access and cost related to population density and income levels.

5G technology promises significantly faster internet speeds but requires extensive infrastructure, potentially exacerbating the digital divide.

Loon, a company under Alphabet, is pioneering the use of high-altitude balloons to provide internet access to remote and under-connected areas.

The stratosphere-based internet solution by Loon demonstrates the potential to rapidly deploy connectivity in disaster-stricken areas like Puerto Rico post-Hurricane Maria.

The future of internet connectivity involves a combination of technologies, including fiber optics, satellites, and near-space systems, working in tandem to bridge the digital divide.

The internet is an essential global community tool, and its physical infrastructure is continually evolving to meet the growing demand for connectivity.

Transcripts

( music playing )

Wait. That's the cable?

I was expecting something so much bigger.

That's the internet.

To get across the ocean, nearly all internet traffic

has to use a cable like that one.

- It's tiny. I'm so surprised. - You're actually surprised.

I know, I could tell. Love it.

All right, let's go get some hard hats.

Cleo: If you're watching this YouTube video

anywhere outside of the United State,

this is probably how it's getting to you.

For most of us, the internet is virtual.

It's made of Instagram posts and e-mails and YouTube videos.

But it's also a physical thing,

and what it's made of and where it goes matters

for how we use the internet now

and who will be benefit in the future.

So I want to know how does our internet really work

and what comes next?

( music playing )

( music playing )

The decade I was born, people were still learning about the internet,

and they didn't exactly consider it crucial.

But, you know, I think about this.

What about this internet thing?

What the hell is that exactly?

And they call it the World Wide Web.

You can e-mail anyone.

What the hell is e-mail?

Man: Can you believe what's possible these days?

Conversations through your computer.

Cleo: But now it seems we can't even function without it.

Jobs require online applications.

Parents around the country know

that their kids can't get an adequate education

without internet access.

I mean, people tweeting that they needed

to be rescued and a boat came in.

It's truly been life saving.

The internet has become essential to us,

but a lot of us still don't know how it works.

Okay, I need you to close your eyes.

- All of us? - Just trust me. Just close your eyes.

Yeah, for real. I'm serious. Close your eyes.

What's the craziest thing she could show us

- when we open our eyes? - ( laughs )

- I hope it's kittens. - Okay, now you can open them.

( screams )

- Joss: Tiny people! - Alex: They're us.

Christophe: It's tiny us.

So I know that there are three major parts of the internet.

We are on this outer ring. They call it the last mile,

but really it's the first and last mile.

So it's the texts we send,

the notifications we receive, the apps we use.

Everything we do to connect or receive information from the internet

happens in this first and last mile.

And we are inside...

the Vox office.

Also out in this outer ring are houses.

- You guys wanna help me put these down? - Yes.

- Trees. - So all of the--

all of the trees and all of the houses,

all Wi-Fi, which uses routers

somewhere in our office or somewhere in your home,

and all cell service,

which means that you're paying a cell tower

a little bit further away,

but still pretty close by.

All this wireless technology uses radio waves

to send signals into and out of the internet.

I'm gonna show you how this works.

But first, I'm gonna take a selfie.

Perfect. Okay.

So this is our selfie. I-- ( laughs )

- Joss, you've nailed that face. - Yeah, it's my go-to.

So I'm just gonna send this to you via e-mail.

- Typical e-mail. - Typical e-mail.

- There it is. - Boom.

- Ta-da. - So my goal is to figure out

how my e-mail got from my phone to yours.

In order for my e-mail to get from here to here,

my phone takes that photo

and cuts it up

- into more manageable packets. - No!

- We've been decapitated. - Just--

- Christophe: Just me. - Just you.

- So, imagine each packet like a letter in an envelope. - Uh-huh.

So, each envelope gets a header,

which is a little bit more information that includes--

- Christophe: Where it's from. - Where it's from and where it's going to,

and a bunch of other things that we're not going to talk about.

So the format of each header follows a set of rules,

and you can think about these rules

like the rules of the online postal system.

How everything is packaged and sent and received on the internet.

So you've probably heard people say that everything that happens

in our computer is ones and zeros.

- Right? Binary. - I have. Yeah.

Cleo: Which we can think of

as a kind of Morse code your computer understands.

And everything that you send over the internet

- is also binary. - Mm-hmm.

Christophe: ( gasps ) What?

- Ta-da! - When did this happen?

- What? - I do magic now.

- Okay. - Incredible.

So, each one or zero is a bit

and eight bits is a byte.

So, if this photo was 1.1 megabytes

that's 8,800,000 ones and zeros.

So, somehow these binary ones and zeros

have to get onto radio waves to be transported

- to the router, right? - Exactly. Yes.

- Okay. - And that's where I got stuck.

So, I called up Sundeep Rangan,

who specializes in computer engineering at NYU.

How does a wave carry binary information?

Ah, that is a very good question.

So, the simplest thing you could do

is every time you want to transmit, say, a zero,

you could transmit one frequency.

And every time you want to transmit a one,

you transmit a different frequency.

And then as long as the receiver can detect

which frequency it is, it can know it's a one or zero.

That's actually called frequency modulation.

Is it also fair then to say

that at its most basic, a cell phone is a radio?

Sundeep: It is a radio.

It is absolutely a radio.

Okay, so waves with binary information

have to get from my phone to the router.

But then at the router, they have to be turned into something else

that can go out the back of that device

along cables to get to their next location.

Depending on what the wire is made of,

it's either gonna be pulses of electricity

if the wire is copper, or pulses of laser light.

Sundeep: So, it's a laser and it just turns on

when there's a one, it turns off when it's zero.

So, faster than this.

- A little bit faster than that. - Faster than this?

So our photo went from binary to radio waves

- to little flashes of laser light, right? - Yes.

Where does it go after that?

We're about to find out,

but I'm gonna take Alex.

- You're not taking me? - No.

It's his turn. I gotta go.

Ooh.

So, the wires out of the back of our router

connect to other wires inside out office,

which are owned by our internet service provider

- or ISP. - Alex: Okay.

And they're responsible for looking at the header

of each of those envelopes

and figuring out the most efficient route

to get to its next location, which is an internet hub.

- Alex: And where would that be? - Cleo: Right there.

That's an internet hub.

- Alex: This old building? - Cleo: Yeah.

- All right, let's go. - It looks just like every other

office building I've ever seen.

Greg Sisk: Well, it started as Western Union's headquarters.

So, it supported telegraph operators back in the day,

and it's migrated to today

where it's supporting the internet

- here in lower Manhattan. - That's poetic.

So all those wires all need to come to a place like this

to connect between networks.

So, for our example, our ISP in the office has a network.

And AT&T, which is Christophe's cell provider, has a network.

And in order for my e-mail to get from my phone

into Christophe's phone,

all of those networks have to send those ones and zeros

across those wire pathways.

There's so much that happens

in that split second that you connect.

So there's really no such thing as a cloud

or any type of magnanimous--

- The cloud is a marketing term. - Yeah.

Cleo: The thing that I find really amazing is that,

like, my e-mail is one of the millions of messages

flowing through these cables.

That feels really abstract, but it's actually--

there's a message to somebody's mom

and there's a college application

and there's a job offer.

And there's a dank meme in here somewhere.

( music playing )

Okay, so my e-mail became a series of waves of light

that travels over the tubes of the internet.

But what if I wanted to send it somewhere really far away?

Somewhere on the other side of the world?

We're in Newington, New Hampshire, to go to a factory

that's gonna show us how the internet works at long distances.

We're headed into the third layer, the internet backbone.

Oh, that's the cable highway.

What's the cable highway?

Cleo: That's where the cables go

from the factory down to the dock.

The company we're gonna go see,

SubCom, is one of the top four submarine cable providers

in the world.

There's the ship.

- All right. - Hi.

- Hi. I'm Alysia. - Hi. I'm Cleo.

- So nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you.

Alysia: This is the SubCom Decisive.

She is a custom-built cable installation

and maintenance vessel.

She's 139 meters long,

which is about 450 feet.

- Wow. - Yeah.

Cleo: The engineering and material science at work here

are incredibly complex.

But the basic process is actually really simple.

Light goes in on one side of the ocean

and comes out on the other.

So, as the Decisive moves across the ocean,

the internet cable is gonna come out the back

and be laid down behind it.

And sometimes it's gonna be buried in the ocean floor

by that machine right there.

But most of the time it's just gonna lay there

on the bottom of the ocean.

So, these are the two types of cable that we have, the two basic types.

So this one, this is called lightweight cable.

So that's the one that we would use in the middle of the ocean.

And then this piece is the stuff that we use

the plow to install and actually bury.

And the cable is engineered to be super strong in a lot of ways,

but it is also very delicate in a lot of other ways.

Cleo: The wires that carry the light waves themselves

are typically made of fiberglass,

literally just a continuous strand of glass

about the size of a human hair.

Why is it that there are so few fibers?

We're working on trying to put more fibers inside the cable

to get more data into each fiber to make it

so that we can send more information than what we already have.

( music playing )

Whoa!

- So that's the cable tank. - Whoa.

Slow, slow. We got the pipe. We got the pipe.

Alysia: Work it over. Work it over.

What we're doing is we're loading it into the tank

in a continuous spool, right?

Is it, like, 10 tons, 50 tons?

Oh, we're loading ten tons in a day.

Cleo: Oh, my God. Cool.

Alysia: It's gonna end up being about 60 days of plowing.

- Wow. - Yeah.

Alysia: So, 70 days total to prep and install it.

Okay, on the highway you have two minutes until cable starts.

What do you want?

Cleo: What blows me away is just how much

hard physical labor is required to make the internet work.

Thank you.

The craziest thing is that this cable

is one of about 400 exactly like it

that create a web around the Earth.

- Oh. - Wow!

So we're just gonna lay down

the undersea cables of the internet

so that we can see where they go.

Christophe, you get Africa,

and I'll give you part of Europe.

Joss: I love the one that goes across the Great Lakes.

Cleo: You guys wanna see what the internet actually looks like?

- Yeah, totally do. - Okay.

- Whoa. - Wow.

- Whoa! - That's crazy.

Oh, there's, like, all this metal in here.

Seems like a shark could take a bite out of that pretty easily.

- I was gonna say the same thing. - I'm so happy you said that.

- Does that happen? - Yes.

So there's this video of a shark

biting a cable like this of the internet.

- Oh, there he is. - He's a big boy.

Big boy. Nom.

- Oh, doesn't taste good. - Oh, that probably hurt his teeth.

- I know, poor guy. - He didn't like it.

So, after that video went viral in 2014,

the Internet Cable Protection Committee,

released this report that has my favorite title of any report of all time,

which is "Sharks are not the Nemesis of the Internet."

The vast majority of faults are caused by human activity.

- It's, like, fishing, anchors. - Anchors.

- Drilling. Yeah. - Stuff like that.

Woman: The kingdom of Tonga

has faced a cell phone and internet crisis

after a fault in a fiber optic submarine cable

cut its main connection with the world.

Cleo: In January 2019, experts believe

that an oil tanker dragged an anchor across the seabed here,

which of course caused a really big problem for Tonga.

What is the problem? If it's in land,

when it's in land, it's all in land in Fiji, a quick fix.

But if it's in the water? Ooh-ya, ooh-ya, ooh-ya.

It's gonna take a long, long time.

And it took 13 days to get the internet back.

- 13 days. - Long days and nights.

That's a long time.

So if you live in one of these heavily connected places

like the United States or many, many other parts of the world,

it is very, very unlikely

that an anchor cutting a part of your internet

is gonna interrupt your service.

But what happened in Tonga does call attention

to how important this infrastructure is

and how much we rely on it.

I feel like, I mean, I've never lived in a time

when all of these tools were not part of my daily life.

It's kind of sad that it's not something that's available to everyone.

Yeah, exactly.

There are lots of people that still

don't have reliable internet access in the first place.

I wanted to find out more about how we could actually solve that problem.

( music playing )

So we're here in Nevada to see a company

that's helping more people get access to the internet.

But before we get there, I have some maps to show you.

This is a basic map of the internet backbone in the United States.

You can tell just by looking at this map

why it might be that some people have a hard time

getting low cost, high speed internet.

Companies aren't as incentivized to lay fiber optic cabling

where there are fewer people there to pay them for it.

The same applies to low income areas.

This map shows the areas that researchers call

uneconomic for companies in red,

meaning that the typical monthly costs

exceed the expected monthly revenue.

In many of these red areas, people only have one

or two options for internet service providers,

meaning that those service providers can jack up the costs.

The darker the country, the more people there

are paying for internet service.

So there's a lot of variety around the world

and even within countries in terms of who has access

to the internet and at what cost,

and that has a huge impact on people.

( music playing )

If you haven't heard about 5G,

get ready for a faster internet connection.

Man: 5G could end up being 100 times faster

than what we have now.

Instead of having a cell tower every few miles,

- Woman: Yeah. - 5G requires that we literally need

an antenna on every square block.

Okay, hold on.

What really is 5G and why would it be so fast?

Well, remember those radio waves?

One of the major innovations of 5G is the ability

to use higher frequency waves.

Because at higher frequencies, you can pack more information

into each wave. Here's the catch.

At higher frequencies, it's easier to block those waves.

I mean, visible light is very high frequency

and I can block it with my hand.

That's not a problem for fiber optic cables

because they're basically long glass laser light tunnels.

But 5G has to reach you wirelessly wherever you are,

so that would mean they would need a lot more

physical infrastructure.

Of course, new infrastructure costs money.

Companies have the same incentives

for where to put 5G that they had before.

Cities, not rural areas,

rich communities, not poor ones.

So 5G could be an exciting way to improve internet service

for people who have fast access already.

But the tech required means it's unlikely to help people who don't.

At least not any time soon.

( music playing )

Cleo: We're here to see Loon,

and what they do is they send balloons

into the stratosphere to provide internet access

to people below radio waves.

Loon is a connectivity company

that's really focused on the unconnected and the under-connected.

Cleo: Loon is owned by Alphabet, which also owns Google

and YouTube, who funded this show.

but Loon didn't have any say over our editorial.

So, they can't actually launch a balloon today,

because there was a huge storm yesterday,

which kind of also goes to show

how finicky a lot of this stuff is.

But what you have to imagine

is that there's a balloon in there

and then it launches from that large red thing up into the sky,

and it uses stratospheric winds

to navigate to its next location,

which could be on the other side of the world.

( music playing )

So, you can see a number of balloons over here

in South America, and you can see

what altitude they're at, like, at 60,000 feet,

and basically where they're flying.

( music playing )

This is the hatchery. This is where we build

and test all of our flight systems

before they go out to launch.

- So this is the balloon. - This is the balloon.

And then the part that flies with the balloon--

- It's this flight system here and the solar panels. - Got it.

And the brains of it are in that box...

- This box? - ...that's being cooled by those fans right now.

And so what we do is we put a ground station

in a point of vantage where it can see the sky.

And then from there, it can actually talk to one of our balloons.

Our balloons can talk to each other

and they're talking via radio waves.

And then from one of those balloons

that's over the top of your phone,

there's transmit and receive frequencies

that are going down to your phone.

What are some of the best examples

that you've been most excited about where--

Yeah, when Hurricane Maria

hit Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Islands,

we were able to fly balloons over the top of Puerto Rico.

And within a couple weeks, we were able to serve

about a quarter million subscribers.

- Wow. - And it's enough to know

that a user on the ground

was able to get out a text message or an e-mail

or a note to a loved one or something like that.

( music playing )

Amazon has Project Kupier and SpaceX has Starlink.

It seems like this is becoming something that more and more

- companies are focusing on. - Yeah, absolutely.

The more the merrier, because there's a lot of people to connect.

Cleo: These are all space or near space systems

that use radio waves to get people access to the internet.

And that's one reason why it's unlikely

that they're gonna replace good old cables.

Radio waves and laser light

and all of these different types of technology

that help us get access to the internet

all in the end need to work together.

We don't seek to replace fiber or replace satellites.

They're very complementary technologies.

Going into space is still a new thing.

I'm pretty confident about my job prospects

for at least the next while.

The internet isn't a luxury. We don't just want to connect.

We need to to be a part of this massive,

crucial, sometimes infuriating global community.

So as you check the news or message a friend

or watch a YouTube video, consider this,

our connections have never been virtual.

They're physical, and they're still very much a work in progress.

Hey. Want more episodes of "Glad You Asked"?

You can find them here,

and you can find more from YouTube Learning here.

"Glad You Asked," "YouTube Learning."

"Glad You Asked," "YouTube Learning."