Networks
Almost all intercontinental traffic runs through cables on the seabed
Satellites carry a rounding error. The internet between continents is a few hundred physical cables, and their geography shapes…
Networks
Wi-Fi, cellular, cables and the route your packets really take.
21 articles · updated August 11, 2026 · page 2 of 2
Networks
The faster Wi-Fi band is the one that cannot get out of the room
Reach and capacity are traded against each other by physics, not by firmware. A house usually needs both bands doing different jobs.
Networks
A repeater spends half its airtime repeating, and that half was yours
Relaying a frame means transmitting it twice on one channel. Everything else about mesh networking follows from that single…
Networks
The distance to the server sets a delay no upgrade can remove
Four separate delays are added together every time you click, and only one of them responds to paying for a faster line.
Networks
A SIM card is a small computer that proves who you are
It does not store your phone number and it never hands over its secret. It answers a puzzle the network sets, and that is the whole…
Networks
Twisting the pairs is the entire reason an Ethernet cable works
Four pairs of copper carry gigabits past motors, fluorescent lights and each other, and the twist rate is what makes that possible.
Networks
The page you loaded probably came from a building a few miles away
The company whose name is on the site may have had nothing to do with delivering it. Most of the web is served by intermediaries.
Networks
How a strand of glass carries a signal for a hundred kilometres
Light stays inside the fibre because the glass around the core bends it back, and the glass is purer than almost anything else…
Networks
Satellite internet trades altitude for delay, and the trade decides everything
Put the satellite high and it stays still but the round trip is long. Put it low and the delay collapses, along with the simplicity.