IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/teinso/v74y2023ics0160791x23001240.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A break in the cloud: the local sociotechnical affordances underlying global internet infrastructures

Author

Listed:
  • Huang, Janna Z.

Abstract

How did an enterprising rural community establish Internet infrastructure that later attracted Google's flagship global data center in The Dalles, Oregon? Leveraging a sociotechnical affordance perspective and a descriptive case study approach, this article examines the policies and infrastructures leading to the organizational development of a publicly-owned Internet network - QLife Network - from 2002 to 2005 that directly created the local sociotechnical affordances for Google's first data center in the world. The conceptualization and implementation of QLife Network draw on three central mechanisms that structure and reflect local sociotechnical affordances: cultivating community dialogue, prioritizing public ownership, and harnessing institutional anchors. Broadly, this article contributes to calls for localized sociotechnical agency, especially in underserved rural areas, and creates analytical room for a more multivalent story of local power and community-led stakes in the global distribution of Internet infrastructure.

Suggested Citation

  • Huang, Janna Z., 2023. "A break in the cloud: the local sociotechnical affordances underlying global internet infrastructures," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:74:y:2023:i:c:s0160791x23001240
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2023.102319
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160791X23001240
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techsoc.2023.102319?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Atkinson, Robert D., 2011. "Economic doctrines and network policy," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 413-425, June.
    2. Anders S. G. Andrae & Tomas Edler, 2015. "On Global Electricity Usage of Communication Technology: Trends to 2030," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 6(1), pages 1-41, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhenxiang Cao & Liqing Peng, 2023. "The Impact of Digital Economics on Environmental Quality: A System Dynamics Approach," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.
    2. Steffen Dalsgaard, 2022. "Can IT Resolve the Climate Crisis? Sketching the Role of an Anthropology of Digital Technology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-17, May.
    3. Axenbeck, Janna & Niebel, Thomas, 2021. "Climate Protection Potentials of Digitalized Production Processes: Microeconometric Evidence," 23rd ITS Biennial Conference, Online Conference / Gothenburg 2021. Digital societies and industrial transformations: Policies, markets, and technologies in a post-Covid world 238007, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    4. Lange, Steffen & Pohl, Johanna & Santarius, Tilman, 2020. "Digitalization and energy consumption. Does ICT reduce energy demand?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    5. Anders S. G. Andrae & Mengjun Xia & Jianli Zhang & Xiaoming Tang, 2016. "Practical Eco-Design and Eco-Innovation of Consumer Electronics—the Case of Mobile Phones," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-19, February.
    6. Cecere, Grazia & Rochelandet, Fabrice, 2013. "Privacy intrusiveness and web audiences: Empirical evidence," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(10), pages 1004-1014.
    7. Muhammad Fahad & Arsalan Shahid & Ravi Reddy Manumachu & Alexey Lastovetsky, 2019. "A Comparative Study of Methods for Measurement of Energy of Computing," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-42, June.
    8. Tilman Santarius & Johanna Pohl & Steffen Lange, 2020. "Digitalization and the Decoupling Debate: Can ICT Help to Reduce Environmental Impacts While the Economy Keeps Growing?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-20, September.
    9. John Martinovic & Markus Hähnel & Guntram Scheithauer & Waltenegus Dargie, 2022. "An introduction to stochastic bin packing-based server consolidation with conflicts," TOP: An Official Journal of the Spanish Society of Statistics and Operations Research, Springer;Sociedad de Estadística e Investigación Operativa, vol. 30(2), pages 296-331, July.
    10. Anders S. G. Andrae & Mikko Samuli Vaija, 2017. "Precision of a Streamlined Life Cycle Assessment Approach Used in Eco-Rating of Mobile Phones," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-24, August.
    11. Salil Bharany & Sandeep Sharma & Osamah Ibrahim Khalaf & Ghaida Muttashar Abdulsahib & Abeer S. Al Humaimeedy & Theyazn H. H. Aldhyani & Mashael Maashi & Hasan Alkahtani, 2022. "A Systematic Survey on Energy-Efficient Techniques in Sustainable Cloud Computing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-89, May.
    12. Elgaaied-Gambier, Leila & Bertrandias, Laurent & Bernard, Yohan, 2020. "Cutting the Internet's Environmental Footprint: An Analysis of Consumers' Self-Attribution of Responsibility," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 120-135.
    13. Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Martiskainen, Mari & Furszyfer Del Rio, Dylan D., 2021. "Knowledge, energy sustainability, and vulnerability in the demographics of smart home technology diffusion," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    14. Kosuke Sasakura & Takeshi Aoki & Masayoshi Komatsu & Takeshi Watanabe, 2020. "A Temperature-Risk and Energy-Saving Evaluation Model for Supporting Energy-Saving Measures for Data Center Server Rooms," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-22, October.
    15. Daniel Walia & Paul Schünemann & Hauke Hartmann & Frank Adam & Jochen Großmann, 2021. "Numerical and Physical Modeling of a Tension-Leg Platform for Offshore Wind Turbines," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-22, June.
    16. Xiaoxi Zhang & Machiko Shinozuka & Yuriko Tanaka & Yuko Kanamori & Toshihiko Masui, 2022. "How ICT can contribute to realize a sustainable society in the future: a CGE approach," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 5614-5640, April.
    17. Yu, Jiang & Zhang, Yue & Gao, Ping, 2012. "Examining China's technology policies for wireless broadband infrastructure," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(10), pages 847-857.
    18. Rishan Adha & Cheng-Yih Hong & Somya Agrawal & Li-Hua Li, 2023. "ICT, carbon emissions, climate change, and energy demand nexus: The potential benefit of digitalization in Taiwan," Energy & Environment, , vol. 34(5), pages 1619-1638, August.
    19. Yuan, Xiaolei & Liang, Yumin & Hu, Xinyi & Xu, Yizhe & Chen, Yongbao & Kosonen, Risto, 2023. "Waste heat recoveries in data centers: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    20. Khokhriakov, Semyon & Manumachu, Ravi Reddy & Lastovetsky, Alexey, 2020. "Multicore processor computing is not energy proportional: An opportunity for bi-objective optimization for energy and performance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:74:y:2023:i:c:s0160791x23001240. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/technology-in-society .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.