There are some strange and, some say, wonderful things happening to the plumbing of the global network of computer networks that make up the Internet.
The plumbers working away on these things include the type of people you might expect to have an interest in improving the Internet -- computer scientists, electrical engineers, and researchers at telecommunications and software companies.
But some innovations come from unexpected sources.
Consider Roy Brister, who owns an insurance business in rural Eastern Ontario. In 1998, he wanted a high-speed data network among his company's offices. But there was only one company that could provide it -- Bell Canada -- and the bill, he was told, would run to $10,000 a month.
"We couldn't accomplish what we needed to do because we were in kind of a communications black hole," he explains. So, after a little research, he decided to build his own network, using fixed wireless technology. "We said, 'Heck, we'll build our own darn system -- and we did.' "
Throwing some climbing gear into the trunk of his car, Mr. Brister and some associates clambered up municipal water towers, installed radio gear and built what was then believed to be the largest privately owned wireless broadband network in North America . . . [Read the full story in today's Globe and Mail]