Okay, so this isn’t exactly news, in the sense of being new. But it is interesting. And it most definitely does matter, to anyone who uses the Internet.

If you’ve ever wondered why Youtube videos are suddenly buffering, or why that download is taking so long, you probably assumed that the server was overloaded, or your Internet provider was having infrastructure issues. But there may be a deeper cause.

A handful of organizations – mostly commercial in nature – provide the backbone of the Internet: the network hardware that makes up the core of the net. Since its inception, these organizations have engaged in negotiations about how they move data amongst themselves. When the commercial web got off the ground, these negotiations began to involve large amounts of money. As with all negotiations, all parties try to get what they want for the least amount of effort and expense. The difference is that in these negotiations, when one party is unhappy with the results, they can make their feelings known by downgrading the service they provide.

All of these negotiations happen without much fanfare, and the fights ebb and flow according to changing technology and the rise and fall of the fortunes of individual companies. The net effect for Internet consumers is inexplicable changes in Internet speeds.

Ars Technica has a terrific overview of this process and its ramifications. It’s a long read, but well worthwhile. Maybe you can read it while you’re wating for that Youtube video to finish buffering…