The Internet Backbone as Critical Cyber Infrastructure

It's nice to know that someone is reading these posts.  I had a pleasant email from one of the Senior Democratic Aides who I spoke of in my last post.  He offered the following, which I quote with his permission, on the topic of the Internet backbone as a commercial service: "The “backbone” of the internet is a complex system consisting of the fiber cables, peering points, core routers, network centers, etc. that allow for communications to travel via the internet.  There are a number of commercial IT services that depend upon that backbone for their ability to function – internet access, email, etc., etc. – but those services should not be conflated with the broader system that enables those services.  In looking at regulation, “Verizon” as a company would not be regulated, because that’s not how the approach works – it targets systems, not companies.  So Verizon per se would not be regulated, and Verizon’s commercial services – internet access, email accounts, etc. – would not be regulated.  However, Verizon-owned/operated pieces of the internet backbone as a system certainly could be designated as covered critical infrastructure.  That system (or pieces of that system, since it is really a system of systems owned and operated by multiple entities) wouldn’t fall under the “commercial item or service” restriction because the backbone itself and all the functionality it entails is not available on the commercial market – customers only have commercial access to those services and products that piggyback on and depend upon that backbone." I think I'll let that be the last word on this topic unless something more persuasive comes in.