The Interconnection Measurement Project is a join initiative between The University of Chicago’s Center for Data and Computing (DSI) and CableLabs, the leading innovation and R&D lab for the cable industry. We work with ISPs to gather information that provides a unique window on this important function of the internet.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Which ISPs contribute data?
Currently, four ISPs contribute data: Charter, Comcast, Cox, and Mediacom. The Project always seeks to expand the data set; please get in touch if you wish to participate.
Q: Why is this data of interest?
The Internet is a network of networks, linked at interconnection points to ensure the flow of data. To date, efforts at measuring aspects of interconnection have been indirect inferences taken from Internet endpoints embedded within ISP’s networks. The Interconnection Measurement Project is different: it collects data directly at points of interconnection, thus providing a more accurate and reliable picture.
Q: What about privacy considerations?
The Interconnection Measurement Project does not collect any personally identifiable information for any individual Internet user, but instead only collects information on the interconnects that are not linked to consumer devices. The Project anonymizes data associated with each ISP to protect proprietary information.
Q: Who pays for this?
Project participants deploy the measurement tool at their own expense. DSI is working with participating ISPs and other project participants to establish and maintain a fair and equitable funding mechanism for DSI.
Nick Feamster
Project Director and Professor of Computer Science at the University of Chicago
Nick Feamster serves as the faculty director of DSI. Nick is also the Neubauer Professor in the Department of Computer Science and the College. He researches computer networking and networked systems, with a particular interest in Internet censorship, privacy, and the Internet of Things. His work on experimental networked systems and security aims to make networks easier to manage, more secure, and more available. Before joining the faculty at the University of Chicago, he was a professor at Princeton and Georgia Tech in the Schools of Computer Science.
As the leading innovation and R&D lab for the cable industry, CableLabs creates global impact through its member companies around the world and its subsidiaries, Kyrio and SCTE. With a state-of-the-art research and innovation facility and collaborative ecosystem with thousands of vendors, CableLabs delivers impactful network technologies for the entire industry.