 A break in the cloud: the local sociotechnical affordances underlying global internet infrastructuresJanna Z. Huang Technology in Society, 2023, vol. 74, issue C 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. Keywords: Community internet networks; Sociotechnical affordance; Rural development; Data center; Internet infrastructure (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:teinso:v:74:y:2023:i:c:s0160791x23001240 DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2023.102319 Access Statistics for this article Technology in Society is currently edited by Charla Griffy-Brown More articles in Technology in Society from Elsevier |
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