Internet Geolocation: A Solution or a Problem?
October 26, 2016
Is it possible to find out the actual geographic location of the IP address from which a user connects to the Internet? While at first glance it would appear to be simple, answering this question involves many difficulties, as a system that is 100% efficient has not yet been found to precisely locate all IP addresses in the “real world.”
During its most recent event held in Costa Rica, LACNIC promoted a debate on IP address geolocation and various aspects of this technology, its uses, issues involved and possible actions that the regional community should carry out in search solutions. Carlos Martínez (LACNIC), Owen DeLong (Akamai) and Wilson Rogerio Lopes (Itau) participated in the discussion, which was moderated by Ricardo Patara (NIC.br).
Carlos Martínez, LACNIC CTO, presented several examples of the difficulties that have been encountered in the region due to geolocation errors. He mentioned cases in Curacao, Colombia and Argentina. He even mentioned a company that had filed a complaint with LACNIC alleging that “the IP addresses (they had received) were faulty,” as their geolocation placed them in a place where the company was not operating. Martínez commented that this person had been told that LACNIC has no responsibility over geolocation.
Nevertheless, he added that “LACNIC increasingly feels we must be part of and play a role in the solution.” In this sense, he noted that it is essential for the community to decide the role LACNIC should play in IP address geolocation. “This requires intense, broad debate,” concluded LACNIC’s CTO.
(Free access, no subscription required)
According to Owen DeLong of Akamai, the main concern for end users is whether “they are being geolocalized in the right place, as they have no possibility of seeing which geolocation provider provides incorrect information.”
DeLong believes that a major difficulty is the lack of standardization among geolocation providers on how to report such errors. In this regard, he pointed out that geolocation companies should operate a centralized clearinghouse, a single point where users can report geolocation errors so that databases can be corrected. “I would like the industry to work on things such as these,” he added.
In his presentation, DeLong called for better communication with end users regarding how to report errors geolocation. “For this to be feasible, we need better centralized geolocation error dissemination and information reporting mechanisms,” he concluded.