Digital infrastructure: whose is it anyway?

• Corporate Ownership: Companies like DigitalBridge, as highlighted, are deeply invested in digital infrastructure, managing billions in assets across data centers, cell towers, and fiber networks. This indicates a significant corporate stake in what could be considered the physical backbone of the digital world. These firms not only own but also operate these infrastructures, making them pivotal players in the digital ecosystem.
• Public vs. Private: There’s a growing discourse around Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), emphasizing the need for public governance in digital infrastructure to ensure it serves as a common good. This perspective argues for a more proactive role for the state, suggesting that digital infrastructure should not be solely in private hands but managed with public values in mind.
• Decentralized Ownership: The rise of blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies introduces a new paradigm of ownership where digital assets can be owned by anyone globally, with no central authority controlling them. For instance, Bitcoin’s network ownership is decentralized, with ownership stakes that cannot be diluted or taken away, representing a shift towards individual ownership of digital assets.
• Concentration of Ownership: Despite the ethos of decentralization in blockchain, there’s evidence of concentration in digital asset ownership, where a small percentage of holders control a significant portion of cryptocurrencies, suggesting that even in supposedly decentralized systems, ownership can become centralized.
• Government and Institutional Investment: Governments, through agencies or indirectly through pension funds like CPP Investments, engage in or facilitate the ownership of digital infrastructure. For instance, the acquisition of Arqiva by Digital 9 Infrastructure, partly funded through non-recourse loans, shows how government-backed entities or investments play into this sector.
• Foreign Investment: The competition between the U.S. and China over digital infrastructure highlights how digital infrastructure ownership can be a strategic asset, not just economically but geopolitically. This competition underscores the importance of who controls these infrastructures due to their implications for military and economic power.
• Public Perception and Investment: There’s a growing trend where traditional financial institutions like Deutsche Bank are seeking to engage with digital assets, indicating a shift where digital infrastructure ownership is becoming more mainstream, potentially diversifying ownership further.

From these points:

• Digital infrastructure spans from physical assets like data centers and cell towers, which are predominantly owned by private entities or through public-private partnerships, to digital assets like cryptocurrencies, which introduce a model of decentralized ownership.
• The narrative around digital infrastructure ownership is evolving, with increasing calls for it to be treated as a public good, yet the reality shows a mix of private corporate control, decentralized individual ownership in digital assets, and strategic government involvement.
• The future might see more hybrid models where public governance ensures access and fairness, while private investment drives innovation and expansion, all within a framework where individual digital asset ownership continues to grow, challenging traditional notions of infrastructure ownership.