It's interesting to follow a single bit of information over the Internet. A bit traveling from England to the US, for example, first goes through an underwater cable to Halifax, Canada. Then it goes to a building in New York City, where operators hand connect glass-fiber cables to route the bit on its way. If the bit is headed south, it goes to a facility in Virginia called the Network Access Point of the Capital Region, which is at the intersection of the major data pipes going across the country and down the East Coast. This center receives a lot of important email being sent to and from the US government. If the bit is going west, it will travel part of the way through wires alongside railroad tracks. Finally, the bit will arrive at the small town of Grover Beach, California, where, perhaps, a special station will prepare it to cross the Pacific Ocean to Asia
