---
title: "The Internet's New Edge Builders"
description: "After building private backbones, content and cloud platforms are now moving closer to users. In doing so, they are taking on delivery roles once associated mainly with independent CDNs."
seo_title: "The Internet's New Edge Builders"
seo_description: "After private backbones, content and cloud platforms now build delivery infrastructure once bought from independent CDNs. Full article on RIPE Labs."
slug: the-internets-new-edge-builders
status: published
published_at: 2026-09-08
author: Arman Obosyan
author_url: https://sugra.systems/about
section: general
primary_keyword: content delivery hyperscalers cdn edge infrastructure
hero_image: /blog/images/posts/the-internets-new-edge-builders-hero.jpg
hero_alt: "Night city with a data-center mark and two beams of light. Headline: Who brings the content closer?"
og_image: /blog/images/posts/the-internets-new-edge-builders-hero.jpg
tags:
  - netatlas
  - network
  - infrastructure
---

After building private backbones, content and cloud platforms are now moving closer to users. In doing so, they are taking on delivery roles once associated mainly with independent CDNs.

In [The Internet's New Builders](/blog/the-internets-new-builders) I described how content and cloud platforms moved from buying international capacity to financing cables and operating private backbones. The same companies are now moving one layer closer to the user. Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and ByteDance increasingly build or control delivery infrastructure that once would have been bought mainly from independent CDN providers. Traditional CDNs still carry important traffic, but they no longer define the whole delivery architecture.

Continue at source: [The Internet's New Edge Builders](https://labs.ripe.net/author/armanobosyan/the-internets-new-edge-builders/) on RIPE Labs.

*Originally published on [RIPE Labs](https://labs.ripe.net/author/armanobosyan/the-internets-new-edge-builders/), 8 September 2026.*