Chethan Kumar in Parallax: Why countries sometimes need to reinvent the wheel
This piece argues that while buying off-the-shelf technology is efficient, it can create national vulnerabilities if a country loses control over essential infrastructure. It uses satellite internet as a case study for why strategic independence in technology is sometimes necessary.
Why it matters
It addresses the growing geopolitical concern of digital sovereignty and the risks of relying on foreign-controlled critical infrastructure.
Reinventing the wheel has never enjoyed a particularly good reputation. Somebody has already worked out the geometry, solved the engineering problems and put the thing on sale. Why spend years developing a version of your own when you can buy one off the shelf? The money saved can be spent on something else. The time saved can be put to better use.This is the logic of the marketplace, and most of the time, it makes perfect sense. Until the person selling you the wheel acquires the power to decide whether you get to use it.Consider satellite internet. A service such as Starlink can connect places that conventional networks struggle to reach, drawing on a constellation of satellites rather than a chain of terrestrial infrastructure. For a country looking to bridge its digital divide, the appeal is obvious.
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