Internet geolocation
software used to deduce the geographic location of another party
In computing, internet geolocation is software capable of deducing the geographic position of a device connected to the Internet.
The general term internet geolocation refers to the process of localizing a device connected to the internet. For example, the device's IP address can be used to determine the country, city, or ZIP code, determining its geographical location. Other methods include examination of Wi-Fi hotspots and other radio signals.
Internet geolocation has several applications, including law enforcement, marketing, online regulation compliance, and delivery of specific services based on the user's location.
History
1990–2000
The Regional Internet Registry for Europe, Middle East and Central Asia (RIPE), in 1994, proposed a document to determine the allocation of IP addresses. The document contains "a proposal for representing and storing routing polices within the RIPE database" and was published to provide details to create a standard for IP address routing policy, originally intended to be used by all Internet routing registries.
In the late 90's commercial companies, such as NetGeo Inc and Infosplit started to investigate the idea of applying geolocalization techniques to devices connected to the internet.
There was, at least in initial stages, strong skepticism about the effective capability of this approach, even from multinational investment banks like Piper Sandler Companies In fact, in 2000, in the court case LICRA vs. Yahoo!, the principles of IP geolocation were in fact used to demonstrate that Yahoo!
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Internet geolocation” as software used to deduce the geographic location of another party. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as software used to deduce the geographic location of another party. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q916335. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1990, 2000 and 1994.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Internet geolocation”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Internet geolocation primary sources, Internet geolocation archive and Internet research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Internet geolocation”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Internet geolocation” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.