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Is there a canon source that describes a galaxy-wide computer network in the Star Wars galaxy?

Does it mention how big the internet is in the galaxy?

RichS
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2 Answers2

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In Disney Canon? Not really, no.

The Holonet was a communication network that transmitted holograms around the Empire. In Tarkin, the holonet is restricted to the Empire only, and in various episodes of Rebels the plot surrounds taking over broadcast stations to send Rebel propaganda, which makes the Holonet look like cable television.

But the Holonet is also responsible for ship to ship hologrammatic transmissions; the holograms in Empire Strikes Back are Holonet transmissions; the transmission of Darth Sidius in The Phantom Menace also also via Holonet.

(In Legends, it's explained that the Holonet operates in hyperspace, which is why communication is so fast. Subspace communications are slower, and "mail" only goes the speed of whatever ship it's on.)

Now, we do see droids communicating with comlinks occasionally, so it's not beyond the pale to imagine that droids could connect to each other via comlinks to communicate.

Limiting to Disney Canon, though, computers are treated as monolithic mainframes with huge databases, where data has to be retrieved either online (via connected terminals) or transferred via physical storage (Rogue One). Data transfer is handled by a "sneakernet," with data updates carried by ship to other mainframes, which update their local databases (kinda like usenet newsgroups before the Internet).

Zoey Green
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  • Thanks for mentioning specific source such as Tarkin and Rebels. Can you provide quotes or scene snippets from those to support your answer? And do the novelizations of The Empire Strikes Back and The Phantom Menace also mention HoloNets? The best answers are ones that are not just correct, but also mention specific quotes from original sources. Thanks. :-) – RichS Feb 26 '17 at 23:16
  • Didn't the Clone Wars TV Series have "DataPad" type things that looked like bulky iPads and connected to Mainframes? – Hyperdrive Enthusiast Jul 18 '17 at 20:04
  • According to Wookipedia quoting Aftermath, the New Republic abolished the censorship on the Holonet and made it available to everyone. It may then look like the closest equivalent of our Internet. – Neow Nov 30 '17 at 08:49
  • Kinda adding on- In the book, Catalyst, when it is talking about Lara's upbringing, it talks about how she was brought up, and that when her parents could afford it, they paid for Holos for her to watch (documentaries and such) as well as in several short stories, some people are referred to as holo stars, so we know there is definitely an "entertainment" side of the "internet". – EwokSniper Feb 06 '20 at 22:01
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They have something called the Holo-Net. It seems to only exist in the core worlds region of space (where Coruscant is) because other planets like Tatooine don't have it. Most spaceships seem to be able to access it with their communication systems (like the Millennium Falcon with it's big radar dish), probably to get hyperspace coordinates and to study galaxy chart information (like universal gps for planet locations, like Han does on the Millennium Falcon in Empire Strikes Back).

Emotional Layer 8451
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    Hi, welcome to the site. The question asked for a canon source, though. Do you have canon source for this answer? If so, please [edit] the answer to cite that source. To quote the OP in this comment: "The best answers are ones that are not just correct, but also mention specific quotes from original sources." – LogicDictates Feb 25 '22 at 03:07