The U.S. is more than just the US (according to the ISO)
This has happened to me more than once in my career in the video streaming business. The business folks sign a deal that lets people watch video, but only in the U.S. This is what we call geofencing. We use software like MaxMind and others to ensure people are where they say they are. Pretty straightforward. You tell the software the locations you want people to be able to watch from, and there you go. Great. You launch your video streaming service in the U.S., and a few days later, you get a call from Puerto Rico. It turns out THEY are a part of the U.S., too. You, being a savvy and well-read person, of course, know this, so what is the problem? The problem, it turns out, is that geofencing software determines location using a country code. More specifically, an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 3166 country code. And it ALSO turns out that for some silly reason, Puerto Rico has its OWN country code: PR! That is because ISO3166 isn’t a list of country codes. It is: Subdivisions! What is this an HOA? But no, indeed, the ISO 3166 list is a list of country codes… and parts of countries. And it turns out that Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory (nee part of a country, nee a subdivision). OK, so your team, now privy to the new information, updates their country code list to include the territory of Puerto Rico: Oh, my friend, I can already hear you screaming: but the U.S. has more than one territory! And right you are, but the complaint only came from Puerto Rico, so the business folk consider this one done. But YOU are a nerd. So you want to fix it right. There are a few that you probably know off the top of your head: That’s a pretty solid list, but there ARE two more that a lot of folks haven’t heard of: Turns out the U.S. owns 9 islands and atolls (an atoll is like an island, but, you know, barely there. Think cartoon island with a palm tree on it) (This is what you get when you Google “cartoon island with a palm tree on it.” The future is now. lol.) One island in the Caribbean that is so hard to land on they put it in a class of its own, and 8 islands or atolls in the Pacific Ocean. Almost all of which are uninhabited nature preserves, with the exceptions of Wake Island and Midway Atoll, which have military bases on them (they were ALSO important in WWII - thank you to my high school history teacher and golf coach. Go Wolves!). One of the nature preserves, Palmyra Atoll, allows people (mostly scientists) to visit for research on wildlife conservation. Two at a time, four a year. (Took a few tries, but ol’ ChatGPT generated the right map - you should have seen the first one. Oof.) So. Next time you are geofencing your application to the U.S only, remember that REALLY means the U.S. and its subdivisions. In ISO 3611 parlance, what your geofencing software will understand the whole U.S. is: Because, hey, you don’t want those two scientists on Palmyra Atoll missing out on streaming free TV, movies, and live sports, right? Well, as of Friday, they won’t. :)“The International Standard for country codes and codes for their subdivisions“
