HoloNet

The Old Republic Senate commissioned the construction of a galaxy-wide HoloNet to provide a free flow of hologrammic communications between the member worlds. Before the HoloNet, communications were handled face-to-face via hyperspace travel (which was usually faster than subspace comm transmissions) or by subspace planetary relays. Subspace relays are still the easiest and cheapest way to send transmissions within systems or between neighboring systems.

For communication over longer distances, the HoloNet uses hundreds of thousands of non-mass transceivers, which are connected through a vast matrix of coordinated hyperspace simutunnels and routed through massive computer sorters and decoders. Relays sent through the hypspace matrix reach their targets nearly instantaneously, providing a real-time exchange of news, ideas, and information.

When the Emperor came into power, he shut down large portions of the HoloNet. It remained active in the Core Worlds and was used as a military communications medium for keeping the Imperial fleet in contact, but all of the outer systems were cut off to isolate them from reaching the major metropolitan worlds.