diff --git a/mod/dfrn_confirm.php b/mod/dfrn_confirm.php
index 8b87bae5d3..f78e8d55aa 100644
--- a/mod/dfrn_confirm.php
+++ b/mod/dfrn_confirm.php
@@ -42,10 +42,10 @@ use Friendica\Model\Contact;
 use Friendica\Model\Group;
 use Friendica\Model\Notify\Type;
 use Friendica\Model\User;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Protocol\Activity;
 use Friendica\Util\Crypto;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
 use Friendica\Util\Strings;
 use Friendica\Util\XML;
 
@@ -224,7 +224,7 @@ function dfrn_confirm_post(App $a, $handsfree = null)
 		 *
 		 */
 
-		$res = Network::post($dfrn_confirm, $params, [], 120)->getBody();
+		$res = HTTPRequest::post($dfrn_confirm, $params, [], 120)->getBody();
 
 		Logger::log(' Confirm: received data: ' . $res, Logger::DATA);
 
diff --git a/mod/dfrn_poll.php b/mod/dfrn_poll.php
index 8d50761db1..faa55a1082 100644
--- a/mod/dfrn_poll.php
+++ b/mod/dfrn_poll.php
@@ -21,13 +21,13 @@
 
 use Friendica\App;
 use Friendica\Core\Logger;
-use Friendica\Core\System;
 use Friendica\Core\Session;
+use Friendica\Core\System;
 use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\DI;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Protocol\DFRN;
 use Friendica\Protocol\OStatus;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
 use Friendica\Util\Strings;
 use Friendica\Util\XML;
 
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ function dfrn_poll_init(App $a)
 		);
 
 		if (DBA::isResult($r)) {
-			$s = Network::fetchUrl($r[0]['poll'] . '?dfrn_id=' . $my_id . '&type=profile-check');
+			$s = HTTPRequest::fetchUrl($r[0]['poll'] . '?dfrn_id=' . $my_id . '&type=profile-check');
 
 			Logger::log("dfrn_poll: old profile returns " . $s, Logger::DATA);
 
@@ -499,20 +499,20 @@ function dfrn_poll_content(App $a)
 
 			// URL reply
 			if ($dfrn_version < 2.2) {
-				$s = Network::fetchUrl($r[0]['poll']
-					. '?dfrn_id=' . $encrypted_id
-					. '&type=profile-check'
-					. '&dfrn_version=' . DFRN_PROTOCOL_VERSION
-					. '&challenge=' . $challenge
-					. '&sec=' . $sec
+				$s = HTTPRequest::fetchUrl($r[0]['poll']
+				                           . '?dfrn_id=' . $encrypted_id
+				                           . '&type=profile-check'
+				                           . '&dfrn_version=' . DFRN_PROTOCOL_VERSION
+				                           . '&challenge=' . $challenge
+				                           . '&sec=' . $sec
 				);
 			} else {
-				$s = Network::post($r[0]['poll'], [
-					'dfrn_id' => $encrypted_id,
-					'type' => 'profile-check',
+				$s = HTTPRequest::post($r[0]['poll'], [
+					'dfrn_id'      => $encrypted_id,
+					'type'         => 'profile-check',
 					'dfrn_version' => DFRN_PROTOCOL_VERSION,
-					'challenge' => $challenge,
-					'sec' => $sec
+					'challenge'    => $challenge,
+					'sec'          => $sec
 				])->getBody();
 			}
 
diff --git a/mod/dfrn_request.php b/mod/dfrn_request.php
index f8e4c90236..bdc407b0b1 100644
--- a/mod/dfrn_request.php
+++ b/mod/dfrn_request.php
@@ -29,8 +29,8 @@ use Friendica\Core\Logger;
 use Friendica\Core\Protocol;
 use Friendica\Core\Renderer;
 use Friendica\Core\Search;
-use Friendica\Core\System;
 use Friendica\Core\Session;
+use Friendica\Core\System;
 use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\DI;
 use Friendica\Model\Contact;
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ use Friendica\Model\Notify\Type;
 use Friendica\Model\Profile;
 use Friendica\Model\User;
 use Friendica\Module\Security\Login;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Network\Probe;
 use Friendica\Protocol\Activity;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
@@ -203,7 +204,7 @@ function dfrn_request_post(App $a)
 				}
 
 				if (!empty($dfrn_request) && strlen($confirm_key)) {
-					Network::fetchUrl($dfrn_request . '?confirm_key=' . $confirm_key);
+					HTTPRequest::fetchUrl($dfrn_request . '?confirm_key=' . $confirm_key);
 				}
 
 				// (ignore reply, nothing we can do it failed)
diff --git a/mod/match.php b/mod/match.php
index 747e0b2f03..4ec47c4cc6 100644
--- a/mod/match.php
+++ b/mod/match.php
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\DI;
 use Friendica\Model\Contact;
 use Friendica\Model\Profile;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 
 /**
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ function match_content(App $a)
 		$host = DI::baseUrl();
 	}
 
-	$msearch_json = Network::post($host . '/msearch', $params)->getBody();
+	$msearch_json = HTTPRequest::post($host . '/msearch', $params)->getBody();
 
 	$msearch = json_decode($msearch_json);
 
diff --git a/mod/oexchange.php b/mod/oexchange.php
index 97367c3ea5..5238893320 100644
--- a/mod/oexchange.php
+++ b/mod/oexchange.php
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ use Friendica\App;
 use Friendica\Core\Renderer;
 use Friendica\DI;
 use Friendica\Module\Security\Login;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Util\Strings;
 
 function oexchange_init(App $a) {
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ function oexchange_content(App $a) {
 	$tags = ((!empty($_REQUEST['tags']))
 		? '&tags=' . urlencode(Strings::escapeTags(trim($_REQUEST['tags']))) : '');
 
-	$s = Network::fetchUrl(DI::baseUrl() . '/parse_url?url=' . $url . $title . $description . $tags);
+	$s = HTTPRequest::fetchUrl(DI::baseUrl() . '/parse_url?url=' . $url . $title . $description . $tags);
 
 	if (!strlen($s)) {
 		return;
diff --git a/mod/ostatus_subscribe.php b/mod/ostatus_subscribe.php
index 751afcc731..6b6c94987d 100644
--- a/mod/ostatus_subscribe.php
+++ b/mod/ostatus_subscribe.php
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ use Friendica\App;
 use Friendica\Core\Protocol;
 use Friendica\DI;
 use Friendica\Model\Contact;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 
 function ostatus_subscribe_content(App $a)
 {
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ function ostatus_subscribe_content(App $a)
 		$api = $contact['baseurl'] . '/api/';
 
 		// Fetching friends
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($api . 'statuses/friends.json?screen_name=' . $contact['nick']);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($api . 'statuses/friends.json?screen_name=' . $contact['nick']);
 
 		if (!$curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 			DI::pConfig()->delete($uid, 'ostatus', 'legacy_contact');
diff --git a/mod/parse_url.php b/mod/parse_url.php
index 67610140b6..49e41246c9 100644
--- a/mod/parse_url.php
+++ b/mod/parse_url.php
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ use Friendica\Content\PageInfo;
 use Friendica\Core\Hook;
 use Friendica\Core\Logger;
 use Friendica\Core\System;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Util\ParseUrl;
 use Friendica\Util\Strings;
 
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ function parse_url_content(App $a)
 	// Check if the URL is an image, video or audio file. If so format
 	// the URL with the corresponding BBCode media tag
 	// Fetch the header of the URL
-	$curlResponse = Network::curl($url, false, ['novalidate' => true, 'nobody' => true]);
+	$curlResponse = HTTPRequest::curl($url, false, ['novalidate' => true, 'nobody' => true]);
 
 	if ($curlResponse->isSuccess()) {
 		// Convert the header fields into an array
diff --git a/mod/pubsubhubbub.php b/mod/pubsubhubbub.php
index 4d33503796..9403d3eb7f 100644
--- a/mod/pubsubhubbub.php
+++ b/mod/pubsubhubbub.php
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ use Friendica\Core\Logger;
 use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\DI;
 use Friendica\Model\PushSubscriber;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Util\Strings;
 
 function post_var($name) {
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ function pubsubhubbub_init(App $a) {
 		$hub_callback = rtrim($hub_callback, ' ?&#');
 		$separator = parse_url($hub_callback, PHP_URL_QUERY) === null ? '?' : '&';
 
-		$fetchResult = Network::fetchUrlFull($hub_callback . $separator . $params);
+		$fetchResult = HTTPRequest::fetchUrlFull($hub_callback . $separator . $params);
 		$body = $fetchResult->getBody();
 		$ret = $fetchResult->getReturnCode();
 
diff --git a/mod/redir.php b/mod/redir.php
index d928e66df0..deb97ca1c6 100644
--- a/mod/redir.php
+++ b/mod/redir.php
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\DI;
 use Friendica\Model\Contact;
 use Friendica\Model\Profile;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Util\Strings;
 
 function redir_init(App $a) {
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ function redir_magic($a, $cid, $url)
 	}
 
 	// Test for magic auth on the target system
-	$serverret = Network::curl($basepath . '/magic');
+	$serverret = HTTPRequest::curl($basepath . '/magic');
 	if ($serverret->isSuccess()) {
 		$separator = strpos($target_url, '?') ? '&' : '?';
 		$target_url .= $separator . 'zrl=' . urlencode($visitor) . '&addr=' . urlencode($contact_url);
diff --git a/src/Content/OEmbed.php b/src/Content/OEmbed.php
index db467a2630..8cfb8ce0a1 100644
--- a/src/Content/OEmbed.php
+++ b/src/Content/OEmbed.php
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ use Friendica\Core\Hook;
 use Friendica\Core\Renderer;
 use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\DI;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
 use Friendica\Util\Network;
 use Friendica\Util\ParseUrl;
@@ -95,7 +96,7 @@ class OEmbed
 
 			if (!in_array($ext, $noexts)) {
 				// try oembed autodiscovery
-				$html_text = Network::fetchUrl($embedurl, false, 15, 'text/*');
+				$html_text = HTTPRequest::fetchUrl($embedurl, false, 15, 'text/*');
 				if ($html_text) {
 					$dom = @DOMDocument::loadHTML($html_text);
 					if ($dom) {
@@ -103,14 +104,14 @@ class OEmbed
 						$entries = $xpath->query("//link[@type='application/json+oembed']");
 						foreach ($entries as $e) {
 							$href = $e->getAttributeNode('href')->nodeValue;
-							$json_string = Network::fetchUrl($href . '&maxwidth=' . $a->videowidth);
+							$json_string = HTTPRequest::fetchUrl($href . '&maxwidth=' . $a->videowidth);
 							break;
 						}
 
 						$entries = $xpath->query("//link[@type='text/json+oembed']");
 						foreach ($entries as $e) {
 							$href = $e->getAttributeNode('href')->nodeValue;
-							$json_string = Network::fetchUrl($href . '&maxwidth=' . $a->videowidth);
+							$json_string = HTTPRequest::fetchUrl($href . '&maxwidth=' . $a->videowidth);
 							break;
 						}
 					}
diff --git a/src/Content/Text/BBCode.php b/src/Content/Text/BBCode.php
index ce34d58ac5..f03ea6104b 100644
--- a/src/Content/Text/BBCode.php
+++ b/src/Content/Text/BBCode.php
@@ -38,12 +38,11 @@ use Friendica\Model\Contact;
 use Friendica\Model\Event;
 use Friendica\Model\Photo;
 use Friendica\Model\Tag;
-use Friendica\Network\Probe;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Object\Image;
 use Friendica\Protocol\Activity;
 use Friendica\Util\Images;
 use Friendica\Util\Map;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
 use Friendica\Util\ParseUrl;
 use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 use Friendica\Util\Strings;
@@ -487,7 +486,7 @@ class BBCode
 					continue;
 				}
 
-				$curlResult = Network::curl($mtch[1], true);
+				$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($mtch[1], true);
 				if (!$curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 					continue;
 				}
@@ -1108,7 +1107,7 @@ class BBCode
 				$text = "[url=" . $match[2] . ']' . $match[2] . "[/url]";
 
 				// if its not a picture then look if its a page that contains a picture link
-				$body = Network::fetchUrl($match[1]);
+				$body = HTTPRequest::fetchUrl($match[1]);
 
 				$doc = new DOMDocument();
 				@$doc->loadHTML($body);
@@ -1187,7 +1186,7 @@ class BBCode
 			}
 
 			// if its not a picture then look if its a page that contains a picture link
-			$body = Network::fetchUrl($match[1]);
+			$body = HTTPRequest::fetchUrl($match[1]);
 
 			$doc = new DOMDocument();
 			@$doc->loadHTML($body);
diff --git a/src/Core/Installer.php b/src/Core/Installer.php
index 37b51d2ed9..7b6291ff39 100644
--- a/src/Core/Installer.php
+++ b/src/Core/Installer.php
@@ -27,8 +27,8 @@ use Friendica\Core\Config\Cache;
 use Friendica\Database\Database;
 use Friendica\Database\DBStructure;
 use Friendica\DI;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Util\Images;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
 use Friendica\Util\Strings;
 
 /**
@@ -548,11 +548,11 @@ class Installer
 		$help = "";
 		$error_msg = "";
 		if (function_exists('curl_init')) {
-			$fetchResult = Network::fetchUrlFull($baseurl . "/install/testrewrite");
+			$fetchResult = HTTPRequest::fetchUrlFull($baseurl . "/install/testrewrite");
 
 			$url = Strings::normaliseLink($baseurl . "/install/testrewrite");
 			if ($fetchResult->getReturnCode() != 204) {
-				$fetchResult = Network::fetchUrlFull($url);
+				$fetchResult = HTTPRequest::fetchUrlFull($url);
 			}
 
 			if ($fetchResult->getReturnCode() != 204) {
diff --git a/src/Core/Protocol.php b/src/Core/Protocol.php
index e510f1868c..84b589bf29 100644
--- a/src/Core/Protocol.php
+++ b/src/Core/Protocol.php
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
 
 namespace Friendica\Core;
 
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 
 /**
  * Manage compatibility with federated networks
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ class Protocol
 		if (preg_match('=https?://(.*)/user/(.*)=ism', $profile_url, $matches)) {
 			$statusnet_host = $matches[1];
 			$statusnet_user = $matches[2];
-			$UserData = Network::fetchUrl('http://' . $statusnet_host . '/api/users/show.json?user_id=' . $statusnet_user);
+			$UserData = HTTPRequest::fetchUrl('http://' . $statusnet_host . '/api/users/show.json?user_id=' . $statusnet_user);
 			$user = json_decode($UserData);
 			if ($user) {
 				$matches[2] = $user->screen_name;
diff --git a/src/Core/Search.php b/src/Core/Search.php
index edc88ffd7d..26af05e746 100644
--- a/src/Core/Search.php
+++ b/src/Core/Search.php
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ use Friendica\DI;
 use Friendica\Model\Contact;
 use Friendica\Model\GContact;
 use Friendica\Network\HTTPException;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Object\Search\ContactResult;
 use Friendica\Object\Search\ResultList;
 use Friendica\Util\Network;
@@ -123,7 +124,7 @@ class Search
 			$searchUrl .= '&page=' . $page;
 		}
 
-		$resultJson = Network::fetchUrl($searchUrl, false, 0, 'application/json');
+		$resultJson = HTTPRequest::fetchUrl($searchUrl, false, 0, 'application/json');
 
 		$results = json_decode($resultJson, true);
 
@@ -284,7 +285,7 @@ class Search
 			$return = GContact::searchByName($search, $mode);
 		} else {
 			$p = $page > 1 ? 'p=' . $page : '';
-			$curlResult = Network::curl(self::getGlobalDirectory() . '/search/people?' . $p . '&q=' . urlencode($search), false, ['accept_content' => 'application/json']);
+			$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl(self::getGlobalDirectory() . '/search/people?' . $p . '&q=' . urlencode($search), false, ['accept_content' => 'application/json']);
 			if ($curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 				$searchResult = json_decode($curlResult->getBody(), true);
 				if (!empty($searchResult['profiles'])) {
diff --git a/src/Core/Worker.php b/src/Core/Worker.php
index fe3d17ad7f..a5c4226c47 100644
--- a/src/Core/Worker.php
+++ b/src/Core/Worker.php
@@ -25,8 +25,8 @@ use Friendica\Core;
 use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\DI;
 use Friendica\Model\Process;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
 
 /**
  * Contains the class for the worker background job processing
@@ -997,7 +997,7 @@ class Worker
 		}
 
 		$url = DI::baseUrl() . '/worker';
-		Network::fetchUrl($url, false, 1);
+		HTTPRequest::fetchUrl($url, false, 1);
 	}
 
 	/**
diff --git a/src/Model/APContact.php b/src/Model/APContact.php
index 5966b8c25e..9fc72ac5a4 100644
--- a/src/Model/APContact.php
+++ b/src/Model/APContact.php
@@ -24,15 +24,13 @@ namespace Friendica\Model;
 use Friendica\Content\Text\HTML;
 use Friendica\Core\Logger;
 use Friendica\Database\DBA;
-use Friendica\DI;
 use Friendica\Network\Probe;
 use Friendica\Protocol\ActivityNamespace;
 use Friendica\Protocol\ActivityPub;
 use Friendica\Util\Crypto;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
-use Friendica\Util\JsonLD;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
-use Friendica\Util\Strings;
+use Friendica\Util\JsonLD;
+use Friendica\Util\Network;
 
 class APContact
 {
diff --git a/src/Model/GContact.php b/src/Model/GContact.php
index 6a3c7da74c..a7cf837bdd 100644
--- a/src/Model/GContact.php
+++ b/src/Model/GContact.php
@@ -26,11 +26,12 @@ use DOMXPath;
 use Exception;
 use Friendica\Core\Logger;
 use Friendica\Core\Protocol;
-use Friendica\Core\System;
 use Friendica\Core\Search;
+use Friendica\Core\System;
 use Friendica\Core\Worker;
 use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\DI;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Network\Probe;
 use Friendica\Protocol\ActivityPub;
 use Friendica\Protocol\PortableContact;
@@ -537,7 +538,7 @@ class GContact
 		$done[] = DI::baseUrl() . '/poco';
 
 		if (strlen(DI::config()->get('system', 'directory'))) {
-			$x = Network::fetchUrl(Search::getGlobalDirectory() . '/pubsites');
+			$x = HTTPRequest::fetchUrl(Search::getGlobalDirectory() . '/pubsites');
 			if (!empty($x)) {
 				$j = json_decode($x);
 				if (!empty($j->entries)) {
@@ -845,7 +846,7 @@ class GContact
 			return false;
 		}
 
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($gserver['noscrape'] . '/' . $data['nick']);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($gserver['noscrape'] . '/' . $data['nick']);
 
 		if ($curlResult->isSuccess() && !empty($curlResult->getBody())) {
 			$noscrape = json_decode($curlResult->getBody(), true);
@@ -927,7 +928,7 @@ class GContact
 	private static function updateFromFeed(array $data)
 	{
 		// Search for the newest entry in the feed
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($data['poll']);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($data['poll']);
 		if (!$curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 			$fields = ['failed' => true, 'last_failure' => DateTimeFormat::utcNow()];
 			DBA::update('gcontact', $fields, ['nurl' => Strings::normaliseLink($data['url'])]);
@@ -1205,7 +1206,7 @@ class GContact
 
 		$url = $server . '/main/statistics';
 
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($url);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url);
 		if (!$curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 			return false;
 		}
diff --git a/src/Model/GServer.php b/src/Model/GServer.php
index 8cad1aad08..80ef201a8a 100644
--- a/src/Model/GServer.php
+++ b/src/Model/GServer.php
@@ -23,20 +23,21 @@ namespace Friendica\Model;
 
 use DOMDocument;
 use DOMXPath;
+use Friendica\Core\Logger;
 use Friendica\Core\Protocol;
+use Friendica\Core\System;
 use Friendica\Core\Worker;
 use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\DI;
 use Friendica\Module\Register;
 use Friendica\Network\CurlResult;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
+use Friendica\Protocol\Diaspora;
+use Friendica\Protocol\PortableContact;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
+use Friendica\Util\Network;
 use Friendica\Util\Strings;
 use Friendica\Util\XML;
-use Friendica\Core\Logger;
-use Friendica\Core\System;
-use Friendica\Protocol\PortableContact;
-use Friendica\Protocol\Diaspora;
 
 /**
  * This class handles GServer related functions
@@ -309,7 +310,7 @@ class GServer
 
 		// When a nodeinfo is present, we don't need to dig further
 		$xrd_timeout = DI::config()->get('system', 'xrd_timeout');
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($url . '/.well-known/nodeinfo', false, ['timeout' => $xrd_timeout]);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url . '/.well-known/nodeinfo', false, ['timeout' => $xrd_timeout]);
 		if ($curlResult->isTimeout()) {
 			self::setFailure($url);
 			return false;
@@ -342,7 +343,7 @@ class GServer
 					$basedata = ['detection-method' => self::DETECT_MANUAL];
 				}
 
-				$curlResult = Network::curl($baseurl, false, ['timeout' => $xrd_timeout]);
+				$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($baseurl, false, ['timeout' => $xrd_timeout]);
 				if ($curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 					$basedata = self::analyseRootHeader($curlResult, $basedata);
 					$basedata = self::analyseRootBody($curlResult, $basedata, $baseurl);
@@ -498,7 +499,7 @@ class GServer
 	{
 		Logger::info('Discover relay data', ['server' => $server_url]);
 
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($server_url . '/.well-known/x-social-relay');
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($server_url . '/.well-known/x-social-relay');
 		if (!$curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 			return;
 		}
@@ -579,7 +580,7 @@ class GServer
 	 */
 	private static function fetchStatistics(string $url)
 	{
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($url . '/statistics.json');
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url . '/statistics.json');
 		if (!$curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 			return [];
 		}
@@ -689,7 +690,8 @@ class GServer
 	 */
 	private static function parseNodeinfo1(string $nodeinfo_url)
 	{
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($nodeinfo_url);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($nodeinfo_url);
+
 		if (!$curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 			return [];
 		}
@@ -765,7 +767,7 @@ class GServer
 	 */
 	private static function parseNodeinfo2(string $nodeinfo_url)
 	{
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($nodeinfo_url);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($nodeinfo_url);
 		if (!$curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 			return [];
 		}
@@ -842,7 +844,7 @@ class GServer
 	 */
 	private static function fetchSiteinfo(string $url, array $serverdata)
 	{
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($url . '/siteinfo.json');
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url . '/siteinfo.json');
 		if (!$curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 			return $serverdata;
 		}
@@ -911,7 +913,7 @@ class GServer
 	private static function validHostMeta(string $url)
 	{
 		$xrd_timeout = DI::config()->get('system', 'xrd_timeout');
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($url . '/.well-known/host-meta', false, ['timeout' => $xrd_timeout]);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url . '/.well-known/host-meta', false, ['timeout' => $xrd_timeout]);
 		if (!$curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 			return false;
 		}
@@ -1007,7 +1009,7 @@ class GServer
 	{
 		$serverdata['poco'] = '';
 
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($url. '/poco');
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url . '/poco');
 		if (!$curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 			return $serverdata;
 		}
@@ -1037,7 +1039,7 @@ class GServer
 	 */
 	public static function checkMastodonDirectory(string $url, array $serverdata)
 	{
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($url . '/api/v1/directory?limit=1');
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url . '/api/v1/directory?limit=1');
 		if (!$curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 			return $serverdata;
 		}
@@ -1064,7 +1066,8 @@ class GServer
 	 */
 	private static function detectNextcloud(string $url, array $serverdata)
 	{
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($url . '/status.php');
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url . '/status.php');
+
 		if (!$curlResult->isSuccess() || ($curlResult->getBody() == '')) {
 			return $serverdata;
 		}
@@ -1097,7 +1100,8 @@ class GServer
 	 */
 	private static function detectMastodonAlikes(string $url, array $serverdata)
 	{
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($url . '/api/v1/instance');
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url . '/api/v1/instance');
+
 		if (!$curlResult->isSuccess() || ($curlResult->getBody() == '')) {
 			return $serverdata;
 		}
@@ -1162,7 +1166,7 @@ class GServer
 	 */
 	private static function detectHubzilla(string $url, array $serverdata)
 	{
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($url . '/api/statusnet/config.json');
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url . '/api/statusnet/config.json');
 		if (!$curlResult->isSuccess() || ($curlResult->getBody() == '')) {
 			return $serverdata;
 		}
@@ -1260,7 +1264,7 @@ class GServer
 	private static function detectGNUSocial(string $url, array $serverdata)
 	{
 		// Test for GNU Social
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($url . '/api/gnusocial/version.json');
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url . '/api/gnusocial/version.json');
 		if ($curlResult->isSuccess() && ($curlResult->getBody() != '{"error":"not implemented"}') &&
 			($curlResult->getBody() != '') && (strlen($curlResult->getBody()) < 30)) {
 			$serverdata['platform'] = 'gnusocial';
@@ -1278,7 +1282,7 @@ class GServer
 		}
 
 		// Test for Statusnet
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($url . '/api/statusnet/version.json');
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url . '/api/statusnet/version.json');
 		if ($curlResult->isSuccess() && ($curlResult->getBody() != '{"error":"not implemented"}') &&
 			($curlResult->getBody() != '') && (strlen($curlResult->getBody()) < 30)) {
 
@@ -1314,9 +1318,9 @@ class GServer
 	 */
 	private static function detectFriendica(string $url, array $serverdata)
 	{
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($url . '/friendica/json');
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url . '/friendica/json');
 		if (!$curlResult->isSuccess()) {
-			$curlResult = Network::curl($url . '/friendika/json');
+			$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url . '/friendika/json');
 			$friendika = true;
 			$platform = 'Friendika';
 		} else {
@@ -1631,7 +1635,7 @@ class GServer
 		$protocols = ['activitypub', 'diaspora', 'dfrn', 'ostatus'];
 		foreach ($protocols as $protocol) {
 			$query = '{nodes(protocol:"' . $protocol . '"){host}}';
-			$curlResult = Network::fetchUrl('https://the-federation.info/graphql?query=' . urlencode($query));
+			$curlResult = HTTPRequest::fetchUrl('https://the-federation.info/graphql?query=' . urlencode($query));
 			if (!empty($curlResult)) {
 				$data = json_decode($curlResult, true);
 				if (!empty($data['data']['nodes'])) {
@@ -1649,7 +1653,8 @@ class GServer
 		if (!empty($accesstoken)) {
 			$api = 'https://instances.social/api/1.0/instances/list?count=0';
 			$header = ['Authorization: Bearer '.$accesstoken];
-			$curlResult = Network::curl($api, false, ['headers' => $header]);
+			$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($api, false, ['headers' => $header]);
+
 			if ($curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 				$servers = json_decode($curlResult->getBody(), true);
 
diff --git a/src/Model/Photo.php b/src/Model/Photo.php
index 9d8b5611f7..125718bf50 100644
--- a/src/Model/Photo.php
+++ b/src/Model/Photo.php
@@ -28,10 +28,10 @@ use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\Database\DBStructure;
 use Friendica\DI;
 use Friendica\Model\Storage\SystemResource;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Object\Image;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
 use Friendica\Util\Images;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
 use Friendica\Util\Security;
 use Friendica\Util\Strings;
 
@@ -421,7 +421,7 @@ class Photo
 
 		$filename = basename($image_url);
 		if (!empty($image_url)) {
-			$ret = Network::curl($image_url, true);
+			$ret = HTTPRequest::curl($image_url, true);
 			$img_str = $ret->getBody();
 			$type = $ret->getContentType();
 		} else {
diff --git a/src/Model/Profile.php b/src/Model/Profile.php
index 2fcbde0779..c8fd9d029c 100644
--- a/src/Model/Profile.php
+++ b/src/Model/Profile.php
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ use Friendica\Core\Session;
 use Friendica\Core\System;
 use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\DI;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Protocol\Activity;
 use Friendica\Protocol\Diaspora;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
@@ -737,7 +738,7 @@ class Profile
 			$magic_path = $basepath . '/magic' . '?owa=1&dest=' . $dest . '&' . $addr_request;
 
 			// We have to check if the remote server does understand /magic without invoking something
-			$serverret = Network::curl($basepath . '/magic');
+			$serverret = HTTPRequest::curl($basepath . '/magic');
 			if ($serverret->isSuccess()) {
 				Logger::log('Doing magic auth for visitor ' . $my_url . ' to ' . $magic_path, Logger::DEBUG);
 				System::externalRedirect($magic_path);
diff --git a/src/Model/User.php b/src/Model/User.php
index b4ada344e1..fda105687d 100644
--- a/src/Model/User.php
+++ b/src/Model/User.php
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\DI;
 use Friendica\Model\TwoFactor\AppSpecificPassword;
 use Friendica\Network\HTTPException\InternalServerErrorException;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Object\Image;
 use Friendica\Util\Crypto;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
@@ -823,7 +824,7 @@ class User
 			$photo_failure = false;
 
 			$filename = basename($photo);
-			$curlResult = Network::curl($photo, true);
+			$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($photo, true);
 			if ($curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 				$img_str = $curlResult->getBody();
 				$type = $curlResult->getContentType();
diff --git a/src/Module/Admin/Summary.php b/src/Module/Admin/Summary.php
index c19b7f7f87..6dcef2ea43 100644
--- a/src/Module/Admin/Summary.php
+++ b/src/Module/Admin/Summary.php
@@ -31,12 +31,10 @@ use Friendica\Database\DBStructure;
 use Friendica\DI;
 use Friendica\Model\Register;
 use Friendica\Module\BaseAdmin;
-use Friendica\Module\Update\Profile;
 use Friendica\Network\HTTPException\InternalServerErrorException;
-use Friendica\Render\FriendicaSmarty;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Util\ConfigFileLoader;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
 
 class Summary extends BaseAdmin
 {
@@ -249,7 +247,7 @@ class Summary extends BaseAdmin
 	private static function checkSelfHostMeta()
 	{
 		// Fetch the host-meta to check if this really is a vital server
-		return Network::curl(DI::baseUrl()->get() . '/.well-known/host-meta')->isSuccess();
+		return HTTPRequest::curl(DI::baseUrl()->get() . '/.well-known/host-meta')->isSuccess();
 	}
 
 }
diff --git a/src/Module/Debug/Feed.php b/src/Module/Debug/Feed.php
index e969de9cc3..6214b49dd5 100644
--- a/src/Module/Debug/Feed.php
+++ b/src/Module/Debug/Feed.php
@@ -25,8 +25,8 @@ use Friendica\BaseModule;
 use Friendica\Core\Renderer;
 use Friendica\DI;
 use Friendica\Model;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Protocol;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
 
 /**
  * Tests a given feed of a contact
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ class Feed extends BaseModule
 
 			$contact = Model\Contact::getByURLForUser($url, local_user(), false);
 
-			$xml = Network::fetchUrl($contact['poll']);
+			$xml = HTTPRequest::fetchUrl($contact['poll']);
 
 			$import_result = Protocol\Feed::import($xml);
 
diff --git a/src/Module/Magic.php b/src/Module/Magic.php
index f27ffeac58..b65159585b 100644
--- a/src/Module/Magic.php
+++ b/src/Module/Magic.php
@@ -27,8 +27,8 @@ use Friendica\Core\System;
 use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\DI;
 use Friendica\Model\Contact;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Util\HTTPSignature;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
 use Friendica\Util\Strings;
 
 /**
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ class Magic extends BaseModule
 				);
 
 				// Try to get an authentication token from the other instance.
-				$curlResult = Network::curl($basepath . '/owa', false, ['headers' => $headers]);
+				$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($basepath . '/owa', false, ['headers' => $headers]);
 
 				if ($curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 					$j = json_decode($curlResult->getBody(), true);
diff --git a/src/Network/HTTPRequest.php b/src/Network/HTTPRequest.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6986a93599
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Network/HTTPRequest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,364 @@
+<?php
+/**
+ * @copyright Copyright (C) 2020, Friendica
+ *
+ * @license GNU APGL version 3 or any later version
+ *
+ * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as
+ * published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the
+ * License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ *
+ */
+
+namespace Friendica\Network;
+
+use Friendica\Core\Logger;
+use Friendica\Core\System;
+use Friendica\DI;
+use Friendica\Util\Network;
+
+/**
+ * Performs HTTP requests to a given URL
+ */
+class HTTPRequest
+{
+	/**
+	 * fetches an URL.
+	 *
+	 * @param string  $url       URL to fetch
+	 * @param bool    $binary    default false
+	 *                           TRUE if asked to return binary results (file download)
+	 * @param array   $opts      (optional parameters) assoziative array with:
+	 *                           'accept_content' => supply Accept: header with 'accept_content' as the value
+	 *                           'timeout' => int Timeout in seconds, default system config value or 60 seconds
+	 *                           'http_auth' => username:password
+	 *                           'novalidate' => do not validate SSL certs, default is to validate using our CA list
+	 *                           'nobody' => only return the header
+	 *                           'cookiejar' => path to cookie jar file
+	 *                           'header' => header array
+	 * @param int     $redirects The recursion counter for internal use - default 0
+	 *
+	 * @return CurlResult
+	 * @throws \Friendica\Network\HTTPException\InternalServerErrorException
+	 */
+	public static function curl(string $url, bool $binary = false, array $opts = [], int &$redirects = 0)
+	{
+		$stamp1 = microtime(true);
+
+		$a = DI::app();
+
+		if (strlen($url) > 1000) {
+			Logger::log('URL is longer than 1000 characters. Callstack: ' . System::callstack(20), Logger::DEBUG);
+			return CurlResult::createErrorCurl(substr($url, 0, 200));
+		}
+
+		$parts2     = [];
+		$parts      = parse_url($url);
+		$path_parts = explode('/', $parts['path'] ?? '');
+		foreach ($path_parts as $part) {
+			if (strlen($part) <> mb_strlen($part)) {
+				$parts2[] = rawurlencode($part);
+			} else {
+				$parts2[] = $part;
+			}
+		}
+		$parts['path'] = implode('/', $parts2);
+		$url           = Network::unparseURL($parts);
+
+		if (Network::isUrlBlocked($url)) {
+			Logger::log('domain of ' . $url . ' is blocked', Logger::DATA);
+			return CurlResult::createErrorCurl($url);
+		}
+
+		$ch = @curl_init($url);
+
+		if (($redirects > 8) || (!$ch)) {
+			return CurlResult::createErrorCurl($url);
+		}
+
+		@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HEADER, true);
+
+		if (!empty($opts['cookiejar'])) {
+			curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_COOKIEJAR, $opts["cookiejar"]);
+			curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_COOKIEFILE, $opts["cookiejar"]);
+		}
+
+		// These settings aren't needed. We're following the location already.
+		//	@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION, true);
+		//	@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS, 5);
+
+		if (!empty($opts['accept_content'])) {
+			curl_setopt(
+				$ch,
+				CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER,
+				['Accept: ' . $opts['accept_content']]
+			);
+		}
+
+		if (!empty($opts['header'])) {
+			curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, $opts['header']);
+		}
+
+		@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
+		@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_USERAGENT, $a->getUserAgent());
+
+		$range = intval(DI::config()->get('system', 'curl_range_bytes', 0));
+
+		if ($range > 0) {
+			@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RANGE, '0-' . $range);
+		}
+
+		// Without this setting it seems as if some webservers send compressed content
+		// This seems to confuse curl so that it shows this uncompressed.
+		/// @todo  We could possibly set this value to "gzip" or something similar
+		curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_ENCODING, '');
+
+		if (!empty($opts['headers'])) {
+			@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, $opts['headers']);
+		}
+
+		if (!empty($opts['nobody'])) {
+			@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_NOBODY, $opts['nobody']);
+		}
+
+		if (!empty($opts['timeout'])) {
+			@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT, $opts['timeout']);
+		} else {
+			$curl_time = DI::config()->get('system', 'curl_timeout', 60);
+			@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT, intval($curl_time));
+		}
+
+		// by default we will allow self-signed certs
+		// but you can override this
+
+		$check_cert = DI::config()->get('system', 'verifyssl');
+		@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, (($check_cert) ? true : false));
+
+		if ($check_cert) {
+			@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST, 2);
+		}
+
+		$proxy = DI::config()->get('system', 'proxy');
+
+		if (strlen($proxy)) {
+			@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPPROXYTUNNEL, 1);
+			@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_PROXY, $proxy);
+			$proxyuser = @DI::config()->get('system', 'proxyuser');
+
+			if (strlen($proxyuser)) {
+				@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_PROXYUSERPWD, $proxyuser);
+			}
+		}
+
+		if (DI::config()->get('system', 'ipv4_resolve', false)) {
+			curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_IPRESOLVE, CURL_IPRESOLVE_V4);
+		}
+
+		if ($binary) {
+			@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_BINARYTRANSFER, 1);
+		}
+
+		// don't let curl abort the entire application
+		// if it throws any errors.
+
+		$s         = @curl_exec($ch);
+		$curl_info = @curl_getinfo($ch);
+
+		// Special treatment for HTTP Code 416
+		// See https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Status/416
+		if (($curl_info['http_code'] == 416) && ($range > 0)) {
+			@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RANGE, '');
+			$s         = @curl_exec($ch);
+			$curl_info = @curl_getinfo($ch);
+		}
+
+		$curlResponse = new CurlResult($url, $s, $curl_info, curl_errno($ch), curl_error($ch));
+
+		if ($curlResponse->isRedirectUrl()) {
+			$redirects++;
+			Logger::log('curl: redirect ' . $url . ' to ' . $curlResponse->getRedirectUrl());
+			@curl_close($ch);
+			return self::curl($curlResponse->getRedirectUrl(), $binary, $opts, $redirects);
+		}
+
+		@curl_close($ch);
+
+		DI::profiler()->saveTimestamp($stamp1, 'network', System::callstack());
+
+		return $curlResponse;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Send POST request to $url
+	 *
+	 * @param string  $url       URL to post
+	 * @param mixed   $params    array of POST variables
+	 * @param array   $headers   HTTP headers
+	 * @param int     $redirects Recursion counter for internal use - default = 0
+	 * @param int     $timeout   The timeout in seconds, default system config value or 60 seconds
+	 *
+	 * @return CurlResult The content
+	 * @throws \Friendica\Network\HTTPException\InternalServerErrorException
+	 */
+	public static function post(string $url, $params, array $headers = [], int $timeout = 0, int &$redirects = 0)
+	{
+		$stamp1 = microtime(true);
+
+		if (Network::isUrlBlocked($url)) {
+			Logger::log('post_url: domain of ' . $url . ' is blocked', Logger::DATA);
+			return CurlResult::createErrorCurl($url);
+		}
+
+		$a  = DI::app();
+		$ch = curl_init($url);
+
+		if (($redirects > 8) || (!$ch)) {
+			return CurlResult::createErrorCurl($url);
+		}
+
+		Logger::log('post_url: start ' . $url, Logger::DATA);
+
+		curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HEADER, true);
+		curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
+		curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, 1);
+		curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $params);
+		curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_USERAGENT, $a->getUserAgent());
+
+		if (DI::config()->get('system', 'ipv4_resolve', false)) {
+			curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_IPRESOLVE, CURL_IPRESOLVE_V4);
+		}
+
+		if (intval($timeout)) {
+			curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT, $timeout);
+		} else {
+			$curl_time = DI::config()->get('system', 'curl_timeout', 60);
+			curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT, intval($curl_time));
+		}
+
+		if (!empty($headers)) {
+			curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, $headers);
+		}
+
+		$check_cert = DI::config()->get('system', 'verifyssl');
+		curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, (($check_cert) ? true : false));
+
+		if ($check_cert) {
+			@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST, 2);
+		}
+
+		$proxy = DI::config()->get('system', 'proxy');
+
+		if (strlen($proxy)) {
+			curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPPROXYTUNNEL, 1);
+			curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_PROXY, $proxy);
+			$proxyuser = DI::config()->get('system', 'proxyuser');
+			if (strlen($proxyuser)) {
+				curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_PROXYUSERPWD, $proxyuser);
+			}
+		}
+
+		// don't let curl abort the entire application
+		// if it throws any errors.
+
+		$s = @curl_exec($ch);
+
+		$curl_info = curl_getinfo($ch);
+
+		$curlResponse = new CurlResult($url, $s, $curl_info, curl_errno($ch), curl_error($ch));
+
+		if ($curlResponse->isRedirectUrl()) {
+			$redirects++;
+			Logger::log('post_url: redirect ' . $url . ' to ' . $curlResponse->getRedirectUrl());
+			curl_close($ch);
+			return self::post($curlResponse->getRedirectUrl(), $params, $headers, $redirects, $timeout);
+		}
+
+		curl_close($ch);
+
+		DI::profiler()->saveTimestamp($stamp1, 'network', System::callstack());
+
+		// Very old versions of Lighttpd don't like the "Expect" header, so we remove it when needed
+		if ($curlResponse->getReturnCode() == 417) {
+			$redirects++;
+
+			if (empty($headers)) {
+				$headers = ['Expect:'];
+			} else {
+				if (!in_array('Expect:', $headers)) {
+					array_push($headers, 'Expect:');
+				}
+			}
+			Logger::info('Server responds with 417, applying workaround', ['url' => $url]);
+			return self::post($url, $params, $headers, $redirects, $timeout);
+		}
+
+		Logger::log('post_url: end ' . $url, Logger::DATA);
+
+		return $curlResponse;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Curl wrapper
+	 *
+	 * If binary flag is true, return binary results.
+	 * Set the cookiejar argument to a string (e.g. "/tmp/friendica-cookies.txt")
+	 * to preserve cookies from one request to the next.
+	 *
+	 * @param string  $url            URL to fetch
+	 * @param bool    $binary         default false
+	 *                                TRUE if asked to return binary results (file download)
+	 * @param int     $timeout        Timeout in seconds, default system config value or 60 seconds
+	 * @param string  $accept_content supply Accept: header with 'accept_content' as the value
+	 * @param string  $cookiejar      Path to cookie jar file
+	 * @param int     $redirects      The recursion counter for internal use - default 0
+	 *
+	 * @return string The fetched content
+	 * @throws \Friendica\Network\HTTPException\InternalServerErrorException
+	 */
+	public static function fetchUrl(string $url, bool $binary = false, int $timeout = 0, string $accept_content = '', string $cookiejar = '', int &$redirects = 0)
+	{
+		$ret = self::fetchUrlFull($url, $binary, $timeout, $accept_content, $cookiejar, $redirects);
+
+		return $ret->getBody();
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Curl wrapper with array of return values.
+	 *
+	 * Inner workings and parameters are the same as @ref fetchUrl but returns an array with
+	 * all the information collected during the fetch.
+	 *
+	 * @param string  $url            URL to fetch
+	 * @param bool    $binary         default false
+	 *                                TRUE if asked to return binary results (file download)
+	 * @param int     $timeout        Timeout in seconds, default system config value or 60 seconds
+	 * @param string  $accept_content supply Accept: header with 'accept_content' as the value
+	 * @param string  $cookiejar      Path to cookie jar file
+	 * @param int     $redirects      The recursion counter for internal use - default 0
+	 *
+	 * @return CurlResult With all relevant information, 'body' contains the actual fetched content.
+	 * @throws \Friendica\Network\HTTPException\InternalServerErrorException
+	 */
+	public static function fetchUrlFull(string $url, bool $binary = false, int $timeout = 0, string $accept_content = '', string $cookiejar = '', int &$redirects = 0)
+	{
+		return self::curl(
+			$url,
+			$binary,
+			[
+				'timeout'        => $timeout,
+				'accept_content' => $accept_content,
+				'cookiejar'      => $cookiejar
+			],
+			$redirects
+		);
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/Network/Probe.php b/src/Network/Probe.php
index 920dac47e6..dadd794fe6 100644
--- a/src/Network/Probe.php
+++ b/src/Network/Probe.php
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ class Probe
 		Logger::info('Probing', ['host' => $host, 'ssl_url' => $ssl_url, 'url' => $url, 'callstack' => System::callstack(20)]);
 		$xrd = null;
 
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($ssl_url, false, ['timeout' => $xrd_timeout, 'accept_content' => 'application/xrd+xml']);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($ssl_url, false, ['timeout' => $xrd_timeout, 'accept_content' => 'application/xrd+xml']);
 		$ssl_connection_error = ($curlResult->getErrorNumber() == CURLE_COULDNT_CONNECT) || ($curlResult->getReturnCode() == 0);
 		if ($curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 			$xml = $curlResult->getBody();
@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ class Probe
 		}
 
 		if (!is_object($xrd) && !empty($url)) {
-			$curlResult = Network::curl($url, false, ['timeout' => $xrd_timeout, 'accept_content' => 'application/xrd+xml']);
+			$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url, false, ['timeout' => $xrd_timeout, 'accept_content' => 'application/xrd+xml']);
 			$connection_error = ($curlResult->getErrorNumber() == CURLE_COULDNT_CONNECT) || ($curlResult->getReturnCode() == 0);
 			if ($curlResult->isTimeout()) {
 				Logger::info('Probing timeout', ['url' => $url]);
@@ -427,7 +427,7 @@ class Probe
 	 */
 	private static function getHideStatus($url)
 	{
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($url);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url);
 		if (!$curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 			return false;
 		}
@@ -841,7 +841,7 @@ class Probe
 
 	public static function pollZot($url, $data)
 	{
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($url);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url);
 		if ($curlResult->isTimeout()) {
 			return $data;
 		}
@@ -938,7 +938,7 @@ class Probe
 	{
 		$xrd_timeout = DI::config()->get('system', 'xrd_timeout', 20);
 
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($url, false, ['timeout' => $xrd_timeout, 'accept_content' => $type]);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url, false, ['timeout' => $xrd_timeout, 'accept_content' => $type]);
 		if ($curlResult->isTimeout()) {
 			self::$istimeout = true;
 			return [];
@@ -1007,7 +1007,7 @@ class Probe
 	 */
 	private static function pollNoscrape($noscrape_url, $data)
 	{
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($noscrape_url);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($noscrape_url);
 		if ($curlResult->isTimeout()) {
 			self::$istimeout = true;
 			return [];
@@ -1265,7 +1265,7 @@ class Probe
 	 */
 	private static function pollHcard($hcard_url, $data, $dfrn = false)
 	{
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($hcard_url);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($hcard_url);
 		if ($curlResult->isTimeout()) {
 			self::$istimeout = true;
 			return [];
@@ -1519,7 +1519,7 @@ class Probe
 							$pubkey = substr($pubkey, 5);
 						}
 					} elseif (Strings::normaliseLink($pubkey) == 'http://') {
-						$curlResult = Network::curl($pubkey);
+						$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($pubkey);
 						if ($curlResult->isTimeout()) {
 							self::$istimeout = true;
 							return $short ? false : [];
@@ -1552,7 +1552,7 @@ class Probe
 		}
 
 		// Fetch all additional data from the feed
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($data["poll"]);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($data["poll"]);
 		if ($curlResult->isTimeout()) {
 			self::$istimeout = true;
 			return [];
@@ -1604,7 +1604,7 @@ class Probe
 	 */
 	private static function pumpioProfileData($profile_link)
 	{
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($profile_link);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($profile_link);
 		if (!$curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 			return [];
 		}
@@ -1835,7 +1835,7 @@ class Probe
 	 */
 	private static function feed($url, $probe = true)
 	{
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($url);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url);
 		if ($curlResult->isTimeout()) {
 			self::$istimeout = true;
 			return [];
diff --git a/src/Protocol/ActivityPub.php b/src/Protocol/ActivityPub.php
index 2f8c2f419e..24c6250a41 100644
--- a/src/Protocol/ActivityPub.php
+++ b/src/Protocol/ActivityPub.php
@@ -21,12 +21,12 @@
 
 namespace Friendica\Protocol;
 
-use Friendica\Util\JsonLD;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
 use Friendica\Core\Protocol;
 use Friendica\Model\APContact;
 use Friendica\Model\User;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Util\HTTPSignature;
+use Friendica\Util\JsonLD;
 
 /**
  * ActivityPub Protocol class
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ class ActivityPub
 			return HTTPSignature::fetch($url, $uid);
 		}
 
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($url, false, ['accept_content' => 'application/activity+json, application/ld+json']);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url, false, ['accept_content' => 'application/activity+json, application/ld+json']);
 		if (!$curlResult->isSuccess() || empty($curlResult->getBody())) {
 			return false;
 		}
diff --git a/src/Protocol/DFRN.php b/src/Protocol/DFRN.php
index b7c3204b79..21adc58cc0 100644
--- a/src/Protocol/DFRN.php
+++ b/src/Protocol/DFRN.php
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ use Friendica\Model\Post\Category;
 use Friendica\Model\Profile;
 use Friendica\Model\Tag;
 use Friendica\Model\User;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Network\Probe;
 use Friendica\Util\Crypto;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
@@ -1194,7 +1195,7 @@ class DFRN
 
 		Logger::log('dfrn_deliver: ' . $url);
 
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($url);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url);
 
 		if ($curlResult->isTimeout()) {
 			return -2; // timed out
@@ -1343,7 +1344,7 @@ class DFRN
 
 		Logger::debug('dfrn_deliver', ['post' => $postvars]);
 
-		$postResult = Network::post($contact['notify'], $postvars);
+		$postResult = HTTPRequest::post($contact['notify'], $postvars);
 
 		$xml = $postResult->getBody();
 
@@ -1440,7 +1441,7 @@ class DFRN
 
 		$content_type = ($public_batch ? "application/magic-envelope+xml" : "application/json");
 
-		$postResult = Network::post($dest_url, $envelope, ["Content-Type: ".$content_type]);
+		$postResult = HTTPRequest::post($dest_url, $envelope, ["Content-Type: " . $content_type]);
 		$xml = $postResult->getBody();
 
 		$curl_stat = $postResult->getReturnCode();
diff --git a/src/Protocol/Diaspora.php b/src/Protocol/Diaspora.php
index bd99b361e3..46d2bc1d4a 100644
--- a/src/Protocol/Diaspora.php
+++ b/src/Protocol/Diaspora.php
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ use Friendica\Model\Mail;
 use Friendica\Model\Post;
 use Friendica\Model\Tag;
 use Friendica\Model\User;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Network\Probe;
 use Friendica\Util\Crypto;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
@@ -1379,7 +1380,7 @@ class Diaspora
 
 		Logger::log("Fetch post from ".$source_url, Logger::DEBUG);
 
-		$envelope = Network::fetchUrl($source_url);
+		$envelope = HTTPRequest::fetchUrl($source_url);
 		if ($envelope) {
 			Logger::log("Envelope was fetched.", Logger::DEBUG);
 			$x = self::verifyMagicEnvelope($envelope);
@@ -3260,7 +3261,7 @@ class Diaspora
 		if (!intval(DI::config()->get("system", "diaspora_test"))) {
 			$content_type = (($public_batch) ? "application/magic-envelope+xml" : "application/json");
 
-			$postResult = Network::post($dest_url."/", $envelope, ["Content-Type: ".$content_type]);
+			$postResult = HTTPRequest::post($dest_url . "/", $envelope, ["Content-Type: " . $content_type]);
 			$return_code = $postResult->getReturnCode();
 		} else {
 			Logger::log("test_mode");
diff --git a/src/Protocol/OStatus.php b/src/Protocol/OStatus.php
index 9a52476b56..779c99358e 100644
--- a/src/Protocol/OStatus.php
+++ b/src/Protocol/OStatus.php
@@ -39,10 +39,10 @@ use Friendica\Model\Item;
 use Friendica\Model\ItemURI;
 use Friendica\Model\Tag;
 use Friendica\Model\User;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Network\Probe;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
 use Friendica\Util\Images;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
 use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 use Friendica\Util\Strings;
 use Friendica\Util\XML;
@@ -756,7 +756,7 @@ class OStatus
 
 		self::$conv_list[$conversation] = true;
 
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($conversation, false, ['accept_content' => 'application/atom+xml, text/html']);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($conversation, false, ['accept_content' => 'application/atom+xml, text/html']);
 
 		if (!$curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 			return;
@@ -785,7 +785,7 @@ class OStatus
 					}
 				}
 				if ($file != '') {
-					$conversation_atom = Network::curl($attribute['href']);
+					$conversation_atom = HTTPRequest::curl($attribute['href']);
 
 					if ($conversation_atom->isSuccess()) {
 						$xml = $conversation_atom->getBody();
@@ -902,7 +902,7 @@ class OStatus
 			return;
 		}
 
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($self);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($self);
 
 		if (!$curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 			return;
@@ -949,7 +949,7 @@ class OStatus
 		}
 
 		$stored = false;
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($related, false, ['accept_content' => 'application/atom+xml, text/html']);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($related, false, ['accept_content' => 'application/atom+xml, text/html']);
 
 		if (!$curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 			return;
@@ -980,7 +980,7 @@ class OStatus
 					}
 				}
 				if ($atom_file != '') {
-					$curlResult = Network::curl($atom_file);
+					$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($atom_file);
 
 					if ($curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 						Logger::log('Fetched XML for URI ' . $related_uri, Logger::DEBUG);
@@ -992,7 +992,7 @@ class OStatus
 
 		// Workaround for older GNU Social servers
 		if (($xml == '') && strstr($related, '/notice/')) {
-			$curlResult = Network::curl(str_replace('/notice/', '/api/statuses/show/', $related).'.atom');
+			$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl(str_replace('/notice/', '/api/statuses/show/', $related) . '.atom');
 
 			if ($curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 				Logger::log('GNU Social workaround to fetch XML for URI ' . $related_uri, Logger::DEBUG);
@@ -1003,7 +1003,7 @@ class OStatus
 		// Even more worse workaround for GNU Social ;-)
 		if ($xml == '') {
 			$related_guess = self::convertHref($related_uri);
-			$curlResult = Network::curl(str_replace('/notice/', '/api/statuses/show/', $related_guess).'.atom');
+			$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl(str_replace('/notice/', '/api/statuses/show/', $related_guess) . '.atom');
 
 			if ($curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 				Logger::log('GNU Social workaround 2 to fetch XML for URI ' . $related_uri, Logger::DEBUG);
diff --git a/src/Protocol/PortableContact.php b/src/Protocol/PortableContact.php
index d66676cac5..f2ad51070d 100644
--- a/src/Protocol/PortableContact.php
+++ b/src/Protocol/PortableContact.php
@@ -30,8 +30,8 @@ use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\DI;
 use Friendica\Model\GContact;
 use Friendica\Model\GServer;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
 use Friendica\Util\Strings;
 
 /**
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ class PortableContact
 
 		Logger::log('load: ' . $url, Logger::DEBUG);
 
-		$fetchresult = Network::fetchUrlFull($url);
+		$fetchresult = HTTPRequest::fetchUrlFull($url);
 		$s = $fetchresult->getBody();
 
 		Logger::log('load: returns ' . $s, Logger::DATA);
@@ -251,7 +251,7 @@ class PortableContact
 	 */
 	private static function fetchServerlist($poco)
 	{
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($poco . "/@server");
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($poco . "/@server");
 
 		if (!$curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 			return;
@@ -291,7 +291,7 @@ class PortableContact
 
 		Logger::info("Fetch all users from the server " . $server["url"]);
 
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($url);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url);
 
 		if ($curlResult->isSuccess() && !empty($curlResult->getBody())) {
 			$data = json_decode($curlResult->getBody(), true);
@@ -314,7 +314,7 @@ class PortableContact
 
 				$success = false;
 
-				$curlResult = Network::curl($url);
+				$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url);
 
 				if ($curlResult->isSuccess() && !empty($curlResult->getBody())) {
 					Logger::info("Fetch all global contacts from the server " . $server["nurl"]);
@@ -372,7 +372,7 @@ class PortableContact
 				// Fetch all contacts from a given user from the other server
 				$url = $server['poco'] . '/' . $username . '/?fields=displayName,urls,photos,updated,network,aboutMe,currentLocation,tags,contactType,generation';
 
-				$curlResult = Network::curl($url);
+				$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url);
 
 				if ($curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 					$data = json_decode($curlResult->getBody(), true);
diff --git a/src/Protocol/Salmon.php b/src/Protocol/Salmon.php
index 7708459102..d01ea2ce12 100644
--- a/src/Protocol/Salmon.php
+++ b/src/Protocol/Salmon.php
@@ -22,9 +22,9 @@
 namespace Friendica\Protocol;
 
 use Friendica\Core\Logger;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Network\Probe;
 use Friendica\Util\Crypto;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
 use Friendica\Util\Strings;
 use Friendica\Util\XML;
 
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ class Salmon
 						$ret[$x] = substr($ret[$x], 5);
 					}
 				} elseif (Strings::normaliseLink($ret[$x]) == 'http://') {
-					$ret[$x] = Network::fetchUrl($ret[$x]);
+					$ret[$x] = HTTPRequest::fetchUrl($ret[$x]);
 				}
 			}
 		}
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ class Salmon
 		$salmon = XML::fromArray($xmldata, $xml, false, $namespaces);
 
 		// slap them
-		$postResult = Network::post($url, $salmon, [
+		$postResult = HTTPRequest::post($url, $salmon, [
 			'Content-type: application/magic-envelope+xml',
 			'Content-length: ' . strlen($salmon)
 		]);
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ class Salmon
 			$salmon = XML::fromArray($xmldata, $xml, false, $namespaces);
 
 			// slap them
-			$postResult = Network::post($url, $salmon, [
+			$postResult = HTTPRequest::post($url, $salmon, [
 				'Content-type: application/magic-envelope+xml',
 				'Content-length: ' . strlen($salmon)
 			]);
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@ class Salmon
 			$salmon = XML::fromArray($xmldata, $xml, false, $namespaces);
 
 			// slap them
-			$postResult = Network::post($url, $salmon, [
+			$postResult = HTTPRequest::post($url, $salmon, [
 				'Content-type: application/magic-envelope+xml',
 				'Content-length: ' . strlen($salmon)]);
 			$return_code = $postResult->getReturnCode();
diff --git a/src/Util/ExAuth.php b/src/Util/ExAuth.php
index de13ee82f5..710c009796 100644
--- a/src/Util/ExAuth.php
+++ b/src/Util/ExAuth.php
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ namespace Friendica\Util;
 use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\DI;
 use Friendica\Model\User;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 
 class ExAuth
 {
@@ -181,7 +182,7 @@ class ExAuth
 
 		$url = ($ssl ? 'https' : 'http') . '://' . $host . '/noscrape/' . $user;
 
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($url);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url);
 
 		if (!$curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 			return false;
diff --git a/src/Util/HTTPSignature.php b/src/Util/HTTPSignature.php
index d151516bea..5d57c2281f 100644
--- a/src/Util/HTTPSignature.php
+++ b/src/Util/HTTPSignature.php
@@ -21,11 +21,12 @@
 
 namespace Friendica\Util;
 
-use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\Core\Logger;
+use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\DI;
-use Friendica\Model\User;
 use Friendica\Model\APContact;
+use Friendica\Model\User;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 
 /**
  * Implements HTTP Signatures per draft-cavage-http-signatures-07.
@@ -297,7 +298,7 @@ class HTTPSignature
 
 		$headers[] = 'Content-Type: application/activity+json';
 
-		$postResult = Network::post($target, $content, $headers);
+		$postResult = HTTPRequest::post($target, $content, $headers);
 		$return_code = $postResult->getReturnCode();
 
 		Logger::log('Transmit to ' . $target . ' returned ' . $return_code, Logger::DEBUG);
@@ -442,7 +443,7 @@ class HTTPSignature
 		$curl_opts = $opts;
 		$curl_opts['header'] = $headers;
 
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($request, false, $curl_opts);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($request, false, $curl_opts);
 		$return_code = $curlResult->getReturnCode();
 
 		Logger::log('Fetched for user ' . $uid . ' from ' . $request . ' returned ' . $return_code, Logger::DEBUG);
diff --git a/src/Util/Images.php b/src/Util/Images.php
index 35f0cfc042..9e3be4f4f9 100644
--- a/src/Util/Images.php
+++ b/src/Util/Images.php
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ namespace Friendica\Util;
 use Friendica\Core\Logger;
 use Friendica\Core\System;
 use Friendica\DI;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 
 /**
  * Image utilities
@@ -184,7 +185,7 @@ class Images
 			return $data;
 		}
 
-		$img_str = Network::fetchUrl($url, true, 4);
+		$img_str = HTTPRequest::fetchUrl($url, true, 4);
 
 		if (!$img_str) {
 			return [];
diff --git a/src/Util/Network.php b/src/Util/Network.php
index ddec359907..888dc20a69 100644
--- a/src/Util/Network.php
+++ b/src/Util/Network.php
@@ -27,340 +27,9 @@ use Friendica\Core\Hook;
 use Friendica\Core\Logger;
 use Friendica\Core\System;
 use Friendica\DI;
-use Friendica\Network\CurlResult;
 
 class Network
 {
-	/**
-	 * Curl wrapper
-	 *
-	 * If binary flag is true, return binary results.
-	 * Set the cookiejar argument to a string (e.g. "/tmp/friendica-cookies.txt")
-	 * to preserve cookies from one request to the next.
-	 *
-	 * @param string  $url            URL to fetch
-	 * @param bool    $binary         default false
-	 *                                TRUE if asked to return binary results (file download)
-	 * @param int     $timeout        Timeout in seconds, default system config value or 60 seconds
-	 * @param string  $accept_content supply Accept: header with 'accept_content' as the value
-	 * @param string  $cookiejar      Path to cookie jar file
-	 * @param int     $redirects      The recursion counter for internal use - default 0
-	 *
-	 * @return string The fetched content
-	 * @throws \Friendica\Network\HTTPException\InternalServerErrorException
-	 */
-	public static function fetchUrl(string $url, bool $binary = false, int $timeout = 0, string $accept_content = '', string $cookiejar = '', int &$redirects = 0)
-	{
-		$ret = self::fetchUrlFull($url, $binary, $timeout, $accept_content, $cookiejar, $redirects);
-
-		return $ret->getBody();
-	}
-
-	/**
-	 * Curl wrapper with array of return values.
-	 *
-	 * Inner workings and parameters are the same as @ref fetchUrl but returns an array with
-	 * all the information collected during the fetch.
-	 *
-	 * @param string  $url            URL to fetch
-	 * @param bool    $binary         default false
-	 *                                TRUE if asked to return binary results (file download)
-	 * @param int     $timeout        Timeout in seconds, default system config value or 60 seconds
-	 * @param string  $accept_content supply Accept: header with 'accept_content' as the value
-	 * @param string  $cookiejar      Path to cookie jar file
-	 * @param int     $redirects      The recursion counter for internal use - default 0
-	 *
-	 * @return CurlResult With all relevant information, 'body' contains the actual fetched content.
-	 * @throws \Friendica\Network\HTTPException\InternalServerErrorException
-	 */
-	public static function fetchUrlFull(string $url, bool $binary = false, int $timeout = 0, string $accept_content = '', string $cookiejar = '', int &$redirects = 0)
-	{
-		return self::curl(
-			$url,
-			$binary,
-			[
-				'timeout'        => $timeout,
-				'accept_content' => $accept_content,
-				'cookiejar'      => $cookiejar
-			],
-			$redirects
-		);
-	}
-
-	/**
-	 * fetches an URL.
-	 *
-	 * @param string  $url       URL to fetch
-	 * @param bool    $binary    default false
-	 *                           TRUE if asked to return binary results (file download)
-	 * @param array   $opts      (optional parameters) assoziative array with:
-	 *                           'accept_content' => supply Accept: header with 'accept_content' as the value
-	 *                           'timeout' => int Timeout in seconds, default system config value or 60 seconds
-	 *                           'http_auth' => username:password
-	 *                           'novalidate' => do not validate SSL certs, default is to validate using our CA list
-	 *                           'nobody' => only return the header
-	 *                           'cookiejar' => path to cookie jar file
-	 *                           'header' => header array
-	 * @param int     $redirects The recursion counter for internal use - default 0
-	 *
-	 * @return CurlResult
-	 * @throws \Friendica\Network\HTTPException\InternalServerErrorException
-	 */
-	public static function curl(string $url, bool $binary = false, array $opts = [], int &$redirects = 0)
-	{
-		$stamp1 = microtime(true);
-
-		$a = DI::app();
-
-		if (strlen($url) > 1000) {
-			Logger::log('URL is longer than 1000 characters. Callstack: ' . System::callstack(20), Logger::DEBUG);
-			return CurlResult::createErrorCurl(substr($url, 0, 200));
-		}
-
-		$parts2 = [];
-		$parts = parse_url($url);
-		$path_parts = explode('/', $parts['path'] ?? '');
-		foreach ($path_parts as $part) {
-			if (strlen($part) <> mb_strlen($part)) {
-				$parts2[] = rawurlencode($part);
-			} else {
-				$parts2[] = $part;
-			}
-		}
-		$parts['path'] = implode('/', $parts2);
-		$url = self::unparseURL($parts);
-
-		if (self::isUrlBlocked($url)) {
-			Logger::log('domain of ' . $url . ' is blocked', Logger::DATA);
-			return CurlResult::createErrorCurl($url);
-		}
-
-		$ch = @curl_init($url);
-
-		if (($redirects > 8) || (!$ch)) {
-			return CurlResult::createErrorCurl($url);
-		}
-
-		@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HEADER, true);
-
-		if (!empty($opts['cookiejar'])) {
-			curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_COOKIEJAR, $opts["cookiejar"]);
-			curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_COOKIEFILE, $opts["cookiejar"]);
-		}
-
-		// These settings aren't needed. We're following the location already.
-		//	@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION, true);
-		//	@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS, 5);
-
-		if (!empty($opts['accept_content'])) {
-			curl_setopt(
-				$ch,
-				CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER,
-				['Accept: ' . $opts['accept_content']]
-			);
-		}
-
-		if (!empty($opts['header'])) {
-			curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, $opts['header']);
-		}
-
-		@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
-		@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_USERAGENT, $a->getUserAgent());
-
-		$range = intval(DI::config()->get('system', 'curl_range_bytes', 0));
-
-		if ($range > 0) {
-			@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RANGE, '0-' . $range);
-		}
-
-		// Without this setting it seems as if some webservers send compressed content
-		// This seems to confuse curl so that it shows this uncompressed.
-		/// @todo  We could possibly set this value to "gzip" or something similar
-		curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_ENCODING, '');
-
-		if (!empty($opts['headers'])) {
-			@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, $opts['headers']);
-		}
-
-		if (!empty($opts['nobody'])) {
-			@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_NOBODY, $opts['nobody']);
-		}
-
-		if (!empty($opts['timeout'])) {
-			@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT, $opts['timeout']);
-		} else {
-			$curl_time = DI::config()->get('system', 'curl_timeout', 60);
-			@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT, intval($curl_time));
-		}
-
-		// by default we will allow self-signed certs
-		// but you can override this
-
-		$check_cert = DI::config()->get('system', 'verifyssl');
-		@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, (($check_cert) ? true : false));
-
-		if ($check_cert) {
-			@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST, 2);
-		}
-
-		$proxy = DI::config()->get('system', 'proxy');
-
-		if (strlen($proxy)) {
-			@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPPROXYTUNNEL, 1);
-			@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_PROXY, $proxy);
-			$proxyuser = @DI::config()->get('system', 'proxyuser');
-
-			if (strlen($proxyuser)) {
-				@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_PROXYUSERPWD, $proxyuser);
-			}
-		}
-
-		if (DI::config()->get('system', 'ipv4_resolve', false)) {
-			curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_IPRESOLVE, CURL_IPRESOLVE_V4);
-		}
-
-		if ($binary) {
-			@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_BINARYTRANSFER, 1);
-		}
-
-		// don't let curl abort the entire application
-		// if it throws any errors.
-
-		$s = @curl_exec($ch);
-		$curl_info = @curl_getinfo($ch);
-
-		// Special treatment for HTTP Code 416
-		// See https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Status/416
-		if (($curl_info['http_code'] == 416) && ($range > 0)) {
-			@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RANGE, '');
-			$s = @curl_exec($ch);
-			$curl_info = @curl_getinfo($ch);
-		}
-
-		$curlResponse = new CurlResult($url, $s, $curl_info, curl_errno($ch), curl_error($ch));
-
-		if ($curlResponse->isRedirectUrl()) {
-			$redirects++;
-			Logger::log('curl: redirect ' . $url . ' to ' . $curlResponse->getRedirectUrl());
-			@curl_close($ch);
-			return self::curl($curlResponse->getRedirectUrl(), $binary, $opts, $redirects);
-		}
-
-		@curl_close($ch);
-
-		DI::profiler()->saveTimestamp($stamp1, 'network', System::callstack());
-
-		return $curlResponse;
-	}
-
-	/**
-	 * Send POST request to $url
-	 *
-	 * @param string  $url       URL to post
-	 * @param mixed   $params    array of POST variables
-	 * @param array   $headers   HTTP headers
-	 * @param int     $redirects Recursion counter for internal use - default = 0
-	 * @param int     $timeout   The timeout in seconds, default system config value or 60 seconds
-	 *
-	 * @return CurlResult The content
-	 * @throws \Friendica\Network\HTTPException\InternalServerErrorException
-	 */
-	public static function post(string $url, $params, array $headers = [], int $timeout = 0, int &$redirects = 0)
-	{
-		$stamp1 = microtime(true);
-
-		if (self::isUrlBlocked($url)) {
-			Logger::log('post_url: domain of ' . $url . ' is blocked', Logger::DATA);
-			return CurlResult::createErrorCurl($url);
-		}
-
-		$a = DI::app();
-		$ch = curl_init($url);
-
-		if (($redirects > 8) || (!$ch)) {
-			return CurlResult::createErrorCurl($url);
-		}
-
-		Logger::log('post_url: start ' . $url, Logger::DATA);
-
-		curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HEADER, true);
-		curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
-		curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, 1);
-		curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $params);
-		curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_USERAGENT, $a->getUserAgent());
-
-		if (DI::config()->get('system', 'ipv4_resolve', false)) {
-			curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_IPRESOLVE, CURL_IPRESOLVE_V4);
-		}
-
-		if (intval($timeout)) {
-			curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT, $timeout);
-		} else {
-			$curl_time = DI::config()->get('system', 'curl_timeout', 60);
-			curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT, intval($curl_time));
-		}
-
-		if (!empty($headers)) {
-			curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, $headers);
-		}
-
-		$check_cert = DI::config()->get('system', 'verifyssl');
-		curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, (($check_cert) ? true : false));
-
-		if ($check_cert) {
-			@curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST, 2);
-		}
-
-		$proxy = DI::config()->get('system', 'proxy');
-
-		if (strlen($proxy)) {
-			curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPPROXYTUNNEL, 1);
-			curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_PROXY, $proxy);
-			$proxyuser = DI::config()->get('system', 'proxyuser');
-			if (strlen($proxyuser)) {
-				curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_PROXYUSERPWD, $proxyuser);
-			}
-		}
-
-		// don't let curl abort the entire application
-		// if it throws any errors.
-
-		$s = @curl_exec($ch);
-
-		$curl_info = curl_getinfo($ch);
-
-		$curlResponse = new CurlResult($url, $s, $curl_info, curl_errno($ch), curl_error($ch));
-
-		if ($curlResponse->isRedirectUrl()) {
-			$redirects++;
-			Logger::log('post_url: redirect ' . $url . ' to ' . $curlResponse->getRedirectUrl());
-			curl_close($ch);
-			return self::post($curlResponse->getRedirectUrl(), $params, $headers, $redirects, $timeout);
-		}
-
-		curl_close($ch);
-
-		DI::profiler()->saveTimestamp($stamp1, 'network', System::callstack());
-
-		// Very old versions of Lighttpd don't like the "Expect" header, so we remove it when needed
-		if ($curlResponse->getReturnCode() == 417) {
-			$redirects++;
-
-			if (empty($headers)) {
-				$headers = ['Expect:'];
-			} else {
-				if (!in_array('Expect:', $headers)) {
-					array_push($headers, 'Expect:');
-				}
-			}
-			Logger::info('Server responds with 417, applying workaround', ['url' => $url]);
-			return self::post($url, $params, $headers, $redirects, $timeout);
-		}
-
-		Logger::log('post_url: end ' . $url, Logger::DATA);
-
-		return $curlResponse;
-	}
 
 	/**
 	 * Return raw post data from a post request
diff --git a/src/Util/ParseUrl.php b/src/Util/ParseUrl.php
index b6d172a3a1..577ffd4c11 100644
--- a/src/Util/ParseUrl.php
+++ b/src/Util/ParseUrl.php
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ use Friendica\Content\OEmbed;
 use Friendica\Core\Hook;
 use Friendica\Core\Logger;
 use Friendica\Database\DBA;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 
 /**
  * Get information about a given URL
@@ -159,7 +160,7 @@ class ParseUrl
 			return $siteinfo;
 		}
 
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($url);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url);
 		if (!$curlResult->isSuccess()) {
 			return $siteinfo;
 		}
diff --git a/src/Worker/CheckVersion.php b/src/Worker/CheckVersion.php
index 9572342c3e..f0369daab3 100644
--- a/src/Worker/CheckVersion.php
+++ b/src/Worker/CheckVersion.php
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ namespace Friendica\Worker;
 use Friendica\Core\Logger;
 use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\DI;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 
 /**
  * Check the git repository VERSION file and save the version to the DB
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ class CheckVersion
 		Logger::log("Checking VERSION from: ".$checked_url, Logger::DEBUG);
 
 		// fetch the VERSION file
-		$gitversion = DBA::escape(trim(Network::fetchUrl($checked_url)));
+		$gitversion = DBA::escape(trim(HTTPRequest::fetchUrl($checked_url)));
 		Logger::log("Upstream VERSION is: ".$gitversion, Logger::DEBUG);
 
 		DI::config()->set('system', 'git_friendica_version', $gitversion);
diff --git a/src/Worker/CronJobs.php b/src/Worker/CronJobs.php
index 319a369d1f..23434beb14 100644
--- a/src/Worker/CronJobs.php
+++ b/src/Worker/CronJobs.php
@@ -30,12 +30,10 @@ use Friendica\Database\PostUpdate;
 use Friendica\DI;
 use Friendica\Model\Contact;
 use Friendica\Model\GContact;
-use Friendica\Model\GServer;
 use Friendica\Model\Nodeinfo;
 use Friendica\Model\Photo;
 use Friendica\Model\User;
-use Friendica\Network\Probe;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 use Friendica\Util\Strings;
 
@@ -63,7 +61,7 @@ class CronJobs
 				// Now trying to register
 				$url = 'http://the-federation.info/register/' . DI::baseUrl()->getHostname();
 				Logger::debug('Check registering url', ['url' => $url]);
-				$ret = Network::fetchUrl($url);
+				$ret = HTTPRequest::fetchUrl($url);
 				Logger::debug('Check registering answer', ['answer' => $ret]);
 				Logger::info('cron_end');
 				break;
diff --git a/src/Worker/Directory.php b/src/Worker/Directory.php
index 6c6d26f26c..0dea9841f0 100644
--- a/src/Worker/Directory.php
+++ b/src/Worker/Directory.php
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ use Friendica\Core\Logger;
 use Friendica\Core\Worker;
 use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\DI;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 
 /**
  * Sends updated profile data to the directory
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ class Directory
 
 		Logger::log('Updating directory: ' . $arr['url'], Logger::DEBUG);
 		if (strlen($arr['url'])) {
-			Network::fetchUrl($dir . '?url=' . bin2hex($arr['url']));
+			HTTPRequest::fetchUrl($dir . '?url=' . bin2hex($arr['url']));
 		}
 
 		return;
diff --git a/src/Worker/OnePoll.php b/src/Worker/OnePoll.php
index fa8f748334..13d1b8ee7a 100644
--- a/src/Worker/OnePoll.php
+++ b/src/Worker/OnePoll.php
@@ -28,13 +28,13 @@ use Friendica\DI;
 use Friendica\Model\Contact;
 use Friendica\Model\Item;
 use Friendica\Model\User;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Protocol\Activity;
 use Friendica\Protocol\ActivityPub;
 use Friendica\Protocol\Email;
 use Friendica\Protocol\Feed;
 use Friendica\Protocol\PortableContact;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
 use Friendica\Util\Strings;
 use Friendica\Util\XML;
 
@@ -291,7 +291,7 @@ class OnePoll
 			. '&type=data&last_update=' . $last_update
 			. '&perm=' . $perm;
 
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($url);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($url);
 
 		if (!$curlResult->isSuccess() && ($curlResult->getErrorNumber() == CURLE_OPERATION_TIMEDOUT)) {
 			// set the last-update so we don't keep polling
@@ -405,7 +405,7 @@ class OnePoll
 		$postvars['dfrn_version'] = DFRN_PROTOCOL_VERSION;
 		$postvars['perm'] = 'rw';
 
-		return Network::post($contact['poll'], $postvars)->getBody();
+		return HTTPRequest::post($contact['poll'], $postvars)->getBody();
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -444,7 +444,7 @@ class OnePoll
 		}
 
 		$cookiejar = tempnam(get_temppath(), 'cookiejar-onepoll-');
-		$curlResult = Network::curl($contact['poll'], false, ['cookiejar' => $cookiejar]);
+		$curlResult = HTTPRequest::curl($contact['poll'], false, ['cookiejar' => $cookiejar]);
 		unlink($cookiejar);
 
 		if ($curlResult->isTimeout()) {
@@ -756,7 +756,7 @@ class OnePoll
 			DBA::update('contact', ['hub-verify' => $verify_token], ['id' => $contact['id']]);
 		}
 
-		$postResult = Network::post($url, $params);
+		$postResult = HTTPRequest::post($url, $params);
 
 		Logger::log('subscribe_to_hub: returns: ' . $postResult->getReturnCode(), Logger::DEBUG);
 
diff --git a/src/Worker/PubSubPublish.php b/src/Worker/PubSubPublish.php
index 2eb94eeb72..4fa3b3e894 100644
--- a/src/Worker/PubSubPublish.php
+++ b/src/Worker/PubSubPublish.php
@@ -25,8 +25,8 @@ use Friendica\Core\Logger;
 use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\DI;
 use Friendica\Model\PushSubscriber;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Protocol\OStatus;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
 
 class PubSubPublish
 {
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ class PubSubPublish
 
 		Logger::log('POST ' . print_r($headers, true) . "\n" . $params, Logger::DATA);
 
-		$postResult = Network::post($subscriber['callback_url'], $params, $headers);
+		$postResult = HTTPRequest::post($subscriber['callback_url'], $params, $headers);
 		$ret = $postResult->getReturnCode();
 
 		if ($ret >= 200 && $ret <= 299) {
diff --git a/src/Worker/SearchDirectory.php b/src/Worker/SearchDirectory.php
index afe54e5fb1..1dcf0c8db6 100644
--- a/src/Worker/SearchDirectory.php
+++ b/src/Worker/SearchDirectory.php
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ use Friendica\DI;
 use Friendica\Model\Contact;
 use Friendica\Model\GContact;
 use Friendica\Model\GServer;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
+use Friendica\Network\HTTPRequest;
 use Friendica\Util\Strings;
 
 class SearchDirectory
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ class SearchDirectory
 			}
 		}
 
-		$x = Network::fetchUrl(Search::getGlobalDirectory() . '/lsearch?p=1&n=500&search=' . urlencode($search));
+		$x = HTTPRequest::fetchUrl(Search::getGlobalDirectory() . '/lsearch?p=1&n=500&search=' . urlencode($search));
 		$j = json_decode($x);
 
 		if (!empty($j->results)) {