Since the issue of charging for peering has come up again, I thought the following article might be interesting. I do not agree with the government as benevolent angel of mercy that the writer seems to, but that doesn't fault either his data, nor the validity of his conclusions based on that data. To vastly over-summerize, he states that the ignorance of charging for peering brings the arbitrary hammer of government regulation closer sooner than would otherwise likely happen. I agree with his view that telecommunications is rapidly merging, thus his idea that common-carrier regulations will be applied to IP providers. Curt- ----- Begin Included Message -----

Date: Fri, 04 Dec 1998 12:00:03 -0500 From: Rob Frieden <rmf5@psu.edu> Subject: Article on Internet Peering

Colleagues:

You may find interesting an article I wrote entitled "Without Public Peer: The Potential Regulatory and Universal Service Consequences of Internet Balkanization." It appears in the current edition of the Virginia Journal of Law and Technology http://vjolt.student.virginia.edu/graphics/vol3/home_art8.html.

I examine the development of private peering with an eye toward assessing whether smaller ISPs, especially ones in rural areas, will face reduced and more expensive access opportunities. I note the maturation of the Internet and the use of alternatives to Sender Keep All settlements has established a more hierarchical network of networks operating much like today's telecommunications network. If this has occurred and if universal access to the Internet becomes a public policy mission, then the goal may have become more challenging and more expensive. This dilemma arises at the same time as we face challenges on how to fund a more expansive universal telecommunications mission. Rob Frieden Professor of Telecommunications Penn State University 105-c Carnegie Building University Park, PA 16802