There are still hidden costs associated with PNI at PAIX type facilities. Have you ever tried to disconnect a PNI or CNI after you've upgraded to a higher port size? It is not as easy as it might seem. The up side to telco based private interconnects is that it allows for greater network diversity in metropolitan areas where more than one interconnect location exists. The real problem that I see is how do you realistically expect to dump an OC48s worth of IP traffic on another backbone in one place wihtout effectively destroying their network? It continues to amaze me how everyone wants to sell settlement based peering or restricted transit when their networks are no where near the size, capacity-wise, to offer that service. Mark Lauren F. Nowlin wrote:
Are there any other suggestions, other than ATM?
Cross-connects ala PAIX & Equinix models.
Fewer opportunities for provisioning delays and/or back hoe trauma.
A cross-connect inventory is much easier to manage, troubleshoot during an outage, and grow into larger amounts of capacity than a mix of circuits ordered from ever changing / merging carriers. Just think about how many people-hours are wasted in the direct circuit process if a merger gets in the way and one side of the peer suddenly has to order capacity over a carrier not in your facility because their MSA is in the way... hmm.
Better yet, how many folks get pulled into conference calls trying to troubleshoot circuits when they have gone down... This expense is rarely calculated in cost model projections....
Cheers, -Ren