Greetings: On the west coast we currently have a both a transit connection via SAVVIS and multiple peering relationships at the PACBELL NAP. It has been suggested that the PACBELL NAP connection may be superfluous since most of the people with whom we peer can be reached at the cost of one extra hop via SAVVIS. Recently on NANOG there has been discussion of ISPs expanding their peering relationships as a hedge against the possibility of Tier 1 providers eliminating non-profitable peering relationships and adversely impacting routing to sections of the Internet. Whether this enhanced peering strategy applies to us is debatable. I personally believe that we should maintain existing and foster new peering relationships. We purchase transit from multiple providers, but I think the direct peerings have both a marketing and strategic value. I would be interested in hearing arguments supporting both sides of this question. Should we continue to peer, or should we effectively sub-contract our peering relationships to our transit providers? Our business is primarily a dial access business. We don't host a significant number of web sites. As we deploy DSL I expect that will change. Sincerely, Dustin Clampitt Ziplink Inc. (I leave on vacation in 5 minutes. I won't be able to respond to discussion, suggestions, flames, etc. until next Monday. Have a quiet week. - Dustin)