On Tue, Sep 21, 2010 at 09:31:07AM -0700, George Bonser wrote:
Yes they are -- content providers aren't getting their connections to the Internet for free (and if they are, how can I get me some of that?).
Maybe I wasn't clear. Traffic is moving away from "transit" to direct peering at private exchanges in many cases. [Citation needed]
If the ISPs are directly peering with the content provider at some IX, the content provider gets what amounts to a free ride to the end user.
Say wha? ISPs don't *have* to peer at an IX; if they think that it's cheaper to buy transit from someone than it is to peer, they're more than capable of doing so.
Transit would have to get extremely cheap to compete with exchange peering. I don't see it getting that low any time soon.
So it *is* cheaper to peer than to buy transit. Take the money you save from not buying transit and put it towards upgrading your core. - Matt -- Generally the folk who love the environment in vague, frilly ways are at odds with folk who love the environment next to the mashed potatoes. -- Anthony de Boer, in a place that does not exist