I would like to know what net professionals think about the future of NAPs & IXPs. Given UUNET's inclination to peer only with national backbone providers, what is the future of settlement free peering arrangements? Will non-profit, cooperative organizations that require multilateral peering to participate (LINX) survive or thrive going forward, or will we see more for profit NAPs run by Sprint and co. run the non-profits out of business? Will co-operative IXPs proliferate in regional markets? Will this give small ISPs, acting collectively, more leverage with the larger carriers (Exodus and GTE )? I know these aren't truly operational question, but peering and transit is an issue that will have an impact on the international infrastructure and may result in increased regulation in the future. Are there other lists where people might have some thoughts about these issues? __________________________________ Ed Tignor, MBA\MS Candidate 1999 9204 Lindale Drive, Bethesda, MD 20817 (W) 301/405-4380 (H) 301/581-9478 etignor@rhsmith.umd.edu