Agreed. As the architect for a large regional we strive to have full transit with several large providers (and peer with folks when possible) so that a single large provider unexpectedly 'biting the dust' or even experiencing backbone problems won't destroy our network. {Please note: this is not a sales plug, we aren't anywhere in the MI area.} And yes, the smaller local and regional providers must look at margins and cash flow constantly. They can't afford to pull the 'tricks' that are getting the big guys in so much trouble. My one caveat is to insure that the smaller guy is fully multihomed with at least two different upstreams. Tim -----Original Message----- From: owner-nanog@merit.edu [mailto:owner-nanog@merit.edu]On Behalf Of Richard A Steenbergen Sent: Thursday, May 30, 2002 19:49 To: Scott Granados Cc: John Palmer; nanog@nanog.org Subject: Re: Trying to find a connectivity provider that wont go under (was RE: CAIS/Ardent and now Network Access Solutions) On Thu, May 30, 2002 at 02:53:02PM -0700, Scott Granados wrote:
You either have to pull circuits to the carrier you want or settle for someone local much smaller and in many cases much more likely to fail.
Nonsense. Small providers are the ones who are financially connected to reality, and thus more likely to make money (since the owners generally want to keep paying the bills) and remain in business. The issue with small providers is, you don't always know what you are going to get. You could end up with someone that doesn't have much clue about providing good service simply because they are inexperienced. On the other hand, you could find someone who is very experienced but who wants to work for themselves, or on a project where they can have a significant impract. Being small could very easily mean they are sensible, nimble, and not burdoned with silly bureaucracy. That said, this has very little place on NANOG. -- Richard A Steenbergen <ras@e-gerbil.net> http://www.e-gerbil.net/ras PGP Key ID: 0x138EA177 (67 29 D7 BC E8 18 3E DA B2 46 B3 D8 14 36 FE B6)