Think about it -- are they really provisioning two circuits, leaving one available as a backup? Of course not! This may be a useful feature for voice circuits, where most of the capacity sits idle most of the time. It's worse than useless for data. APS was designed to protect against the failure of the electronics for a single fiber in a cable. Often, a dozen other circuits are "protected" by a single APS. It's a ripoff. Of course, the usual failure mode is backhoe fade, not electronics. In which case, that APS circuit was cut along with the rest. For transoceanic links, diverse APS is even more unlikely, and unless you are paying serious money, you won't be a priority over the other hundred customers that are sharing that APS circuit. Diverse links _are_ the only _real_ protection. You might even get what you pay for.... And in the short term, you at least get twice the bandwidth. WSimpson@UMich.edu Key fingerprint = 17 40 5E 67 15 6F 31 26 DD 0D B9 9B 6A 15 2C 32