Does everyone agree with this, it's the only response I have received thus far (and according to the list, the sender works for a tier 1 provider).
[snip]
Tier 1: _Owns the fiber_, Multiple coast to coast paths of significant bandwidth I don't think OWNS THE FIBER applies, but the rest is valid. I think a major connotation to Tier 1 is "DEFAULT FREE"... That is they do not need a default route to handle routes they don't receive through peering relationships.
Tier 2: Reseller, Major connections (DS3/OC3) to multiple tier 1 providers. Possibly: Major connections to one (1) tier 1 provider. Tier 3: Everybody else.
Anyone care to take a stab at what places a provider in a given "tier-group"? Seems to me as though the large(st) providers are a bit harsher (naturally) than the smaller providers.