PS There is a proof by existance that reliable operation w/o customer multihoming is possible. It is called POTS.

That's funny. Anyone who needs reliable telephone service quickly learns how to multi-home between telephone providers, inbound and outbound. AT&T periodically puts out a press release saying their network is so reliable, no one needs to buy service from anyone else. But people still do. If you want reasons to buy service from someone other than AT&T, just ask your Sprint or MCI salesperson. Anyone who needs reliable electrical service, quickly learns how to multi-home between electrical providers. The street mains, a UPS, and generator. Some people even get a redundant connection to another street mains. Yes, it is complicated to multi-home between providers of anything (telphone, electricity, Internet, bagels). A redundant connection to the same provider might help in a few limited circumstances. But generally, when a provider fails on one connection, the probility their other connections are working drop dramatically. When the electricity fails, using a different connection to the same electical provider usually doesn't work either. That's why people buy UPS's instead of second power supplies. -- Sean Donelan, Data Research Associates, Inc, St. Louis, MO Affiliation given for identification not representation