Provider credibility - does it matter? was Re: Inter-provider relations

Fri Oct 25 18:45:18 UTC 1996

On Fri, 25 Oct 1996, Todd Graham Lewis wrote:

> I think the argument is undermined by the fact that peering in Europe is
> in a fairly dismal state.  Were there a MAE-{London, Paris, Prague} I
> somehow think that the big five at least might throw a T3 or two over.

"MAE London" is called the LINX and the T3s have been thrown over.

We peer with 30 other networks at the LINX in London, including GSL
(Sprintlink), Pipex (uu.net), and EUnet GB (AKA PSI).  If you watch the
flow of cash, what happens is that first the UK company pays a fortune
to the American company for bandwidth, then the American company buys
the European company.  

Someone more cynical than I might even say that the US company has used 
the UK company's money to buy the UK company.

> Until that happens, nothing will change.  Maybe as access points start 
> springing up in Japan, the Phillipines, etc., the roadblocks to such a 
> cooperative project will start to be removed.

Things are changing.  It's just going to take a while.

--
Jim Dixon              VBCnet GB Ltd +44 117 929 1316  fax +44 117 927 2015
http://www.uk.vbc.net  VBCnet West   +1  408 971 2682  fax +1  408 971 2684