Open peering vs. charging under non-disclosure? No contest.

[Curt Howland <howland () conxion com>]

> As
> if they don't make enough money. Gee wouldn't it really suck for all of
> UUNet's customers and MSN etc if a company like ConXion no longer had UUNET
> peering? Gee they couldn't download any Microsoft products anymore!

The RA is a fantastic system, in that it allows an ISP like
ConXioN to have a completely open peering policy without 
worrying about hundreds of lines of config code. We'll peer
with anyone we share a MAE or NAP with. Definately worth the
"price of admission" to a MAE.

[I don't mean to toot my own horn here, simply state facts.]

> This is also practically extortion. "Yes, we are peers, we have already
> decided that our customers and yours would benefit, but YOU and YOUR
> customers should pay to access ours...."

When discussing peering (not transit, not anything fancy, just
peering) with one of the Big Guys in the past, their staff
stated (paprphrased), "We've settled the issue of 'our customers'
vs. 'your customers' and we're not going to discuss that. Period.
And if you bring it up again we will not talk with you again.
Period." They then went on to say we needed to pay them for
peering, to "cover their costs".

> Maybe everyone should pull out of
> peering with UUNET and tell them they need to pay US to peer. Just my $0.02

Wonderful image, ne?  :^>

> I am all for a commercial Internet, but this takes it WAY to far for my
> tastes. At least true telecom carriers are regulated in what they can
> charge for interconnects by the FCC or another governmental body in their
> own country. Sheesh..

Yikes! Be carefull what you wish for! The 'Net thrives because
a customer doesn't (yet) have to worry who they connect through,
their data will get through. Price has been a measure of how 
fast, not wether or not, data gets through.

I'd suggest that folks who think charging for simple peering is
a good idea beware the fact that if they do, I think they will
hasten the day the FCC decides that connectivity and reachability
are a "scarce resource" and regulatable.

> Send all flames to: dev () null com

I wish we could send the FCC to /dev/nul....

> Matthew E. Pearson
> Vice President of Development
> Games-Online Inc.
> http://www.games-online.com

Curt-
Howland () ConXioN com
408.938.8585
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