Apple — like Netflix before it — is reportedly negotiating paid peering agreements with the major last-mile internet service providers. Like the Netflix peering agreements, Apple’s will most likely be proprietary. And that lack of transparency is a big problem. Put as simply as possible, the way content is exchanged between networks on the internet should be public information.
Netflix has been quite vocal in complaining about its paid peering agreements with Comcast, but without transparency we have no way to judge if the complaints have merit.
Traditionally, the handful of backbone providers reach the entire internet by peering with each other. In most cases, these backbone peering agreements are settlement-free, meaning that each provider’s network traffic is exchanged without payment.
It’s almost certain that the six last-mile internet service providers in the US that Level 3 claims are refusing to upgrade their peering connections are trying to get paid twice for that which we’ve already paid handsomely. After all, when I watch a movie on Netflix, I’ve already paid Comcast to deliver those bits up to the bandwidth level for which I’ve paid.
I really like the simplicity of Robert X. Cringely’s solution:
“The solution to this problem is simple: Peering at the original NSFnet exchange points should be forever free and if one participant starts to consistently clip data and doesn’t do anything about it, they should be thrown out of the exchange point.
“Understand that where there were maybe a dozen exchange points 25 years ago, there are thousands today, but if a major ISP or backbone provider doesn’t have a presence at the big old exchange points — that original dozen — well they simply can’t claim to be in the internet business.
“These companies are attempting to extort more millions from us just to provide the service we have already paid for.”
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