Chapter 11 · 20 Table of Contents

Tactic 20. Leverage Broader Business Arrangement

This tactic makes use of a broader business relationship to make peering an easy “Yes.”

One large ISP met the peering prerequisites of a Tier 1 ISP but was refused peering because peering would significantly reduce transit revenue. The objection was overcome by expanding the broader business relationships to include fiber, wavelengths, colocation, etc. bundled with free on-net peering. The resulting combined arrangements left the target Tier 1 financially better off by peering (Figure 11-35).

Broader Business Deal graphic — **Figure 11-35.** Internet Peering is sometimes bundled with other services such as fiber, colocation space, wavelengths, etc.

There are many examples of this tactic. AOL obtained Tier 1 status by leveraging its customer relationship with the large Tier 1 ISPs. Comcast established a broad business relationship with Level 3, as discussed earlier in this book. Peering was key to obtaining incremental revenue.