Why we peer openly with other ISPs

October 29, 2010

 

Following recent aggressive peering moves by local ISPs (namely Mweb), peering has once again come to the fore as an issue the ISP industry needs to grapple with.

Firstly, here are the facts concerning RSAWEB customers:

1. We peer openly

We peer openly (settlement free) with all other ISPs, including Mweb. This means that Mweb customers accessing RSAWEB hosted content will not be affected at all by recent events. All traffic between Mweb and RSAWEB is routed locally, and openly.

2. We have our own network and Data Centres

This means we are not reliant on any one single ISP network to route traffic. We are free to route local traffic in a way that ensures the best customer experience.

The end result is a higher quality of service for customers driving traffic between us and Mweb.

For those unfamiliar with the concept, peering is the mutual exchange of traffic across administratively separate networks. The purest form of peering is ‘settlement free’, meaning that neither party pays for traffic routed across each other’s network. Interconnect fees charged by local ISPs to connect to each other’s networks, are one of the reasons for the high bandwidth costs that plague consumers.

Our vision has always been for local ISPs to peer freely with one another, using the shortest route possible. Not only would this make connectivity cheaper, but it would also improve the overall quality of service. Sadly, not all local ISPs share the same view, and these incumbents do not peer freely with all other ISPs.

As a result, the recent move by Mweb to sever connections with all other local ISPs who do not peer directly with them has caused problems for hosting providers who are reliant on the local networks provided by such ISPs. Mweb customers accessing locally hosted content previously accessible via these severed networks will now see a much slower connection than before, as the traffic is now routed internationally instead of locally.

This has subsequently raised concerns amongst our customer base as to how these recent events will impact Mweb broadband customers accessing content hosted by RSAWEB, and if clients hosting with RSAWEB should be concerned for any reason. However, as mentioned before, because we peer openly and own our connectivity network, RSAWEB customers will not be negatively impacted in any way.