Level 3, Cogent call time out on peering spat

IDG News Service - Level 3 Communications Inc. restored its peering connection with fellow Internet service provider Cogent Communications Inc. late Friday, temporarily ending a standoff that had blocked out some Internet traffic between their customers for several days (see "ISP spat blacks out Net connections").
Level 3 said its decision is only an ad hoc solution. "Because Internet users, apparently without notice from Cogent and through no fault of their own, have been impacted, Level 3 has, effective immediately, re-established a free connection to Cogent," the company said in a statement. "In order to allow Internet users to make alternative arrangements, we will maintain this connection until 6:00 a.m. ET, November 9, 2005."
Broomfield, Colo.-based Level 3 said it's open to negotiating a new contractual arrangement with Cogent that's equitable to both sides. In a statement posted on its Web site Friday, Washington-based Cogent also indicated a willingness to resume negotiations with Level 3.
The standoff between the two companies began last Wednesday morning, when Level 3 terminated a "peering" arrangement through which it and Cogent exchanged traffic across their networks without charge. Peering is advantageous when both partners trade similar traffic volumes, but Level 3 maintains that it was carrying most of the load in its exchange with Cogent.
Level 3 said it warned Cogent in July that it would end the peering arrangement unless the two sides agreed on "alternative commercial terms," likely involving Cogent paying Level 3 to continue carrying its traffic. When Cogent ignored those notices, Level 3 carried through on its threat and cut Cogent off, leaving some customers on each network unable to reach certain sites that depend on the other vendor's connections.
A Level 3 spokeswoman said last week that the company's Cogent discontinuation of peering was part of a more widespread evaluation of Level 3's peering agreements, a review that led it to renegotiate or end several other peering contracts. Only its stopping of peering with Cogent, however, affected enough customers to prompt a noisy backlash against both companies.
Friday's agreement means traffic across the two networks is running once again, for the time being: The "Internet Health Report" site maintained by Internet performance monitor Keynote Systems Inc. in San Mateo, Calif., showed traffic between Level 3 and Cogent flowing smoothly all weekend.