Dear DrPeering -

Our Peering Ecosystem consists of several hundred Tier 2 ISPs and a few Tier 1 ISPs but we have never had a peering forum. We have a few exchange points but they don’t seem to be pulling together the ISP population. Do ISPs ever lead a Peering Forum?

Also - Will I see you at the Global Peering Forum cruise?

Greg Daniels

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Dear Greg -

Last question first... I am actively doing peering work for an ISP but, surprisingly, they seem reluctant to pay consulting rates for me to go on a cruise. Color me surprised. Not really.

The cruise venue has always been an issue with some companies - I guess it smells like a boondoggle, or a bribe, or worse (abuse of budget, collusion, pick your influence poison).  Some folks can not attend for this reason, and this is unfortunate as it is simply a different venue.

I credit Josh Snowhorn (NOTA) with the first Peering Cruise. Josh made the discovery that hosting a peering event on a cruise was actually less expensive than hosting the event at a hotel (when you take into account catering, room nights, etc.) And the Peering Cruises for those who can attend have been very effective. I used to play down this “cruise” perception issue, until now, that I (sadly) can not attend.

Josh has also done a masterful job hosting, getting sponsors and creating great giveaways that people actually still use today, but that is another topic.

So back to your first question...

Peering Forums typically get started by an Internet Exchange Point (IX) that is looking to build a population of peers. By identifying a bunch of peers that can become members all at the same time, the IX can leverage their combined self-interests to build a critical mass of participants more quickly. In Europe, these seed ISPs might form a formal association and join en mass to bootstrap things and launch an IX. In either case, once enough participants are members of the IX, it is much easier to attract additional peers, and the peering forum helps achieve the ends of more peering for all. A real win-win-win.

But ISPs can start a peering forum, and might even be better positioned to do so.  Why would an ISP start a Peering Forum?

1)Marketing Position.  An ISP may seek to demonstrate leadership – in thought and in action. This messaging helps with customer acquisition, with regulators, and with popular opinion as the ecosystem grows and Internet prices drop. To be able to say “We have been taking a leadership role in evolving the peering landscape since 2008.  Our goals are the same as the public goals – to evolve this ecosystem into a first class Internet ecosystem, with low prices, low upstream costs, and massive penetration of broadband Internet services” is powerful in emerging ecosystems like yours.  Not only for goodwill; most people prefer to do business with a leader. 

2)Regulatory. Since most governments prefer industry self-regulation, a peering leader has a bit more clout with the government, especially when guidance, information, or assistance / influence is desired.  As issues such as network neutrality or de-peering disputes arise for example, key players may be consulted while followers and lurkers may not.

3. 3)Market Research. Running a peering forum may actually be more effective and less expensive than paying for market research.  The chart below shows the frequency and rough costs of running a peering forum twice a year, compared with the cost of purchasing a market research report every other year.

   

   
   

        I would argue that one is more likely to hear timely information about happenings, and more likely to obtain the right answers to important marketing questions as a side effect of running the peering forums. Since you are in the industry you may be better positioned than an outside organizations to collect information directly from the field and running the forum gives you an excuse to talk with these folks in the field.  You can also ask and evolve the queries to the right people at the right time, and change those questions over time.  By running the peering forum, you stay in the loop by keeping communications channels open, collecting information before, during, and after the events that you run.  Very valuable.

One final point that must be made - like IXes, Peering Forum demonstrate the characteristic that economists call “Network Externality” - that the value of the peering forum is proportional to the number and value of those attending. For IXes this effect is shown in the figure below.

Opportunity. Since you said your ecosystem doesn’t really have peering forums today, you have the opportunity build a peering forum to critical mass with no competitive peering forum in place. 

Do it. It may be a challenge to start it up, but it is far more difficult to dislodge a competitive peering forum that is already at critical mass.  Once you have critical mass, your peering forum can be very valuable to you and the population and be difficult to dislodge if you keep people happy. After all, there is a limited time and travel budget to attend meetings of this kind.

Next I will meditate on “The Ideal Peering Forum”...... Ummmm......

Dr Peering

DrPeering@DrPeering.net