In a reversal of a previous reversal, UUNet Technologies Inc, the internet subsidiary of WorldCom Inc, said they plan to discontinue internet service provider peering arrangements. Having announced last month that they were to cut off mid-sized ISPs such as San Francisco-based Whole Earth Networks Inc, Atlanta, Georgia-based NetRail Inc and Redwood City, California- based GeoNet Communications Inc, unless they paid for their peering rights (CI 3150), UUNet then reversed its decision, but only with respect to Whole Earth Networks. The company now says it will only peer with ISPs who can route traffic on a bilateral and equitable basis. This undermines the old internet pairing ethos, which granted ISPs equal access to each others’ facilities. UUNet has made it plain that it will now restrict pairing to National ISPs that have a dedicated and diversely routed DS-3 backbone. The move could force small to mid-sized ISPs and web server farms to purchase UUNet’s wholesale connection service for $2,000 a month for T1, or $6,000 a month for fractional T3. While UUNet’s decision may reflect the direction of the Internet’s away from chaos towards commercial order, UK ISP CeberNet Ltd said: This is just UUNet throwing its weight around.
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