A Longitudinal Study of Utilization at Internet Interconnection Points

The increase in high-volume traffic flows due to applications such as video streaming draw new attention on utilization at the interconnections between the Internet’s independently operated networks. This paper surveys the findings from nearly two years of Internet utilization data provided by seven participating ISPs—Bright House Networks, Comcast, Cox, Mediacom, Midco, Suddenlink, and Time Warner Cable—whose access networks represent about 50% of all U.S. broadband subscribers. The dataset spans 18 months and includes about 97% of the paid peering, settlement-free peering, and ISPpaid transit links of each of the participating ISPs. Analysis of the data—which comprises more than 1,000 link groups, representing the diverse and substitutable available routes— suggests that many interconnects have significant spare capacity, that this spare capacity exists both across ISPs in each region and in aggregate for any individual ISP, and that the aggregate utilization across interconnects is roughly 50% during peak periods.