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<TITLE>RE: [menog] RE: [ncc-regional-middle-east] Peering</TITLE>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>I really like how Bill put it. Now to put things into perspective with regards to the Saudi market:<BR>
- Only the big guys (STC, Bayanat, and ITC) are allowed to peer internationally because of content filtering role they also perform<BR>
- the little guys (who need to peer most) can only do so within Saudi, are mostly satisfied by the current peering point<BR>
So no near change likely to happen for Saudi.<BR>
(Are my slides still on the menog site? If they are thye help with Saudi picture.)<BR>
<BR>
Regards,<BR>
Osama<BR>
--<BR>
Sent by Mobile Phone on Good Messaging (www.good.com)<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
-----Original Message-----<BR>
From: Bill Woodcock [<A HREF="mailto:woody@pch.net">mailto:woody@pch.net</A>]<BR>
Sent: Monday, August 06, 2007 06:58 PM W. Europe Standard Time<BR>
To: Baher Esmat<BR>
Cc: menog@menog.net; 'Salman Al-Mannai'; 'Kais Al-Essa'<BR>
Subject: RE: [menog] RE: [ncc-regional-middle-east] Peering<BR>
<BR>
On Mon, 6 Aug 2007, Baher Esmat wrote:<BR>
> I must also say that I was a little bit puzzled with parts of the discussion<BR>
> as it appeared to me that we're not differentiating between the Incumbents<BR>
> like STC, Batelco, ect., (those incumbents are also ISPs) and other smaller<BR>
> ISPs. My understanding is that the Incumbents whether they have bilateral<BR>
> peeing among themselves or peer via IXPs, they remain the big guys who own<BR>
> the customers as well as most of the traffic. The small ISPs on the other<BR>
> hand have to have their own IXP setups and hence be in better positions to<BR>
> negotiate better deals with Incumbents, or with upstream providers if ISPs<BR>
> are allowed to connect directly to them.<BR>
<BR>
Another way of putting it is to say that everyone needs to peer, in order<BR>
to grow. The big guys know this (they couldn't have gotten big if they<BR>
didn't), and will always peer, whether internationally (in London or<BR>
Amsterdam or Hong Kong or elsewhere), or across private bilateral sessions<BR>
between each other.<BR>
<BR>
It's the little guys who need the IXPs, in order to be able to efficiently<BR>
compete with that, and peer as well. If the big guys grow, and the little<BR>
guys don't, you've got an increase in the digital divide problem. If<BR>
everyone grows, the whole market grows, and more new service is available<BR>
to all potential customers at lower, more competitive prices.<BR>
<BR>
-Bill<BR>
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