Level 3 tops global IP traffic this year

Renesys released data this week indicating that Level 3 has surpassed Sprint to be the top global service provider in terms of IP space transited. Renesys analyzed business relationships and routing data to determine the rankings of the top 13 in the world.

Level 3 takes the top spot from Sprint this year due to big customer wins of Korea Telecom and ReTN.net, and a substantial increase in traffic from Asia Netcom and Softbank Telecom, according to the post.

Verizon lost ground in the survey due to TeliaSonera ceasing to use its network for transit, giving up 3rd place to Global Crossing, which steadily increased its total traffic over the year. NTT, Savvis, AT&T, and Telia followed the top four companies.

The report attributes much of the gains made by the providers that gained share to big customer wins and overall traffic increase in Asian markets. It predicts consistent, rapid growth for companies operating in these markets, as half the world's population lives in Asia, but only 15 percent of them have internet access yet. Renesys also cautioned that the rankings are merely measures of traffic, rather than determinations of reliability or profitability. Sprint might have a card of some sort here to play, but we're not sure what it is.

For more:
- check out the Renesys report here 

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