Verizon, Level 3 make nice with interconnection agreement

Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and Level 3 have agreed to make nice. The two potentially contentious telecom players have entered into a long-term bilateral interconnection agreement to ensure "that customers on the two networks can continue to exchange data in an effective and efficient matter," said a Verizon blog post by Libby Jacobson, director of digital communications.

"As the Internet continues to grow and evolve, Internet service providers are negotiating business arrangements that allow exchange of Internet traffic in a scalable, resilient and reliable manner," the blog post states. "This agreement contains provisions to add capacity and establish new interconnection locations between the two networks to stay ahead of growing traffic demands."

Another provision includes new connections for Verizon Digital Media Services' CDN to connect to Level 3's global network, which "offers flexibility for each network while improving performance and reliability for the customers of both."

The agreement resolves potential acrimony between Level 3 and the carrier over the quality of network interconnections. Earlier this month, Level 3's general counsel Mike Mooney was quoted as saying that the company was still unhappy with the way Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) was treating its interconnections and was "evaluating our options" based on "interconnection point congestion as some large consumer ISPs continue to attempt to leverage control over access to their users to extract arbitrary tolls."

For more:
- read this Verizon blog post

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