United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2001-10-16 monographic deposited born digital 43 p. GA 1.13:GAO-02-16 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-16 P0b002ee180396920 f:d0216 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-16 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-16 GAO-02-16 Competition Internet Internet service providers Other Written Product A02232 Although most Americans are familiar with Internet service providers that give consumers a pathway, or "on-ramp," to the Internet, few are familiar with Internet backbone providers and backbone networks. At the core, Internet's are many high-capacity, long-haul "backbone" networks. Routing data traffic over long distances using high-speed fiber lines, Internet backbone providers both compete in the marketplace and cooperate in the exchange of data traffic. The cooperative exchange of traffic among backbone providers is essential if the Internet is to remain a seamless and widely accessible public medium. Interconnection among Internet backbone providers varies both in terms of the physical structure and financial agreements of data traffic exchange. The physical structure of interconnection takes two forms: (1) the exchange of traffic among many backbone providers at a "network access point"--a common facility--and (2) the exchange of traffic between two or more backbone providers at "private" interconnection points. No publicly available data exist to evaluate competitiveness in the Internet backbone market. Evolution of this market is likely to be largely affected by two types of emerging services. First, demand is likely to rise for time-sensitive applications, such as Internet voice systems. Second, more "broadband"--bandwidth-sensitive--content, such as video, will likely flow over the Internet in the coming years. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-16/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-16.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-16/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-16.pdf GAO-02-16 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-16 Other Written Product GAO-02-16; Telecommunications: Characteristics and Competitiveness of the Internet Backbone Market; Competition Internet Internet service providers