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Asymmetry and discrimination in Internet peering: evidence from the LINX

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  • D'Ignazio, Alessio
  • Giovannetti, Emanuele

Abstract

Is the quality of interconnection between Internet operators affected by their asymmetry? While recent game theoretic literature provides contrasting answers to this question, there is a lack of empirical research. We introduce a novel dataset based on Internet routing policies, and study the interconnection decisions amongst the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that are members of the London Internet Exchange Point (LINX). Our results show that interconnection quality degradation can be significantly explained by asymmetry between providers. We also show that Competition Authorities should also focus on the "centrality of an operator", and not only on its market share.

Suggested Citation

  • D'Ignazio, Alessio & Giovannetti, Emanuele, 2009. "Asymmetry and discrimination in Internet peering: evidence from the LINX," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 441-448, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:indorg:v:27:y:2009:i:3:p:441-448
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    2. Giovannetti, Emanuele & Sigloch, Sebastian, 2015. "An Internet periphery study: Network centrality and clustering for mobile access in Bhutan," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 608-622.
    3. D’Ignazio, Alessio & Giovannetti, Emanuele, 2015. "Predicting internet commercial connectivity wars: The impact of trust and operators’ asymmetry," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 1127-1137.
    4. Syngjoo Choi & Andrea Galeotti & Sanjeev Goyal, 2017. "Trading in Networks: Theory and Experiments," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 15(4), pages 784-817.
    5. Zhuo, Ran & Huffaker, Bradley & claffy, kc & Greenstein, Shane, 2021. "The impact of the General Data Protection Regulation on internet interconnection," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(2).
    6. D’Ignazio, Alessio & Giovannetti, Emanuele, 2014. "Continental differences in the clusters of integration: Empirical evidence from the digital commodities global supply chain networks," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(PB), pages 486-497.

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