By Andy Sullivan
Thousands of Internet users struggled to send e-mail and keep their Web sites running on Thursday after a dispute between two service providers left large portions of the Internet unable to talk to each other.
Computer technicians scrambled to shore up their networks after Level
3 Communications Inc. refused to accept traffic from rival Cogent Communications Group Inc., rendering large portions of the Internet unreachable by others."We weren't able to get to our e-mail systems, we weren't able to get to our externally hosted chat systems," said Bob Serr, chief technology officer at Chicago instant-messaging provider Parlano Inc. "Some customers say they've had trouble getting to our Web site."
The rift meant that thousands of customers -- including individuals who use Time Warner Inc.'s Road Runner cable-modem service -- were not able to view Web sites and send e-mail to servers located on the other company's network, violating the Internet's premise as a universal, borderless network of computers.
The dispute affects roughly 15 percent to 17 percent of the Internet, Cogent CEO Dave Schaeffer said.
"The usability and value people get out of the Internet is highly dependent on its ability to be ubiquitous and affordable, and I think what Level 3 is attempting to do is undermine both of those core principles," he said in an interview.
TOO MUCH COGENT TRAFFIC
Like other large, wholesale Internet service providers, Cogent and Level 3 handed off traffic from one network to each other free of charge, until Level 3 said that it was handling too much Cogent traffic.
"We felt that there was an imbalance and we were disadvantaged in that relationship and we were ending up with what amounts to free capacity," Level 3 spokeswoman Jennifer Daumler said.
Cogent's Schaeffer said Level 3 was simply trying to get Cogent to raise its prices, which at $10 per megabit are far below the market average of $60 or so per megabit.
Larger customers of each company have been little affected by the dispute because they usually sign agreements with several different wholesale providers.
But customers who rely entirely on either provider for their Internet connections would not be able to reach any Web sites or servers on the others' network, those involved in the dispute said.
That would include law firms, community colleges and companies like Parlano, which face lost business and angry customers from the outage.
"It's kind of a game of chicken to see who's going to blink first, and to see whose customer base wants connectivity to the other customers' more," said Alan Mauldin, an analyst at TeleGeography Research in Washington.
Parlano's Serr said he would stick with Cogent as his provider for the time being because he saw Level 3's move as "strong-arm tactics."
Road Runner said its customers have not been able to visit Web sites and send e-mail to Cogent customers.
"We are working to find alternate pathways so our customers can be connected with these Web sites as soon as possible," Road Runner said in a statement.
Representatives for America Online Inc., EarthLink Inc. and Microsoft Corp.'s MSN service said their customers have not been affected by the dispute.
Cogent ran into a similar dispute with America Online several years ago but it was resolved amicably, AOL spokesman Nicholas Graham said.
Cogent said it was offering Level 3 customers affected by the dispute a year of free service if they wished to switch providers. Level 3 said it was working with its customers to ensure they could reach the entire Internet.
"Level 3 is working with their customers and Cogent needs to work with its customers," Level 3's Daumler said. "If Cogent wants to make its customers happy they've got to figure out a way to get that connectivity to the Internet."
Copyright 2005 Reuters Limited.
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