Level 3, Cogent Spat Affects 15 Percent of Internet

A spat between network provider Level 3 Communications and Cogent, an ISP, has left customers of both companies unable to communicate with each other, according to a story in The Wall Street Journal. The Journal reports that subscribers to Time Warner, which contracts with Level 3, have been unable to access commentator Matt Drudge’s Web site, drudgereport.com, which is hosted by Cogent. According to Level 3 officials, the dispute stems from an agreement the two companies have to host Internet traffic for each other at no charge, a practice called peering. Kevin O’Hara, president and chief operating officer of Level 3, said Cogent was overloading his system with traffic out of proportion to the amount of traffic his company was sending to Cogent. The dispute reportedly affects roughly 15% to 17% of the Internet. Read more.

–A. Jahnke