T3 or not to T3

private interconnects with the major providers similar to what Sprint/MCI
are doing to keep traffic off the NAP's?

On the other hand, maybe you could be the customer that establishes the
distributed web server scenario I discussed earlier. If you have read
through http://www.ix.digital.com you will not that not only are they
running an exchange point but they are also running a web farm of sorts at
the same location. Chances are good that this web-farm-at-the-XP concept
will become the rule rather than the exception. Note that in Digital's
model it would be possible to connect to larger ISP's without requiring
traffic to flow through the XP itself.

  The differences between digitals exchange and MAE-LA seem to be
  limited to these items:

    Digital is escorted
    MAE-LA is not (things are caged at MAELA)

    Digital has its generator installed
    MAE-LA will have its installed in Dec

    Digital has -48vdc ready
    MAE-LA has exausted its -48vdc capacity and is adding more

    Digital has its gigaswitch installed
    MAE-LA has not, since there is not yet a demand

  In other ways, they are functionally identical.

    Both have multicarrier access
    Both support public and private interconnections
    Both support commercial access
    Both havee colocation services
    Both have UPS,preaction fire, cooling, the whole environmental pkg

  Oops. forgot these:

    Digital has a large marketing budget
    MAE-LA does not

    Digital is 20-25% more expensive
    MAE-LA is based on cost recovery

  Note that MAE-LA, like MAE-West, is not an MFS only activity.
  They have thier own rates, the other players have theirs.
  http://www.isi.edu/div7/mla