Yes, they are still a minor aspect but I think they contribute serveral more
percents to the return on investment. In AP, we have exchange points such
as NSPIXP of Japan and HKIX of Hong Kong. If ISPs in other AP countries
have links to JP or HK and automatically (or semi-automatically) they can
connect to all ISPs in that country/region instead of just one or several
ISPs in it, the connection is more valuable and justifiable. If the links
can also be used to connect to other ISPs in other AP countries via that
exchange, the connection is even more valuable and justifiable. Of course,
we still can't eliminate the links to US altogether. But we probably can
slow down the growth of bandwidth requirements to US a little bit.
(NOTE: HKIX has mandatory MLPA for routes within Hong Kong.)
Che-Hoo Cheng | Email: chcheng@cuhk.edu.hk
Data Comms and Networking Section | URL: http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/
Information Technology Service Unit | Tel: +852 2609-8848
The Chinese University of Hong Kong | Fax: +852 2603-5001