Network operator Cogent said Friday that rival Level 3 "has taken the necessary actions" to once again carry its customers' Internet traffic, a sign that days old service disruptions for a significant number of Internet users are over, for now.
It has been reported, Level 3 Communications, has since Wednesday refused to make room for traffic from rival Cogent because of an ongoing dispute about financial arrangements. The nasty turn has disrupted Internet service for a significant number of cogent customers since about Wednesday.
On Friday afternoon, Cogent said Level 3 has restored all peering connections. Level 3, in a statement, said it's done so in order to let Cogent customers make alternative arrangements. "We will maintain this connection until 6:00 a.m. ET, November 9, 2005," Level 3 wrote in a statement.
The apparent turn for the better in the spat follows an outcry for the U.S. government to regulate traffic-swapping arrangements between major communications providers.
These agreements, as the experiences of the last few days shows, are so key that they can bring Internet traffic to a halt for significant amounts of people. Critics contend that more of these spats between operators will erupt, cutting off even more people.
Such spats also highlight arguments from a number of European governments that are calling for the United States to relinquish its unilateral control over Internet governance, in favor of a new body. The United States opposes the changes.