Cogent Communications
Encyclopedia
Cogent Communications is a multinational internet service provider
whose network spans more than 53,300 intercity fiber route miles and 15,800 metro fiber miles. Cogent provides service in over 165 markets across 31 countries in North America and Europe. Cogent carries approximately 37 petabytes per day of Internet traffic
and connects to approximately 3,600 networks.
Cogent's AS
(174) has one of the highest-ranked connectivity degrees
on the Internet.
September 2001 - Acquires the assets of NetRail
February 2002 - Acquires Allied Riser
April 2002 - Acquires Building Access Agreements from OnSite Access
April 2002 - Acquires Major US Assets of PSINet
September 2002 - Acquires Major Assets of FiberCity Networks
February 2003 - Acquires Fiber Network Solutions
May 2003 - Acquires Assets of Applied Theory
January 2004 - Acquires LambdaNet France & Spain
March 2004 - Acquires Fiber Network and Equipment in Germany Out of Former Carrier1 Assets
September 2004 - Acquires Global Access
October 2004 - Acquires Aleron Broadband
December 2004 - Acquires NTT/Verio Dedicated Access Business in U.S.
with AOL
(2003), France Telecom
(2006), Level 3 Communications
(2005), TeliaSonera
(March 2008) and Sprint Nextel
(October 2008). Sprint has stated that no peering agreement existed with Cogent, and that they were severing connections from a failed settlement-free peering trial the previous year. Cogent was notified of the impending disconnections and Sprint has temporarily reinstated the connection to give Cogent additional time to arrange for peering.
On March 14, 2008, after Cogent stopped routing packets from European network provider Telia
(AS
1299), their two networks lost mutual connectivity. The connection was reestablished March 28, 2008 with interconnection points in both the United States and Europe.
On June 6, 2011, Cogent automatically stopped peering with The Department of Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) causing a disruption for 3 days.
Cogent has yet to agree on peering with one of the biggest IPv6 connectivity providers, Hurricane Electric
. As of 2011 April, direct connectivity between the two networks is impossible.
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
whose network spans more than 53,300 intercity fiber route miles and 15,800 metro fiber miles. Cogent provides service in over 165 markets across 31 countries in North America and Europe. Cogent carries approximately 37 petabytes per day of Internet traffic
Internet traffic
-Historical Internet Traffic Growth:Because of the distributed nature of the Internet, there is no single point of measurement for total Internet traffic...
and connects to approximately 3,600 networks.
Cogent's AS
Autonomous system (Internet)
Within the Internet, an Autonomous System is a collection of connected Internet Protocol routing prefixes under the control of one or more network operators that presents a common, clearly defined routing policy to the Internet....
(174) has one of the highest-ranked connectivity degrees
Degree (graph theory)
In graph theory, the degree of a vertex of a graph is the number of edges incident to the vertex, with loops counted twice. The degree of a vertex v is denoted \deg. The maximum degree of a graph G, denoted by Δ, and the minimum degree of a graph, denoted by δ, are the maximum and minimum degree...
on the Internet.
Acquisition history
Cogent was founded in 1999 at the peak of the industry's growth. In three years, Cogent acquired 13 other failing carriers, purchasing $14 billion in capital for $60 million, including $4 billion worth of Property, Plant and Equipment.September 2001 - Acquires the assets of NetRail
February 2002 - Acquires Allied Riser
April 2002 - Acquires Building Access Agreements from OnSite Access
April 2002 - Acquires Major US Assets of PSINet
PSINet
PSINet was one of the first internet service providers , based in Northern Virginia, and a major player in the commercialization of the Internet until the company's bankruptcy in 2001 during the dot-com bubble and acquisition by Cogent Communications in 2002.-Growth:PSINet was founded in 1989 by...
September 2002 - Acquires Major Assets of FiberCity Networks
February 2003 - Acquires Fiber Network Solutions
May 2003 - Acquires Assets of Applied Theory
January 2004 - Acquires LambdaNet France & Spain
March 2004 - Acquires Fiber Network and Equipment in Germany Out of Former Carrier1 Assets
September 2004 - Acquires Global Access
October 2004 - Acquires Aleron Broadband
December 2004 - Acquires NTT/Verio Dedicated Access Business in U.S.
Peering
Cogent has been controversial in the ISP market for low bandwidth pricing and its public disputes over peeringPeering
In computer networking, peering is a voluntary interconnection of administratively separate Internet networks for the purpose of exchanging traffic between the customers of each network. The pure definition of peering is settlement-free or "sender keeps all," meaning that neither party pays the...
with AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
(2003), France Telecom
France Télécom
France Telecom S.A. is the main telecommunications company in France, the third-largest in Europe and one of the largest in the world. It currently employs about 180,000 people and has 192.7 million customers worldwide . In 2010 the group had revenue of €45.5 billion...
(2006), Level 3 Communications
Level 3 Communications
Level 3 Communications is a telecommunications and Internet service provider headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado.It operates a Tier 1 network. The company provides core transport, IP, voice, video and content delivery for most of the medium to large Internet carriers in North America and Europe...
(2005), TeliaSonera
TeliaSonera
TeliaSonera AB is the dominant telephone company and mobile network operator in Sweden and Finland. The company has operations in other countries in Northern, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Spain, with a total of 150 million mobile customers...
(March 2008) and Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel Corporation is an American telecommunications company based in Overland Park, Kansas. The company owns and operates Sprint, the third largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, with 53.4 million customers, behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility...
(October 2008). Sprint has stated that no peering agreement existed with Cogent, and that they were severing connections from a failed settlement-free peering trial the previous year. Cogent was notified of the impending disconnections and Sprint has temporarily reinstated the connection to give Cogent additional time to arrange for peering.
On March 14, 2008, after Cogent stopped routing packets from European network provider Telia
TeliaSonera
TeliaSonera AB is the dominant telephone company and mobile network operator in Sweden and Finland. The company has operations in other countries in Northern, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Spain, with a total of 150 million mobile customers...
(AS
Autonomous system (Internet)
Within the Internet, an Autonomous System is a collection of connected Internet Protocol routing prefixes under the control of one or more network operators that presents a common, clearly defined routing policy to the Internet....
1299), their two networks lost mutual connectivity. The connection was reestablished March 28, 2008 with interconnection points in both the United States and Europe.
On June 6, 2011, Cogent automatically stopped peering with The Department of Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) causing a disruption for 3 days.
Cogent has yet to agree on peering with one of the biggest IPv6 connectivity providers, Hurricane Electric
Hurricane Electric
Hurricane Electric is a global Internet backbone , with a specific focus on IPv6. Hurricane Electric operates datacenters in the San Francisco Bay Area, primarily within the city of Fremont...
. As of 2011 April, direct connectivity between the two networks is impossible.