BEREC Report on the IP Interconnection ecosystem
The report provides observations related to the use of different IP-IC services (e.g. bilateral peering, internet exchange points, transit, on-net content delivery networks (CDNs). It is relevant to mention that on-net CDNs are installed in many IAS providers’ networks and are thus important in terms of handling data traffic in the respective networks. Even though the data traffic growth rate has stabilised in the reference period, the increasing diffusion of ultra-high definition (UHD) video content could further contribute to the growth of data traffic and an increase in live-streaming content could potentially have an impact on peak traffic. The report also analyses pricing and cost developments, by revealing that prices and costs for IP-IC services continue to exhibit a downwards trend. The key reasons identified for these falling prices and costs are the technological developments and competitive pressure.