Tier 1 carrier
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A Tier 1 carrier is a telco or internet service provider that is at the top of the telecommunications peering and settlements food chain. Although there is no formal definition, the following statements generally hold:
- Tier 1 operators typically have operations in more than one country
- Tier 1 operators own and operate their own physical networks, and either own or part-own their international submarine cable links.
- Tier 1 operators have revenue-neutral peering agreements with other tier 1 operators in the same market, and generally do not pay for transit.
A given Tier 1 operator might only be considered tier 1 in a particular market or markets (typically a country or geographical area). For example, Telecom New Zealand are undeniably tier 1 in New Zealand, but much too small to peer neutrally with Tier 1 operators in the USA.
For a list of Tier 1 carriers, see List of tier 1 internet service providers.