Editing Ends and Means (section)

===Stakeholders===
The Free Network Foundation is an American organization with global ambitions.The United States is not only our base of operations, but it is also, in many ways, at the heart of the network. As such, this stakeholder analysis focuses heavily on aspects of American enterprise and regulation. The telecommunications space is highly complex, but can be roughly divided into three types of networks, performing some combination of three different services. 


Networks are Tier 3, Tier 2, or Tier 1, with each network providing some combination of access, transit, and peer services. Let's look now at each type of network, and get a feel for the services they provide.

====Tier 3 Networks====
[[Tier 3 networks]] are essentially resellers - traffic does not cross a tier 3 network, but originates or ends there. A tier 3 network purchases bandwidth from an upstream provider at a [[Point of Presence]], and delivers that bandwidth to end users. They do so either by building a network, or by leasing the requisite lines from an incumbent operator. This type of operation is termed access, or [[last mile]]. 


Conventional last-mile models for broadband delivery are cost effective only in areas with population density above a certain threshold. Those in unserved rural areas must resort to expensive, high-latency satellite solutions, or settle for dial-up speeds.


Access operations are those elements of the communications infrastructure with which the customer comes into contact. These are the lines that branch out from Central Offices into each home or business. In the existing model, these circuits are exclusively vertical - that is, they allow connections only from a client to a service provider, but not from client to client. This prevents the exchange of information in such a way that the service provider does not function as a paid intermediary.


Of the [[Autonomous System|Autonomous Systems]] that make up the Internet, the vast majority are Tier 3 networks. There are upwards of twenty thousand such networks in operation today, generally outside of the United States.  

====Tier 2 Networks====
In addition to engaging in the access operations described above, Tier 2's have regional reach, and trade or sell bandwidth to other networks. Network to network traffic is classified as either peering or transit.


[[Tier 2 networks]] are large enough that they are able to [[Peering|peer]] with some other networks for mutual benefit, but not so large that they are able to completely avoid paying for bandwidth from a more widely connected network. When networks peer, they agree to exchange traffic without the need for monetary settlement.  When a network purchases bandwidth from another provider, it is said to purchase [[transit]] across that network, or simply to buy transit.


To build a Tier 2 network requires significant capital investment, even in the hundreds of millions or billions of dollars. In addition to being connected to end users and entire access networks, Tier 2 networks often connect to [[Internet Exchange Points]], where Internet Service Providers can openly exchange IP traffic. 


The roughly three thousand networks of this type do the majority of bit moving on the Internet. They are much fewer in number than the Tier 3's, but they are much larger, on average, and have a much greater aggregate capacity. 

====Tier 1 Networks====
[[Tier 1 networks]] have global reach. These are well-connected bit moving platforms, worth many billions of dollars. From the perspective of a Tier 1, all other networks are either big enough to mandate a peer relationship, or are willing to pay for transit. 


Building such a network entails laying thousands of miles of fiber, accross oceans or continents or both. The majority of Tier 1 networks are based in the United Sates, even if their core network includes points of presence overseas.


There are a very limited number of Tier 1 providers - and perhaps none that truly do not engage in settlement at all. Still, there is a group of ten or so networks that are well understood to qualify as Tier 1.


If the ongoing merger of [[Level 3 Communications]] and [[Global Crossing]] should be approved, it will represent a significant consolidation of power within this inner circle of network operators.


Tier 1 carriers have made significant capital investments in recent years to improve and expand their capacity. Still, global data exchange is increasing at rates that outpace the ability of major carries to provision new infrastructure. A paradigm shift is needed in order to sustain the network's growth.