ITU-T Recommendation D.50

In 1998, ITU-T Study Group 3 started discussing the issue of “International Internet Connectivity (IIC)”.¹⁷ In October 2000 the ITU World Telecommunications Standards Assembly approved the ITU-T Recommendation D.50 regarding “Peering” or “Transit” arrangements between ISPs and Internet backbone providers.

The purpose of the Recommendation was to set out the principle for negotiating agreements to transmit international Internet traffic. The possible need for compensation between the providers carrying the traffic was also recognized in the recommendation. When providers install Internet circuits, they generally have a choice between on one hand the "sender-keeps­all" or peering system of bilateral connections when traffic is more or less balanced, and on the other hand an asymmetrical system whereby the initiating provider pays for the whole connection with the other country (full-circuit cost). The latter is the case today for most of the developing countries. The Recommendation called for arrangements to be negotiated and agreed upon on a commercial basis when direct Internet links are established internationally. It required only that the two providers involved reach a mutual agreement.¹⁸

Recommendation D.50 also said that the parties involved could take into account the possible need for compensation for elements such as traffic flow, number of routes, geographical coverage and the cost of international transmission when negotiating such commercial arrangements. Although the Recommendation D.50 is voluntary, it has been hotly contested and is not being implemented, most notably by key industrialized countries and elements of the global private sector.

Study Group 3 agreed in June 2001 to pursue further studies on IIC, and established two Rapporteur Groups, one for developing further guidelines to facilitate the implementation of Recommendation D.50, and the other for examining the possibility of using traffic flow as a main factor of negotiation for IIC.

The search for objective, fair and cost-oriented charging rules received an impulse in late 2002 when China submitted a proposal to modify the Recommendation D.50. China proposed to consider bulk traffic flow as a costing element to be taken into account in commercially negotiated connection arrangements. In June 2004, Study Group 3 adopted Amendment 1, on “General considerations for charging criteria and options for international Internet connectivity”, which complements Recommendation D.50. However, the study on the traffic flow methodology was not concluded and work continues during a new study period 2005­-2008.