Tier 1 Internet Service Provider

What Does Tier 1 Internet Service Provider Mean?

A tier 1 Internet service provider (Tier 1 ISP) is a type of ISP that directly connects with and has access to the global Internet backbone in a specific region under the settlement-free peering agreement, where the flow of information between one or more networks is exchanged voluntarily.

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Techopedia Explains Tier 1 Internet Service Provider

Considered the highest ISP class, a tier 1 ISP has its own IP network in a particular region connected with the primary Internet backbone and/or other tier 1 ISP of same or different regions. It maintains the entire routing table for the Internet in its region.

Typically, a tier 1 ISP sells bandwidth to tier 2 and tier 3 ISPs, which, in turn, provide Internet connectivity to businesses and individual customers. Moreover, a tier 1 ISP binds an agreement with another tier 1 ISP for the free exchange of traffic and information. Thus, an ISP cannot be classified as tier 1 if it is required to pay a transit or peering fee to connect to a tier 1 ISP in the same global region.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…