Deutsche Telekom and US-based company Cloudflare have announced a close partnership and the direct interconnection of their networks. For internet users in Germany, the agreement aims to resolve previous bottlenecks when accessing websites that rely on Cloudflare’s infrastructure.
Background on the Peering Dispute
Peering refers to the direct exchange of data traffic between two independent networks on the internet. Without a direct connection, data streams are often routed via alternative intermediary hops or third-party networks (transit). Previously, traffic between Cloudflare and Telekom mostly ran via external carriers whose networks were at times overwhelmed by the surge in data, leading to accusations of artificial throttling.
Whether Cloudflare is paying fees to Telekom for the direct interconnection was left open by the companies in their joint statement. However, the direct link is expected to enable shorter routing paths and increase the resilience of both networks.
Impact on Web Page Loading Times
Cloudflare operates the world’s largest Content Delivery Network (CDN), serving content for more than a quarter of all websites globally. By establishing a direct path between the networks of Deutsche Telekom and Cloudflare, past speed issues when accessing these services could become a thing of the past.
Impact on End Customers
The switch takes place at the infrastructure level in data traffic routing. According to a Telekom spokesperson, most customers will hardly notice the transition, as only a small percentage had previously suffered performance degradation. Whether noticeable improvements in loading times materialize in everyday use remains to be seen.
Sources: Golem – News
