On a listserv in which I participate, another participant suggested that there is no paid peering. I agree that paid peering has oxymoron characteristics, but these two words have become an accepted term for a peering arrangement that involves payment rather than barter.
An expert
on the subject defines paid peering as: “the business relationship whereby
companies (Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Content Distribution Networks
(CDNs), Large Scale Network Savvy Content Providers) reciprocally provide
access to each others’ customers, but with some form of compensation or
settlement fee.” William B. Norton, http://drpeering.net/white-papers/Ecosystems/Internet-Paid-Peering.html.
See also: Confirmed:
Comcast and Netflix have signed a paid peering agreement, GigaOm; http://gigaom.com/2014/02/23/confirmed-comcast-and-netflix-have-signed-a-peering-agreement/;
Netflix is paying Comcast for direct connection to network; Paid peering
agreement will improve Netflix quality for Comcast subscribers; arstechnica; http://arstechnica.com/business/2014/02/netflix-is-paying-comcast-for-direct-connection-to-network-wsj-reports/.