The problem with Apple’s peering is that we don’t know if it’s a problem or not

[Commentary] Apple is reportedly building its own content delivery network and is in the process of signing peering agreements with the big Internet service providers (ISPs), according to Dan Rayburn, an industry consultant and analyst.

Rayburn uses Apple’s apparent willingness to sign peering agreements with ISPs as a way to argue that Netflix’s complaints about having to pay Comcast an interconnection fee are dubious.

But what’s dubious is not Netflix’s complaints over paid peering agreement or Apple’s willingness to enter into these agreements. Instead, the bigger issue is the secretive nature of how content is exchanged on the Internet at a time when a number of the significant content and broadband players are consolidating. Not only are these deals secretive, but they happen in markets that aren’t competitive.

Both edge providers and ISPs consolidating their power -- Google’s YouTube potentially buying Twitch, which is a growing source of traffic (about 1.35 percent of total bandwidth according to Sandvine) is an example of this consolidation on the edge provider side.

Meanwhile, while AT&T’s Dish deal or Comcast’s proposal to buy Time Warner Cable shrinks the overall ISP market -- fewer players are at the negotiating table.