Small-world or Scale-Free Phenomena in Internet: What Implications for the Next-generation Networks?

The paper examines the large-scale topological structure of the Internet in order to see whether the structure exhibits some features that lead Internet Services Providers to go aside further collaboration for the deployment of next-generation networks. The results indicate the existence of positive signs or early stages of possible move towards more cooperative relationships, mainly among backbones. These findings have implications for the next-generation networks policy and strategy, particularly the move towards strategic alliances after the recent phase of mergers and acquisitions.