The internet is made up of connections between carrier networks. These connections can be through public access points (such as NAPs, or Metropolitan Area Exchanges-MAEs), or through private agreements between carriers. Public internet access points are often overcrowded and induce additional delay to traffic that passes through them, whereas private connections negotiated between carriers often provide smoother connections.
The percentage of private peering may be helpful in evaluating a carrier. The higher the percentage of private peering, the less congested the network is likely to be.
