Summary
Arbinet is already handling a lot of interexchange traffic, so they are no stranger to this world. VoIP peering is a nascent market, and their Spider Registry is yet another peering solution for carriers to consider. Existing solutions are all a bit different, and each has a distinct business model - and none of which are proven. Beacuse of Arbinet's existing role in the market, it is not clear whether their move is complementary or competitive with the likes of Neustar, XConnect, Stealth, iPeerx and others. As such, it remains to be seen if this causes confusion among carriers, or if it will be viewed as a welcome addition that could kick start VoIP peering.
Analysis
Despite the fact that a lot of companies are vying for position to facilitate VoIP peering, the vast majority of carriers signing on are quite small. The carriers cited in the article who have signed up with Arbinet are typical, and for that reason, this news isn't going to shake things up in a big way. It's still too early for Tier 1 carriers to get serious about peering, so the name of the gaxconnecme right now is to amass as many Tier 2/3 carriers to create some critical mass. Peering is not yet well understood, and the early adopter carriers are paving the way for something that will become a competitive enabler, but that's a good 1-2 years out.
Will the industry back a neutral party? Sure - if they see it as truly neutral, which any peering solution really has to be. In that regard, the definition of neutral is open to interpretation. I think the second question is more pressing - is the Spider Registry really bringing anything new? My view is they are not, but then, there is room for multiple VoIP peering solutions. I don't see anything radically different here, so this move isn't really a game changer for me. On the other hand, anything that raises awareness of what VoIP peering can bring can only help.
Disclosure - I follow the VoIP peering market on a few levels, and I am and Advisor (unpaid) to XConnect, one of the peering providers mentioned in the article
