out to cents-on-the-dollar, versus tens of dollars per megabit. According to Job Snijders' IXP Pricing List, TorIX is one of the lowest cost IXP's in the entire world. Most commercial Internet transit agreements require a minimum traffic commitment level, which the customer must pay regardless if their usage is below that point. If usage exceeds the contracted commitment level, the customer usually pays based on an agreed per-megabit charge. Billing is typically done based on the 95th percentile. As a not-for-profit, TorIX charges a small port fee based on the speed of the port the member desires, rather than the amount of traffic traveling over TorIX. The more traffic, the better, but peers are not penalized for lower traffic levels. The low-cost barrier to entry for prospective peers is attractive for smaller companies, while larger companies can see significant operational expense savings by utilizing the exchange at a fraction of the cost of commercial Internet transit. Performance By utilizing the exchange, members can keep their Internet traffic "local," without the added latency of a third-party Internet transit provider. For example, Internet traffic between two points in the same province that used different last mile ISPs may travel extensive physical distances, including to and from other countries, which would negatively impact latency-sensitive applications. Through direct peering relationships, members and their customers realize better network performance. While many companies see a benefit in such arrangements, including many of the country's largest ISPs, Bell Canada is not a participant at TorIX. Security By keeping Canadian Internet traffic local within the country, many organizations are able to alleviate concerns regarding Canadian source/destination Internet traffic, particularly involving concerns regarding the American NSA's interception of cross-border traffic, best demonstrated by the revelations of Edward Snowden to the press. Fees Peers are charged an annual port access fee, with the cost dependent on the type of port and the number of ports required. These fees are used to offset the costs of running the exchange, including vendor support contracts, spare optics and hardware upgrades. Mailing lists TorIX operates several mailing lists: three are TorIX specific, two deal with operational issues, and the other is a general member participation list. The exchange also hosts a mailing list for wholesale ISPs that connect to Bell Canada (formerly Bell Nexxia)'s wholesale DSL services, and this is a key source for up-to-date information on day-to-day issues experienced by operators. Sponsorship TorIX