What Does Tier 1 Carrier Mean?
A tier-1 carrier is an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that can serve its coverage area entirely through settlement-free collaboration with other carriers, rather than having to pay tolls to other companies for using parts of a third party’s IP network. Tier-1 carriers tend to have large coverage areas and large footprints, with a lot of infrastructure and massive financial resources.
Techopedia Explains Tier 1 Carrier
Smaller carriers generally combine peering and paid data transit agreements.
