Telecom Snit Cuts "Intertubes"

The recent disagreement between Cogent and TeliaSonera over traffic trading reminds us how fragile the internet actually can be. It doesn't take some cables to be cut underwater to knock out a grid; sometimes all you have to do is flip a switch (or toggle a software button). However, I think that these kinds of breakdowns will become more frequent in the future, as bandwidth becomes a more and more precious commodity. We've seen already cable companies playing "chicken" with television networks over broadcasting certain channels because of contract negotiations breaking down, so I would expect this would happen between ISP's as well.