Gotta take exception (kinda) ...

Having a beta test site for functional testing is one thing. Ensuring that the far-reaching network components are on board is completely different. Ya don't know what ya don't know until you give it a shot.

Personal experience has been telecommunications system admin for (at the time)the largest privately owned network - a really big rubber company in Ohio. And an enterprise engineer for an airline reservation system (1/3 of all airline reservations) with private network supporting every country in the world (preand early internet), 'tis a bit difficult to emulate a full on production load that includes a network that reaches every little nook-n-cranny in the world. In every cutover there is a point where you decide to fall back or fall forward. Seems that RCU techs decided to fall forward probably because significant content would have been lost.

Personally - I really dislike any decision to use Level 3. Why? Well, I've contracted with 'em (enterprise object modeler) and things just didn't make much sense.

If anybody needs some trace route info from the greater Denver area toss me a PM and I'll see what I can do.

TTFN ...