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The Guifi network has a connection to the local internet exchange CATNIX. That connection is paid for by the association exo.cat, which is supported by members paying a bi-yearly fee.

Edit: grammar

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Peering doesn't get you to the internet at large though, it just gets you to the people connected to the particular exchange (and they're not usually willing to relay your traffic to other networks)

Now I am really mixed up. How else would an independent ISP get to "the internet at large"? Isn't that what a peering agreement is all about at an IXP?

They'd have to buy transit from a provider. Peering is connectivity between two ISPs. Transit is connectivity between you and the rest of the internet.

There are perhaps missing details, but Guifi seems to have "become" a provider by having "enough" customers. They got a peering connection.

There's a threshold beyond which peering make more sense than transit... (http://packetpushers.net/transit-vs-peering-makes-sense/).

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