Level 3, Cogent Agree on Traffic Deal

Level 3 and Cogent announced on Friday that they had agreed to terms that will keep Internet traffic flowing smoothly between customers of the two companies. Earlier this month, Level 3 cut off Cogent, creating headaches for thousands of Internet users and prompting Congress to threaten to enter the dispute.

The new deal puts caps on the volume of traffic each company can send, a sticking point for Level 3; the company had accused Cogent of overloading its servers. Other portions of the "confidential" agreement were not disclosed. "As a result of the agreement, Level 3 will not proceed with disconnection on November 9, as previously announced," Level 3 said in a statement.