For most, the internet is a utility bill. For organizations building resilient infrastructure, operating an Autonomous System offers greater control over routing and connectivity.
Most people experience the internet as a line item on a bill. You call an internet service provider (ISP), and they sell you a service tier: 100 Mbps, 1 Gbps, maybe 10 Gbps if you’re a business. You plug in their router, accept the provided configuration, and that’s the end of it.
For many consumers, this arrangement works well. But for organizations building durable, scalable, and policy-driven infrastructure, relying solely on third-party transit may limit flexibility. One alternative is to operate your own Autonomous System (AS).
The Internet’s Real Structure: Autonomous Systems
The internet is not a single network. It is a federation of Autonomous Systems (ASNs), each with its own routing policies. An ASN identifies a network and grants the operator authority to announce prefixes and exchange routes with peers via BGP (Border Gateway Protocol).
The core distinction is straightforward:
Without an ASN, you receive transit from an upstream provider.
With an ASN, you participate as a peer in the global routing table.
Standing Up an ASN: The Practical Steps
Establishing an ASN is a structured process that requires coordination with regional internet registries and infrastructure providers.
1. Obtain an ASN
In North America, apply through ARIN (American Registry for Internet Numbers). Justification typically includes plans for multihoming and existing IP space. Upon approval, a unique ASN is assigned and becomes visible in global BGP tables.
2. Acquire IP Address Space
You need prefixes to announce. Options include direct allocation from ARIN or leasing. At C3Aero, we began with directly allocated address space and later supplemented with leased blocks for faster scaling.
3. Provision the Network Fabric
Modern setups often use platforms like Lumen Connectivity Fabric and virtual routing instances, supplemented by physical hardware as needed.
4. Establish BGP Peering
The ASN serves as your network identity. Peering can be private (e.g., AWS Direct Connect, Cloudflare interconnects) or public with transit providers such as Lumen (AS3356), Hurricane Electric (AS6939), and Cogent (AS174).
Once active, your ASN and prefixes are publicly queryable via tools like bgp.he.net or bgp.tools, allowing anyone to verify upstreams, announced routes, and traffic paths.
Wholesale vs. Retail: The Economics of Bandwidth
Operating an AS involves both technical and financial considerations.
Retail transit (e.g., a dedicated 10 Gbps circuit) may cost around $3,000 per month with extended lead times.
Wholesale connectivity via peering and colocation can reduce that to approximately $700 per month with activation in days.
This mirrors cloud elasticity: just as compute resources scale on demand in AWS, bandwidth and ports can be provisioned rapidly through Lumen Connectivity Fabric and BGP sessions.
The outcome is infrastructure that scales efficiently and aligns with operational budgets.
Policy as a First-Class Feature
An ASN enables direct control over routing policy, including:
Geopolitical filtering to exclude routes from specific regions.
Provider preference to avoid higher-cost or lower-performance paths.
Domestic traffic containment to prevent unnecessary international transit.
Custom route filtering for specialized customer requirements.
With your own ASN, these decisions are made at your border routers rather than inherited from an upstream ISP.
Why This Matters Strategically
Operating an ASN provides three operational advantages:
Control — Direct management of policy, routing, and compliance.
Economics — Access to wholesale bandwidth pricing.
Elasticity — Rapid scaling through configuration rather than physical build-out.
In an ecosystem of cloud services and edge devices—including aircraft, factories, and sensors—the network layer remains the central control point. Ownership of the pipe influences performance, cost, and policy across the stack.
Conclusion: Operating Your Own AS Is Within Reach
Establishing an Autonomous System may seem complex, but with leased IP space, platforms like Lumen Connectivity Fabric, and foundational BGP knowledge, it is achievable for organizations of various sizes.
Key benefits include:
Publicly verifiable infrastructure via BGP lookup tools.
Reduced per-gigabit costs through wholesale transit and peering.
Direct routing policy control for compliance and performance.
At C3Aero, autonomy underpins our connectivity strategy. Many teams—from startups to enterprise IT groups—can follow a similar path to gain greater control over their internet infrastructure.
