Page "Peering" Paragraph 27

Private peering is the direct interconnection between only two networks, across a Layer 1 or 2 medium that offers dedicated capacity that is not shared by any other parties.

Early in the history of the Internet, many private peers occurred across ' telco ' provisioned SONET circuits between individual carrier-owned facilities.

Today, most private interconnections occur at carrier hotels or carrier neutral colocation facilities, where a direct crossconnect can be provisioned between participants within the same building, usually for a much lower cost than telco circuits.