ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

IP transit

IP transit is like having a personal mailman for your internet data. Just like how you can send and receive letters through the mail, you can send and receive information over the internet. But instead of just one person delivering your letters, there are many different companies and networks that help deliver your internet data.

These companies and networks are like different neighborhoods with their own individual post offices. When you send internet data, it needs to go through multiple neighborhoods to reach its destination. IP transit is when your internet service provider (ISP) pays one of these neighborhoods (networks) to let your data pass through on its way to its destination.

Think of it like if you wanted to send a letter from New York to California. You could bring your letter to your local post office, but they can only deliver it within your local area or to specific locations that they have partnerships with. To get your letter to California, it needs to go through multiple different post offices in different towns, cities, and states. Each of these post offices is like a different network, and they need to allow your letter to pass through in order to reach California. Your ISP pays these different networks to allow your internet data to pass through on its way to its destination.

Without IP transit, it would be like trying to deliver your letter to California without any post offices - it would be nearly impossible. IP transit is essential for making sure your internet data can travel across different networks and reach its final destination.