You're right that there are many Internets, but there isn't a "default basic internet" any more than there's a "default basic airplane route"
The distributions of Airlines and Bandwidth Providers are fairly similar in number and size, and the customer patterns are quite similar too. Very few people buy directly from the providers, they go through retail intermediaries to get the lowest prices (booking agents/ISPs). The people who do buy directly either have some sort of 'relationship' with the provider, or are massive enough to avoid buying anything at the retail level. The hub-and-spoke networks with routes merging mid-stream are also quite similar topographically (though not geographically).
Akamai's network isn't any more "properly designed", they're just willing to pay the actual Bandwidth Providers more, and more importantly willing to pay up front for guaranteed bandwidth. Peering bandwidth is normally billed by volume used, with a fee based on your maximum thouroughput over the billing period.
Anyone could always buy point to point IP links with lower contention ratios, but this is the first time I've seen a company (Akamai) with enough of them internationally to have a serious attempt to have full Internet coverage.
The distributions of Airlines and Bandwidth Providers are fairly similar in number and size, and the customer patterns are quite similar too. Very few people buy directly from the providers, they go through retail intermediaries to get the lowest prices (booking agents/ISPs). The people who do buy directly either have some sort of 'relationship' with the provider, or are massive enough to avoid buying anything at the retail level. The hub-and-spoke networks with routes merging mid-stream are also quite similar topographically (though not geographically).
Akamai's network isn't any more "properly designed", they're just willing to pay the actual Bandwidth Providers more, and more importantly willing to pay up front for guaranteed bandwidth. Peering bandwidth is normally billed by volume used, with a fee based on your maximum thouroughput over the billing period.