[6959] in North American Network Operators' Group
RE: Questions about Internet Packet Losses
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Peter Cole)
Tue Jan 14 12:51:49 1997
From: Peter Cole <peter@telescan.com>
To: "'Bob Metcalfe'" <metcalfe@infoworld.com>
Cc: "'nanog@merit.edu'" <nanog@merit.edu>
Date: Tue, 14 Jan 1997 11:46:00 -0600
People want/need information, Lots of it and lots of different kinds =
of it. They don't/won't wait on it. Packet loose limits the growth of =
the Internet by reducing the desire to use the Internet to move =
different kinds of information. The better it works the more we will =
all use it, until we get tired of waiting for it. Then we back off and: =
place a phone call, send a fax, turn on the radio, go to the library or =
the post office, turn on the TV, read a magazine or newspaper, Install a =
lease line, etc. =20
ISPs that provides better quality of service will attract content =
providers and content consumers that want more from the net. As =
consumers become aware of the differences in service, low performance =
ISPs will decline in popularity for demanding consumers. Try and find a =
customer that says they like to wait 30 seconds for a web page. Several =
of the dialup nationwide systems are 30 second slow. As customers of =
slow ISPs see faster response from higher quality of service ISPs they =
will switch or continue to wait. As new solutions are made available =
to consumers like personal video conferencing, consumers will tend to =
higher performance ISPs. =20
Even if a carrier delivers ever packet they receive to the Gigaswitch at =
an exchange point the customer doesn't care where the packet was lost. =
The increase in private crossconnects sends a message to the exchange =
points, while giving the exchange point some breathing room.=20
In summation packet loose is here to stay. The amount will be =
determined by the free market system. =20
P.S. If someone can prove they have better access than what I am buying =
now I'll plan on switching. AS1702
