[11017] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
CIX , Fee's Routes and What's Really going on here anyway?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Joseph W. Stroup)
Fri Mar 18 04:25:12 1994
Date: Thu, 17 Mar 1994 22:36:39 -0800 (PST)
From: "Joseph W. Stroup" <nettech@crl.com>
To: com-priv@psi.com, doug@digex.net, cook@path.net
Cc: "Joseph W. Stroup" <nettech@crl.com>, joseph@path.net
Doug, I read your reply to Gordon with interest. I think that from your
point the answer that you gave was correct. I also saw a list of members
that was posted and it seemed to be wrong or I have mis-informed. I
thought that MCS.COM and INDIRECT.NET had joined the CIX ? Maybe not or
maybe the listing was old , who knows. At any rate, I would NOT join the
CIX for one reason and its not the $10,000. The fee is "Credit Card
Money", its the fact that I have always seen it as a sort of "Be my
Friend Club". The CIX fee is set at $10,000 to keep the smaller companies
out of the market and the larger companies in control. At one time this
was a good idea. The entire scope of this business has changed so darn
much in the last year alone that the whole concept of keeping people out
of the market place just won't work. People think that the Superhighway
is going to make them mega bucks so they are willing to get into this
business and pay a price. So far all I see is a very few making any real
money. If I were DIGEX.NET I would do everything I could to AVOID paying
the $10,000 fee. You get nothing for it. Dealing with ANS allows a small
company the ability to grow. Perhaps this growth would never happen
without the help that Digex has gotten from ANS, perhaps not. I for one
think that the fact that ANS has extended their shield around situations
like DIGEX.NET is the correct thing to do. About 6 months ago I would
have not said this. New information I have gotten in the past week has
lead me to that decision. Anyway, the "Be my Friend Club" is nOT in the
best interest of the growth of the Internet as a whole. This Superhighway
thing will only work if there is expansion and cooperation. The Internet
has grown like a group of weeds and its sort of late in the game to stop
it.
When the telephone companies want into your market place, you know that
your on to something !
Joseph Stroup
