[1150] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Wanted: a Primer on Settlements!
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (tmn!cook@uunet.uu.net)
Sat Aug 10 14:26:21 1991
From: tmn!cook@uunet.uu.net
To: com-priv@psi.com
Date: Sat Aug 10 14:17:52 1991
<<MESSAGE from>> Gordon Cook 10-AUG-91 14:17
cook@tmn
How many on this list really understand the "settlements" debate? i am
not sure at all that I do.
Here's what I think I understand. Would someone from the CIX or from ANS
correct me when I error?
Settlements involve the measurement of the data that customers (all or
just commercial?) pass across the ANS backbone and into the mid-levels and
vice-versa. On some regular basis the total traffic generated from ANS
customers and the total traffic from the mid-levels is measured. If the
mid-levels customers are putting more data across the backbone than ANS
customers are send via the backbone on the way to the mid-levels, then the
mid-levels must pay ANS for the difference? On the same account if the
balance were than ANS customers were using the backbone to shove more data
into the mid-levels than was going in the reverse direction, then ANS
would owe the mid-levels some sort of settlement charge based on a per
packet basis??
Settlements are something that NETWORKS pay to each other? They do not
directly affect institutions? However if they do represent a new level of
network cost, they would presumably be eventually passed on to
institutions in the form of higher annual connect fees???
Settlements do not reflect a policy of beginning to chrage for network use
by the amount of data sent? Or do they??
