[1692] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Re: Private and official phone calls
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (matsb@sics.se)
Wed Dec 11 08:31:54 1991
To: Charles_K._Kuhlman.MAN@rxg.xerox.com
Cc: com-priv@psi.com
In-Reply-To: Your message of Wed, 11 Dec 91 01:46:38 -0800.
Date: Wed, 11 Dec 91 13:10:34 +0100
From: matsb@sics.se
I hope that flat rate cost models will still be the natural choise
for the network services on basic level. Informations services and so
on may well have to develop billing systems. I do wonder if a
proscription model would be better though. Simpler to administer,
simpler to implemet, but:
On observation with regards to the phone system.
The phone systems are normally developed with govermetn support, the
services, at least in Europe, are either direct built with taxpayers
money or supported by favourable government loans. As a user, I have
to pay for the usage regardless if there is "free capacity" on the net
or not, in fact, if would'nt use it, I probably would have to pay it
trough taxation... Sp I have to pay for the infrastructure at least
twice...
The infrastructure investment cost for phone is perhaps 98% of the
data equivalent (up till now).
As for data communications use, the real cost for services today is
personell and the very high resell prce on bandwith (especially in the
US) The trick is to PROMOTE communications use, not to inherit the
phone services backbilling model that in practice hampers use. The
infrastructure cost in terms of depressiotion, maintence and
personell will be there just the same!
Apart from this you have the "assymetrical FTP-problem" or all
services that send a few packet to a servier, which in turn send of a
lot, who should pay? To implementing usage based accounting in all applications
and services is like starting all over again.
The overhead cost of producing the "billing" could be estimated at
2-40% of the "real cost". Why shoudl I as a user have to pay for this
because of lack of decision at management level?
To give an input on trends:
- equipment cost will go down, "double capacity, half cost each 5 years?"
- fiber capacity will decrease the bandwidth cost considerbly if reasonable
competioion is invoked
- Personell cost for cruical persons that can build these systems/services
wil increase a lot once the market kicks off.
The phone system and its' billing schemes have had about 100 years to
evolve
into what we have today (for good or not). The internet is only about
15 years
old and we have to bring it's billing up to modern standards Real Soon
Now.
