[10299] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
$50 Million Dollar Gift
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Joseph W. Stroup)
Thu Feb 17 17:20:40 1994
From: "Joseph W. Stroup" <nettech@crl.com>
To: com-priv@psi.com
Date: Wed, 16 Feb 1994 22:33:39 -0800 (PST)
I am surprised that there has been so little comment about the NSF action
last Fri. I am of course talking about the NSF giving $50 million for the
new vBNS. I for one would be very interested in seeing copies of all the
proposals.
Given what I know (first hand) about the process, requirements etc. It
looks to me like the NSF and MCI got together for a private meeting to
figure out how MCI could meet and exceed the requirement. I feel that more
than one such meeting took place in 1993 and that MCI was always the choice
of certain parties at the NSF. Bidders other than MCI NEVER had a chance.
Its cute to see a networkMCI customer ad well before the announcement of
the NSF gift to MCI. I contacted several people at MCI and was given all
sorts of explainations as to why MCI was the leader in this area. One MCI
rep. even told me that Al Gore developed the Internet. After fully examining
the prior T-1 setup I fail to see where the costs of operation are. And now
$50 million dollars to MCI to develop and operate this new thing. I wonder
if that means there will be backup circuits to the main pipe and deliverly
before the 11th hour ? At any rate $50 million is a sweat deal for MCI.
At this point I think we can all just about expect ANS to continue to run
the Network Operations Center and for Al Weis to plan his fat financial
retirement. There is just no downside for ANS here. Fire Maloff , take on
some ANS techie people (at MCI) and well, sort of change the faces a bit.
Bong - not AT&T but, MCI out in front of ANS. Cute change. MCI the people
who have massive fiber outages, poor or no backup and who have entered into
a deal for $4 billion with the folks at BT (British Telecom). I know, its
that MCI program - Friends of the World ! The British are back. They rip
off their own people on phone service and then leave for America. Its just
gets better by the day.
So to sum it up..... MCI / NSF meet in closed door session to hammer out
vBNS deal. Where is AT&T in all this with the NO COST to the Government
proposal ? How could AT&T bid a job and be found to be non-responsive on
a technical basis ? AT&T the company that handles the vast majority of our
National Defense circuits, AT&T that has been around for over 100 years,
employees more people than anyone other than the U.S. Gov't. AT&T that
makes up 1/3rd the Gross National product with $$$. I smell another Whitewater
deal here - Which way is the wind blowing from ?
Joseph William Stroup
Note: All cute comments accepted cheerfully !
