[2296] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Re: Connecting to the Internet outside of the US?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Stephen Wolff)
Wed Feb 5 16:13:59 1992
To: Jeffrey Shapard <kddlab!twics.co.jp!jefu@uunet.UU.NET>
Cc: com-priv@psi.com
Date: Wed, 05 Feb 92 16:08:18 EST
From: Stephen Wolff <steve@ncri.cise.nsf.gov>
Jeff -
It's a legacy of the way cables were laid and the way PTTs and other telcos
set their prices that the Internet looks much like a star centered on the US.
In most cases the cost of international links is shared between the two
participating countries. So don't think we don't pay; we do! KDD has a
different pricing model in mind for you. That's their call, I think.
We've told our East- and West-coast off-shore partners that in the interest
of research and education (what NSF's all about) we'll carry their transit
traffic gratis, initially - but when it gets "big enough" (TBD) we'll ask
them to help rent more capacity, or they may of course contract for their
own trans-US link. Or go 'round the other way if they like.
-s
