[656] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Size of the NREN Market
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (tmn!cook@uunet.uu.net)
Sun May 5 12:55:54 1991
From: tmn!cook@uunet.uu.net
To: com-priv@psi.com
Date: Sun May 5 12:51:52 1991
<<MESSAGE from>> Gordon Cook 05-MAY-91 12:51
cook@tmn
Chuck McClure of Syracuse did some very useful work for OTA a year ago on
how academics use the internet. (Trial and error...."gutting it out" etc.)
When I last spoke to Chuck, he said that as far as he knew we did not
really have any clear ideas on just how many poeple used the Internet let
alone on how effectively they used it.
Suppose we divided network users into three categories:
1. Scientists with fairly intensive computing needs
2. Other post secondary faculty and students in the social sciences and
humanities
3. K-12, junior colleges, unaffiliated individuals in pursuit of research
and education, new business startups, and federal or state agencies with
electronic information for public disemination??
Suppose we estimated that of the population in category 1. there were
currently 150,000 American Internet users and that this was 20 to 30% of
the memebers of this population that could benefit from network use?
Suppose we estimated that category 2 is represented by 500,000 current
users and this were 5 to 10% of the total that could benefit?
Finally suppose we estimated that category 3 is represented by 25 to 50
thousand users and that this were a small fraction of 1% of those who
could benefit?
Would we be on target? If not why not and where do we go wrong?
