[8285] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Some Conclusions - ANS-DIGEX
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Randy Windell)
Fri Nov 12 19:32:28 1993
From: Randy Windell <curious@hebron.connected.com>
To: com-priv@psi.com, doug@digex.net
Date: Fri, 12 Nov 1993 16:27:36 -0800
Cc: curious@hebron.connected.com (Randy Windell)
Ohhhh life in the fast lane!
Basicly, I have no problems with the NSF situation. I have questions,
please - please don't confuse them with problems. True, you are not a
CIX member - I agree but. you do have CIX connectivity. Was that part
of the great price ANS gave you ? Its a simple question. I bet that the
Cix members on Com-Priv would love to know. What has ANS agreed to do
for you if that connectivity goes away ?
Your Statements:
> Bootstrapping a business generally means cutting the best deals that you
can and working with people who want to see you succeed.
> I have never found a shortage of firms wanting to sell me a T1 into the
net. SURA talked with us at great length, Alternet would have sold it to
us, PSI had some great deals, and ANS was here selling hard to get the
business.
Ok, I submit that PSI did not have GREAT DEALS & if re-sale rights were
available they would have been expensive and restrictive. I also suggest
that you wanted a connection at T1 speed so bad, you would have taken just
about anything you could have gotten. I doubt that Digital Express was in
the CASH position to out right pay the fees most networks require up front.
Given the area of the country that you are located in, the high profile
that an ANS T1 attached customer would have - I am willing to speculate
on some things.
1. Digital Express NEVER paid ANY up front money to ANS. (Others require it)
2. You NEVER had to pay for your RS6000 router. (Others require it)
3. At the very min. Digital Express made no initial monthly payments and
or via special arrangements, payments were delayed. Delayed for a period
of time to see if this "experiment" could fly.
4. I also speculate that Digital Express and not ANY of its owners ever
gave ANS a personal gurantee. (Others require it)
5. In order to get this "great deal", I think that you had to promise a
piece of the action (ownership, profits or whatever) and maybe INTEREST
on the delayed payments to ANS, its employees or directors in whole or
in part. Again I speculate.
My Complaint: Its like that of many others... ANS gets Federal monies -
A Win-Win situation. They setup a group of companies like Digital Express
and by making such deals find themselves in the process of predatory
pricing.
In short, the whole thing smells of anti-trust. Who knows I am not a
lawyer. Maybe its time to hide the paper trail, the IBM CE's, the
MCI tech's and others that attempt to construct these sort of deals.
If I worked for ANS I wonder how I would feel, if I knew management
was giving away the farm.
Last: Again Doug, if you got a great deal like this, it sure was sweat.
