[883] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
``cream skimming''
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (emv@msen.com)
Mon Jul 1 05:15:38 1991
To: com-priv@uu.psi.com, tcp-ip@nic.ddn.mil
Cc: farber@central.cis.upenn.edu, rma@tsar.cc.rochester.edu,
Reply-To: emv@msen.com
Date: Mon, 01 Jul 91 04:13:55 -0400
From: emv@msen.com
I'm collecting good quotes on networking and competition. In
particular I'd like to track down the genesis of the phrase "cream
skimming" as applied to the commercialization of the net.
Other quotes welcomed.
--Ed
Edward Vielmetti, vice president for research, MSEN Inc. emv@msen.com
--- cream skimming ---
'I, unfortunately, believe we will see what you call a ARPA net style
network as the "commercial" players see that cream skimming is just too
profitable. Its just too hard to resist capturing the big guys via
direct connect and leaving the little fish for the "utility" networks.'
Dave Farber, com-priv, Nov 1990.
'In the immortal words of Bob Kahn: "You gotta have the flow to get the skim."'
Steve Wolff, com-priv, May 1991.
'At the June 1990 FARNET meeting, Al Weis, IBM VP for Engineering and
Scientific Computing, met with the FARNET executive committe at a non-
disclosure meeting to inform them that a new not-for-profit corporation,
tentatively called Newnet, was being set up. He asked the FARNET
executive committee to work with him in helping to define the relationship
between the regionals and the new entity. In a series of meetings over
the summer the FARNET executive expressed apprehension at the prospect
of the regionals competing directly with a corporation backed by such
players as IBM and MCI. The FARNET executive committee, in a letter to
Weis on Aug 2, 1990, underscored the idea that the regional networks and
the coalitions that they have fostered not only provide operations services
but are acting as catalysts for information exchange and application
development...The midlevels have been able, in many cases, to use revenue
generated from larger and wealthier institutions to support the connection
of smaller, poorer institutions to the network. If NewNet "skims the cream"
from the market or is not sensitive to the balances that currently exist,
the position of the midlevel networks, and more importantly of the smaller
users of the NSFNET, may be jeopardized.'
Richard Mandelbaum and Paulette Mandelbaum,
"The Strategic Future of the Mid-Level Networks",
December 21, 1990; in com-priv, Mar 1991.
'The market-driven suppliers of TCP/IP based Internet connectivity are
naturally going after those markets which can be wired at low cost
per institution, i.e. large metropolitan areas, especially those with
a high concentration of R&D facilities, such as Boston, San Francisco,
and Washington DC. In the voice environment, this kind of targeted
marketing by unregulated companies is widely recognized as cream-skimming.'
Brian Kahin, editor,
"Commercialization of the Internet, Summary Report",
November 1990; Network Working Working Group (sic),
Request for Comments, RFC 1192. Based on a workshop
held by the Science, Technology, and Public Policy
Program of the John F. Kennedy School of Government,
Harvard University, March 1-3, 1990. [*]
[*] Found with the assistance of WAIS, Brewster Kahle's "Wide Area
Information Service", in particular the "internet-rfcs" server
running on quake.think.com. An invaluable resource. See
quake.think.com:/pub/wais/ for details. It's a shame that
com-priv isn't in a WAIS somewhere.
[**] com-priv archives on uu.psi.com:/archive/com-priv/*
