[9381] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
January 1994 COOK Report on Internet -> NREN
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Gordon Cook)
Mon Jan 3 00:47:15 1994
From: cook@path.net (Gordon Cook)
Date: Sun, 2 Jan 1994 21:45:55 PST
To: com-priv@psi.com
The January Issue of the COOK Report on Internet NREN is published tonight.
In this issue:
HYBRID NETWORKS IN THE CONTEXT OF NII DESIGN, PP.1 - 5.
We interview Hybrid's founder Ed Moura to get an in depth look at the origin
and development of Hybrid's asymmetric networking technology. Moura points
out that the only applications that don't fit well into the asymmetric pattern
are one-on- one electronic mail, real time video and the activity generated by
an information services provider. Moura says that Hybrid will soon be
prepared to offer upstream internet connect channels via wireless and via
cable as well as by telephone.
We point out that according to statistics published in the November Internet
Letter the data usage of the Internet by a very large customer (Morgan
Stanley) is asymmetric with 10 times more incoming than outgoing data. We
mention Hybrid's new alliance with General Instrument and Intel to produce a
low cost card for a personal computer. This card will replace the more
expensive Hybrid modems and software in permitting local loop by pass in
connecting to the Internet.
Finally we discuss where the Hybrid technology fits into the picture of
National Information Infrastructure policy as recommended by the Electronic
Frontier Foundation. When the EFF emphasized the need for high bandwidth
upstream as well as down, some thought it was coming out against asymmetric
networking. EFF Senior Counsel Dan Weitzner assured us that this is incorrect
and that the EFF supports the asymmetric concept embodied by Hybrid.
A REPORT FROM THE TELESTRATEGIES CONFERENCE ON THE BELL ATLANTIC TCI MERGER,
PP.5, 24
Interactive TV may not be the much anticipated cash cow. Telephony via the
local cable TV network may however be a much different story. The cost to the
RBOCs to connect new subscribers to their network is about $1200. The cost
for a cable TV telephone connection is likely to be around $350. Fiber is
necessary for cable TV plants to support telephony. Well before the end of
1994 50% of the cable plant nationwide will be fiber.
One speaker from Arthur Anderson suggested that using the resulting networks
for two way information transfer to virtualize more than three quarters of
business activity in the US could make the whole venture extremely profitable.
Finally there was an excellent presentation on the Cox Cable Bell South joint
venture for online yellow pages, newspapers, and a regional version of Prodigy
in the Atlanta area. (We expect to publish more about this in the February
COOK Report.
NSF ALLEGED TO CUT
NETWORK FUNDS WHILE SPENDING & ANS
SUBSIDIES SHOW INCREASE -
SCIENCE BOARD RUBBER STAMPS NEW MERIT
EXTENSION, PP. 6-8.
We explore press reports that NSF is getting out of the Internet and backbone
funding business. Despite such assertions the NSFnet Program budget request
for FY 94 shows a 25% increase over the FY 93 figures.
We examine the role of the National Science Board in the extension of the
agreement. Having asked whether the Board ever refused to accept
recommendations presented to it, we were assured by a senior network
personality that this was often the case. Board staffer Jim McCullough
however told us via telephone that the Board rarely if ever over ruled a
recommendation because each such document was thoroughly checked by two layers
of management and by legal staff before the Board ever saw the result. We see
from the Science Board Memo detailing the extension that the amount being paid
Merit is increasing by 20% per month. We note that the identities of the
Solicitation winners will be present to the Science Board at its February 10 -
11th 1994 meeting. However they may not be publicly announced until April
when the Division of Grants and Agreements completes their processing.
Readers may expect us to use FOIA to obtain the information given to the
Science Board in February.
We reprint the list of questions about the solicitation presented to NSFnet
management by Rick Adams on June 3, 1993. The questions make quite clear that
the NSF will continue not only to support a new version of the backbone but
also to support the ability of the regional networks to sell commercial
accounts in unfair competition with their purely commercial non tax supported
counterparts.
Finally we reprint a portion of Mitch Kapor's February 2, 1993 testimony
describing the vBNS as something that is commercially available and can be
obtained via contract at a likely savings to the taxpayer.
NEWS OF ADVANCED
NETWORK AND SERVICES, PP.9-11.
We have heard from three different sources that it is the conscensus of
opinion among the technical reviewer community that the NSF intends to award
the vBNS and NAPs to ANS and MCI.
We describe ANS's Diamond Mine Marketing strategy. In the words of an
informant: "Diamond mine is a revenue sharing agreement, which means no or
little up front cost for those who agree to it.
We republish some of the public statements of Joe Stroup, a disgruntled ANS
customer, who reports he was granted CIX connectivity by ANS without having to
join the CIX.
We report that BARRnet has dropped its ANS CO+RE service in favor of a direct
T-1 CIX connection.
"Effective January 1st, 1994, BARRNet will be reconfiguring the routing of
commercial traffic to use a new, direct T1 line to the CIX rather than using
ANSNET's CO+RE service. This change is being made for several reasons:
1. We have not been happy with the results of the ANS/CIX arrangement that
was supposed to guarentee symmetry for traffic between pure-research sites.
Since there appears to be no way for ANS to fix this without cooperation from
other network providers and since we can implement the same routing policy in
place now with a direct CIX connection at much lower cost, we have decided to
install the direct connection.
2. With the recent decision by ANS to join the CIX, it is now possible to
route traffic to other ANS CO+RE customer via the CIX rather than having to
make special CO+RE arrangements on behalf of BARRNet subscribers.
3. There have been a number of cases where using ANS as a transit path to
the CIX has made it difficult to resolve certain routing problems. A direct
connection from BARRNet to the CIX should improve our ability to troubleshoot
connectivity in such cases.
What will this mean to you? For starters, it will mean the elimination of the
ERS surcharge that BARRNet commercial subscribers have been paying during the
past year. You will notice that this surcharge is no longer present in our new
rate schedule, which also takes effect on January 1st.
LEGAL CHALLENGE TO NSF SOLICITATION 93 -52; NSF REBUTAL OF THIS CHALLENGE; NSB
MEMORANDUM
EXTENDING THE MERIT COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT. PP.12-21.
We republish these texts (more than 60 kilobytes) obtained under FOIA with
their original pagination and formatting. Readers should see the article at
the bottom of page 11 for a summary of the arguments.
The COOK Report expects that this will be the first of multiple challenges to
the NSF's single minded determination to use the current atmosphere of the
information superhighway gold rush to fortify its own network empire. We
publish these documents in the hope that they may be useful to those who may
wish to join these challengers in protesting the on going NSF juggernaught.
Coming in the February COOK Report:
A conversation between the Editor and Christopher Locke on what it will take
to succeed in Electronic publishing in the internet.
Also the fourth and final part of our Special Report on Computer Networks and
Health Care.
