[9536] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Internet in a box
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Paul Robinson)
Sun Jan 9 06:27:30 1994
From: Paul.Robinson@f417.n109.z1.fidonet.org (Paul Robinson)
Date: 09 Jan 94 00:04:34 -0500
To: com-priv@psi.com
I'd like to make the following suggestion; I think the next step in
the issue of "Internet in a box" is the ability to allow BBSs to use
FTP so as to increase the number of files available while not storing
them locally.
One way might include the equivalent of having a background process
that does a gopher or FTP request for a file, downloads it into a
temporary area, then allows the user calling to download it from the
BBS he called into.
Note: 'Asymetric routing' is when the packets you get do not travel
the same way as the packets you are sending, e.g. phone line uplink,
cable-tv downlink. On one of these, you could put 200 simultaneous
customers and give them each their own 56K connection.
But in order to support direct connections for BBSs to do this sort
of thing, the cost would have to be a lot less. A BBS that is accepting
one to 5 connections at 14,400 baud can probably stand a 14,400 baud
internet connection if all it is doing is handling mail. Or a 56K
baud connection for actual FTPs might be enough. And I don't know
what it is in other people's areas, but I think we are looking at
$500 a month for a 56K baud line. If the asymetric routing capability
becomes more than just vaporware, then it would be worth looking into,
but only for larger BBSs that can afford the kind of rates involved
(you have to have paying customers to be seriously interested in coughing
up $100 a month for an Internet pipe to allow BBS callers to do
downloads.)
Now, the question is, does a 10Mbps pipe cost $20,000 a month, or
even $10,000? If not, then one of these can generate enough money
to pay the cost of the equipment. About the only problem is the cost
of the incoming phone lines, which, at $20 a pop aren't cheap. But
then again, nothing says that while the system can allow 200 people
to share the same 10MBPS pipe to give them each 56K, that you can't
sell the same pipe to more than 200 people.
Question: how much bandwidth is needed to transmit 10MBPS? Let's
see, a standard phone line is 4KHZ and they handle 14K with no hassle
(the absolute limit being near 28K). In theory, a 6MHZ TV channel
could be considered to be a 1 MHZ guard above and below the channel,
and then 1000 4KHZ channels, or 14MBPS.
In theory, this means you can either have 10 T1 customers using the
bandwidth of one channel, or 200 customers using 56K of bandwidth.
Or some mix in between.
