On Sun, 16 Aug 1998, Michael Shields wrote:
fundamentally important that these ideals be extended to the future of the Internet, if it is to have a future. No company should have the right to force another to pay for connectivity simply because the latter has not been around since the beginning or they are not a telco.
BBN is answerable to their customers and shareholders and not to your or my ideals of how the Internet should work.
I agree with you from a business perspective. It's not our right as "innocent bystanders" with no financial interest in the company to have influence on corporate decisions. But, I think that what BBN is doing isn't the right thing. Instead of putting the work into solving the problem of how to value the peering relationship in something other than the quid pro quo metric of bytes, they're simply going home. They don't have the right answer, nor do I. Figuring it out has got to happen. Absent another, more appropriate, forum having the discussion, here is best. If none of us cared, would we be up at four o'clock in the morning saying so?
Shields, CrossLink.
Have fun, Todd --- Todd Nagengast /_\\//_\ Network Hero v. 907.562.4638 tsgd@alaska.net \ //\\ / Internet Alaska, Inc. f. 907.562.1677 My name is CCIEMontoya. You smurfed my router. Prepare to DIE! 1024/DB3041FD BE 60 73 FE 61 C5 A4 F3 C8 13 3C 93 C8 63 1F 5C