At 12:21 PM -0500 on 97-8-8, Robert T. Nelson wrote:
As more and more companies come to rely on the Internet like they rely on the PSTN, we will be expected to have bomb-resistant networks. (not bomb-proof, mind you), and we will have to be compensated for this level of redundancy. This will day will come as we place more financial transactions on the 'Net.
Ironically, one of the categories of end-users who really need dependable and uninterrupted net service right now are the electric power companies. They are required under federal mandate to conduct all their power-brokering business over the public networks. In other words, when Northeast Utilities sells some megawatts to Con Ed, the transaction has to be scheduled on the Internet. So we're set up for a situation where a failure of the power grid brings down a part of the Net, and the Net outage impedes restoration of the power grid. ------------------------------------------------------ Brian Hayes bhayes@amsci.org