Internet access and telco usage patterns
There is an interesting column in PC Mag http://www.pcmag.com/issues/1513/pcmg0017.htm regarding "Will the Internet Crash" but Machrone understands the technology better than to do a chicken little imitation. Anyway, he has an anecdote about what PC Mag's BBS did to telco usage patterns with about 100 dialup lines in use nationally. I know that Bell Canada in the toronto area of Canada and BC Tel in Vancouver have also run into problems caused by Internet dialup usage patterns that lead BC-Tel to drop selling Centrex to ISP's and Bell Canada to attempt putting ISP's into a higher tariff category. I suppose other telcos are running into similar capacity problems. Anyway, since some of the core providers in North America are telcos (Sprint, MCI) and since all the other ones work rather closely with the telcos for obvious reasons, I have a question. Has anybody looked at the practicality of installing modem pools in each telco switch location to grab the dialup user's traffic at the IP level and then route it to their ISP of choice for authentication and further routing. In other words, an ISP wouldn't buy phone lines, modems and terminal servers, they would buy IP access ports. I have heard of something like this (I think) going on in Britain where Demon Internet services has Energis providing their dialin lines via something called the Virtual POP in which Demon has no equipment located outside their NOC and has the ability to switch capacity from location to location as load patterns change. Of course, this is probably not working at the IP level but simply dealing with routing of digitized switched audio calls. Michael Dillon ISP & Internet Consulting Memra Software Inc. Fax: +1-604-546-3049 http://www.memra.com E-mail: michael@memra.com
Carl Ford of NYNEX a year ago told me that NYNEX was think of selling isps port access in much the same way as you describe. I wrote about NYNEX intentions at length in my june 1995 issue. There gordon jacobson writing in reply to carl roasted those plans saying in effect how could an ISP *trust* NYNEX not to raise charges and put it out of business. i have heard nothing further about NYNEX's plans. you raise some interesting issues. ********************************************************************** The COOK Report on Internet Individ. hard copy $150 431 Greenway Ave, Ewing, NJ 08618 USA Small Corp & Gov't $200 (609) 882-2572 phone and fax Corporate $350 Internet: cook@cookreport.com Corporate Site Lic. $650 http://pobox.com/cook/ for new report: "Tracking Internet Infrastructure" ***********************************************************************
I have heard of something like this (I think) going on in Britain where Demon Internet services has Energis providing their dialin lines via something called the Virtual POP in which Demon has no equipment located outside their NOC and has the ability to switch capacity from location to location as load patterns change. Of course, this is probably not working at the IP level but simply dealing with routing of digitized switched audio calls.
Not only Demon, but just about every dialup access provider over here has local call access. This is a result of the way the telco regulatory framework works, which means that an alternative carrier (say Energis, who pioneered the scheme) get enough of an ingress charge from BT for it to be worth their while to carry the calls on their network. The ISP provides Energis with so many call terminations that it's well worth Energis (or whoever) providing fixed cost per line (no per call charge) access. This works over here as local calls aren't free. More details if you want. Alex Bligh Xara Networks
GTE has been promoting this model for several years now. They seem to be getting closer to something reasonable and I guess several ISP's are considering and/or doing it. Ed On Mon, 1 Jul 1996, Michael Dillon wrote:
There is an interesting column in PC Mag http://www.pcmag.com/issues/1513/pcmg0017.htm regarding "Will the Internet Crash" but Machrone understands the technology better than to do a chicken little imitation.
Anyway, he has an anecdote about what PC Mag's BBS did to telco usage patterns with about 100 dialup lines in use nationally. I know that Bell Canada in the toronto area of Canada and BC Tel in Vancouver have also run into problems caused by Internet dialup usage patterns that lead BC-Tel to drop selling Centrex to ISP's and Bell Canada to attempt putting ISP's into a higher tariff category. I suppose other telcos are running into similar capacity problems.
Anyway, since some of the core providers in North America are telcos (Sprint, MCI) and since all the other ones work rather closely with the telcos for obvious reasons, I have a question.
Has anybody looked at the practicality of installing modem pools in each telco switch location to grab the dialup user's traffic at the IP level and then route it to their ISP of choice for authentication and further routing. In other words, an ISP wouldn't buy phone lines, modems and terminal servers, they would buy IP access ports.
I have heard of something like this (I think) going on in Britain where Demon Internet services has Energis providing their dialin lines via something called the Virtual POP in which Demon has no equipment located outside their NOC and has the ability to switch capacity from location to location as load patterns change. Of course, this is probably not working at the IP level but simply dealing with routing of digitized switched audio calls.
Michael Dillon ISP & Internet Consulting Memra Software Inc. Fax: +1-604-546-3049 http://www.memra.com E-mail: michael@memra.com
Ed Morin Northwest Nexus Inc. (206) 455-3505 (voice) Professional Internet Services edm@nwnexus.WA.COM
On Thu, 4 Jul 1996, Ed Morin wrote:
GTE has been promoting this model for several years now. They seem to be getting closer to something reasonable and I guess several ISP's are considering and/or doing it.
Has anybody looked at the practicality of installing modem pools in each telco switch location to grab the dialup user's traffic at the IP level and then route it to their ISP of choice for authentication and further routing. In other words, an ISP wouldn't buy phone lines, modems and terminal servers, they would buy IP access ports.
I now find that BC-Tel is offering this service in parts of British Columbia. BC-Tel is half owned by GTE. Michael Dillon ISP & Internet Consulting Memra Software Inc. Fax: +1-604-546-3049 http://www.memra.com E-mail: michael@memra.com
participants (4)
-
Alex.Bligh -
Ed Morin -
Gordon Cook -
Michael Dillon