Science Publishes Article Based on COOK Report Russian Report [from Cook djf]

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

From: cook () path net (Gordon Cook)
Date: Thu, 7 Jul 1994 22:21:05 GMT


Simultaneously with today's publication of the July issue of the COOK Report on
Internet -> NREN, an article called "Soros Foundation Russian Network Generates
Sparks" is appearing in the July 8 issue of Science, the weekly journal of
theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science.  With the publication of
this article, explicitly crediting our research, the worldwide scientific
community will be alerted to the existence of the complex problems of the
relationship between the International Science Foundation and Russian commercial
computer networks.  We offer a fair use excerpt from the article from the July
8, 1994 Science which was embargoed until 6pm Eastern time this evening.


"Last week, the . . . International Science Foundation (ISF), approved an
ambitious plan  to create an array of computer networks for scientists and
others in the former Soviet Union. But ISF's efforts to put former Soviet
scientists on the cyberspace frontier has stirred opposition from commercial
enterprises, which have charged that Soros may be trying to corner the emerging
telecommunications market in the newly independent states. Those fears, combined
with nationalistic opposition to other Soros-backed initiatives in the region
and some fallout from recent turmoil within ISF, could delay construction of the
first leg of the network and its expansion later this year.


 . . . . But in recent months Soros has begun sketching out far more ambitious
plans, expanding on the research networks to create a $50-million civic network,
starting in Yaroslavl, [175 miles] northeast of Moscow. Ultimately, says ISF
networking project director Alex Goldfarb, the Yaroslavl project will connect
more than 100 schools, three institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
monasteries, newspapers, a radio and television station, and even a mosque.
After that, Soros plans to launch similar networks in other towns. "The aim,''
says Goldfarb, 'is to coordinate the telecommunication infrastructure in the
former Soviet Union with a substantial amount of seed money from Soros.''


. . . .Last week Gordon Cook, editor of the Trenton, N.J.-based COOK Report on
the Internet->NREN, devoted a special issue to Russian networking that described
the battle between other Russian network providers and the ISF. The COOK Report
quotes officials from Relcom, a commercial consortium that is Russia's largest
network provider, and from other network companies accusing the ISF of breaking
deals and alleging that the ISF plan may actually be a front for Soros'
commercial networking ambitions in the region. Alexi Platonov, director of
[RosNIIROS], which is part of the Relcom consortium, complained to Science that
ISF is "trying to create some parallel infrastructure, and without any doubt
they will try to `buy' the Relcom teams in regions.'' ISF officials deny that
they--or Soros--have any commercial intentions. [Accordin to Goldfarb]. "When
the time comes that the [ISF network] becomes profitable, his aim is to transfer
it to the users, who will be able to sell the services on the market.''


. . . . While ISF and Relcom trade blows over the next step, disarray within ISF
has already delayed elements of the network project. . . . The disarray also
caused the National Science Foundation, which had provided a staff consultant,
to withdraw support for the project. .  .  .  ."
Christopher Anderson


______________________________________________________________________
Gordon Cook, Editor Publisher:  COOK Report on Internet -> NREN
431 Greenway Ave, Ewing, NJ 08618
cook () path net                                   (609) 882-2572
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