Re: MFS WorldCom/WilTel/LDDS

["Dick St.Peters" <stpeters () NetHeaven com>]

> One dirty little secret is that most 
> phone calls and videoconferences ram their way past data transmissions 
> by using a bully of a communications method called UDP.  Unlike the more
> polite Transmission Control Protocol, TCP, which drops back
> when it detects congestion, UDP continues at full speed, elbowing 
> ahead of TCP traffic.

Sigh, I guess you need to have part of your network shut down by the
above-described effect to appreciate just how unusually accurate a
portrayal that description is.

> Its a good thing none of these journalist used the train, telegraph,
> or telephone systems when they were growing at these extact same rates,
> or we wouldn't have trains or telephones today.  A little research
> into the growth of the telephone network reveals very similar patterns.

What research into the growth of telephone, telegraph, and train
systems immediately reveals is usage-based pricing generating revenue
to pay for the infrastructure to handle the growing traffic.  At the
net's edges a large portion of use is purchased with usage-based
pricing right now, where usage is measured by connect time for dialup
users and by data transfer for servers.

> Clue seems to be a conserved quanitity in the universe, such that
> as the net gets lager the clue-denisty gets lower, thus causing
> most of the problems we see today.

The people with a clue are those who can tell the difference between
predicting the death of the net and predicting the end of the free
lunch.

--
Dick St.Peters,       Gatekeeper, Pearly Gateway, Ballston Spa, NY
stpeters () NetHeaven com     Owner, NetHeaven 518-885-1295/800-910-6671
Albany/Saratoga/Glens Falls/North Creek/Lake Placid/Blue Mountain Lake
          First Internet service based in the 518 area code
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