Interesting People mailing list archives
IP: Re: : Bells Allege Internet Growth Clogging Network From:
From: Dave Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 07:19:17 -0400
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 05:24:32 -0400 To: Dave Farber <<farber () central cis upenn edu>, interesting-people () eff org (interesting-people mailing list) From: Gordon Jacobson <<gaj () portman com> At 02:15 AM 8/23/96 -0400, Dave Farber wrote:
From: jodins () uswest com
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 96 14:50:59 MDT
Subject: Bells Allege Internet Growth Clogging Network
BELL STUDIES SAY FLOOD OF INTERNET USE IS HARMING ACCESS TO PHONE
NETWORK
Copyright 1996 Warren Publishing, Inc. 8-21-96
Studies sponsored by several RHCs suggest that rapid growth of
Internet calls for usage-sensitive pricing for Internet service
providers (ISPs). And U S West (USW) urged FCC to consider burden
imposed by Internet on phone network when reforming access charges to
forestall what telcos claim would be disaster.
Four Bell companies -- Bell Atlantic (BA), Nynex, Pacific
Telesis (PT) and USW -- said in studies that rapid Internet growth is
forcing LECs to pay for costly network improvements while not
providing means to recover those costs from ISPs, which pay flat fee
for lines and don't pay access charges. America's Carriers
Telecommunication Assn. (ACTA) submitted BA's study last week in
petition asking FCC to regulate Internet telephony (CD Aug 19 p2).
I have been saying for years now that given the bandwidth onslaught, the Telecos and Carriers are faced with obsolescence over the next two decades. Their "cash cow" -- intelligently switched services -- has a finite life and the end is in sight (Telcos and Carriers must think in longer time frames than you or I, as the very existence of their "Widow, Orphan and Pensioner" bondholders and stockholders determines to a great extent how their long term decisions are made). Now that they are finally beginning to recognize the reality of their position, there is this mad scramble to find a replacement/put off the inevitable. Bellcore recently completed a comprehensive study on the topic of the effect of ISP traffic on average call length and the financial ramifications to the Telcos of the increase. Last month, in a preliminary review of the as yet unreleased study, one commentator in the alt.dcom.telecom newsgroup reported that Bellcore estimates the cost per region of increasing the number of ports on CO switches to compensate for the average call length increase is in the $30 million range. I find this minuscule number hard to believe and have ordered a copy of the report for further "first hand" analysis. If true, however, the brouhaha that the above 4 RBOCs are fostering is no more than a tempest in a teapot. The report is due to be released in September. Given that all business service is usage based, ISP's unmetered traffic essentially originates in the calling patterns of residential users who either have "no charge" local calling or "flat rate" local calls (ie no per minute charges). In the case of NYNEX in NY for example, a residential local call costs about 10 cents (day rate). While the Telcos make a point in that the average call length has increased, not much sympathy should be wasted on them. The increase in the "average call time" brought with it a vast increase in the number of residential subscribers putting in 2nd lines and a corresponding increase in the revenue stream from "flat rate" usage charges. (Just for informational purposes, my average monthly residential bill jumped from $36 per month to $86 per month, not including any increase attributable to the added number of lines.) Moreover, is it just my imagination, or aren't AT&T, MCI, Sprint (just this week), PacBell, BA/NYNEX, Ameritech and many other Telcos and Carriers all in the business of providing dial-up Internet access themselves? Where's the beef? More news at 11! Regards, - GAJ Home Page: http://www.seas.upenn.edu/~gaj1/home.html
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- IP: Re: : Bells Allege Internet Growth Clogging Network From: Dave Farber (Aug 23)