jbn@wdl1.UUCP (John B. Nagle) (02/25/84)
Given the fact that long distance rates for US interstate calls are such that the longest domestic interstate call costs less than three times the rate of the shortest one, the average path length in this network is much too long. No path within the continental US should contain more than three toll calls. The total long distance bills for the net are probably about twice what they would be if the topology were optimal. I suggest that every site that dials faraway sites should undertake to dial at least one site in each region defined by the first digit of the zip coder, and that the dialed site should be one willing to dial other sites in the same zip code block. This measure alone should reduce everyone's charges.
rpw3@fortune.UUCP (02/26/84)
#R:wdl1:-17000:fortune:14500021:000:839 fortune!rpw3 Feb 25 21:25:00 1984 Look again at the phone charges listed in the front of your phone book. For inTERstate calls over about 200 miles, rates are nearly flat across the entire continental US ("contiguous 48"). We should indeed be optimizing number of hops, but NOT particularly distance (outside of the "local calling area"). The inTRAstate rates are not much lower. Late-night/weekend rates for each minute after the first from Palo Alto to: Berkeley, CA $0.08 Sacramento, CA $0.14 Reno, NV $0.16 Santa Barbara, CA $0.18 San Diego, CA $0.18 Denver, CO $0.18 Chicago, IL $0.18 Dallas,TX $0.18 Portland, ME $0.20 New York, NY $0.20 Atlanta, GA $0.20 Miami, FL $0.20 Rob Warnock UUCP: {sri-unix,amd70,hpda,harpo,ihnp4,allegra}!fortune!rpw3 DDD: (415)595-8444 USPS: Fortune Systems Corp, 101 Twin Dolphins Drive, Redwood City, CA 94065