J.Crowcroft@CS.UCL.AC.UK (Jon Crowcroft) (06/24/91)
In terms of real interconnecting networks, we (UCL-CS) had Internet (read ARPANET) access via SATNET from 1976, and UK x.25 access around the same time they have been very similar in terms of functionality/performance ever since ... (Performance: e.g. JANET-II is 2Mbps about same time as T1 NSFNET, we arte going to 34 Mbps aropund this year, while NSFnet goes to T3...in fact reliability of JANET is markedly better than most the Internnet... Functionality: the Internet (wide area) does FTP/SMTP/TELNET, we have NIFTP, Grey Book/X.400, PAD/XXX). now if you want fancy stuff like NFS/AFS, X/NeWS, Video, you dont really get that much yet wide area...see paper by Paxson, or me at INET'91 or some folks from USC at SIGCOMM '91 for traffic stats... in terms of research, i started at UCL in '81 working on interconnected *cambridge* rings running universe datagrams, and byte strem protocol, with satellite hops to europe - pretty similar to the US research going on at the time... we now are loooking at 60Mbps ATM networks, and packet voice & video in UK & UK-Europe - again pretty similar to what is happening in the US the arguments over what packet format carries the bits over the wire are rather long in the tooth - what is relevant is: what *algorithms* go in the end systems and routers/switches to give the QoS the users want (e.g. reliablilty/throughput/delay versus cost)... the socialogocal/political arguments should be left to sociologists/politicians and people who have to argue with European Telecom companies who operate a very disruptive cartel similar to that which airline companies have this side of the pond... and what ... jon