don@SRI-LEWIS.ARPA (Donald Holman) (04/26/88)
Fellow net-workers, Because of time I have only read the occasional note regarding network charges, thus if I am restating old ideas I appologize. I have a question with regard to the network charge decision process. Is the decision to be made by members of this list? For if not then I submit that the time being charged on the timeslips for all of this rhetoric may be adequate to pay for the 'net' for the next fiscal year. ON THE OTHER HAND, if the members of this list can influence the decision process, I have a more palatable comment. Is it not true that the real cost of keeping the 'net' up and running can be closely determined. (i.e. I am sure that someone in the bill paying department can tell us that last year network connection fees totaled X dollars, thus this year the budget for these fees has been allocated as Y dollars.) If this is the case, we can use this value Y along with (perhaps a swag) the amount of data to be transfered next year last year. Thus if Y is 100 dollars and 'swag' is 1kbyte the network charge is $1/kbyte across the board. As far as re-routing and use of other peoples network services, this amount is charged locally (i.e. as data leaves the local site and uses PBN or the like) and placed into a central pot to pay for the network as a whole. Just a thought, (Usual disclaimers apply) Don
Corrigan@DDN3.ARPA (04/27/88)
1. Members of the list (at least collectively) probably won't make the decision, but that's DARPA's call. 2. Members can influence the decision, not only for the ARPANET, but for the MILNET as well. I am batching up the collected comments for delivery to the keeper of the "Commercial Communications Industrial Fund". They set the rate structure for both nets in conjunction with the network manager. It is a revolving fund, and as long as expenditures equal receipts over time, there is some freedom in making the "right things" happen. Mike Corrigan