donnalyn@uunet.uu.net (Donnalyn Frey) (02/08/90)
AlterNet A new TCP/IP Internetworking Service from UUNET Communications Services For additional information contact: Donnalyn Frey, UUNET Press Liaison at (703) 764-9342 Electronic Mail: donnalyn@frey.com P.O. Box 2685, Fairfax, VA 22031-0685 AlterNet is the newest service of UUNET Communications Services, Inc., a non-profit corporation based in Falls Church, Virginia. Alternet provides TCP/IP connectivity on a commercial basis on an international scale. Projects in high-speed computer internetworking, such as the ARPANET (sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) and NSFNET (sponsored by the National Science Foundation) have shown that benefits such as increased productivity, cooperation, and cost savings result from the increased interaction and collaboration made possible by researchers using the largely Federally funded Internet. The objective of AlterNet is to make these benefits available to the community at large. Because much of the cost of running the Internet is subsidized by government grants, Internet use is restricted to organizations doing government sponsored or approved research and development. AlterNet receives no government funding, so can allow commercial use of its network. A typical customer could use AlterNet to connect its engineering facility in California to its European sales office in Paris, France. A 56 kbps dedicated connection between these two sites would cost under $3,500 per month. This is the all inclusive price and there are no hidden charges such as packets or kilocharacters. For comparison, running IP over an X.25 Public Data Network connection, would cost $4,000 per month for only 9.6 kbps (1/6 the speed) plus there would be an additional charge for each kilosegment sent. For even medium volumes, this is prohibitively expensive. A similar AlterNet 56 kbps connection only between Mountain View, CA and Washington, DC would cost under $2,500 per month. For small to medium sized corporations who want their own corporate network but cannot afford the costs of installing their own dedicated lines, AlterNet can frequently provide a cost effective alternative. AlterNet's cost savings are achieved through shared usage of the basic infrastructure. For all but the most demanding applications, this sharing provides equivalent performance at significantly reduced costs. 56 kbps AlterNet service is priced at $1,000 per month plus the telephone company's charge for connection to Alternet's local hub. 9.6 kbps service is offered as inexpensively as $250 per month (in limited areas). AlterNet is not limited to commercial organizations and is available to any interested organizations, including educational institutions and non-profit corporations. For those organizations who meet the appropriate use qualifications and who have the proper government authorizations, Internet access can be provided at no extra charge. From its first day in operation in May, 1987, UUNET Communications has operated its own, private, TCP/IP based network. This network is used to distribute electronic mail from its UUNET (uucp based) service in a cost effective and timely manner. The AlterNet service is based on this existing infrastructure and will continue to serve the needs of the UUNET service. Currently operational hubs are located in Falls Church, VA (Washington, DC metro area); Mountain View, CA; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; and Paris, France. Other locations are being added and other cooperative agreements with international networking providers are in progress*. Further details on AlterNet will be announced at a press conference on Tuesday, January 23 at the Washington, DC Uniforum conference. The press conference will be held at the Convention Center in Room 29 at 4:00 p.m. ### *European access is provided by EUnet through a cooperative agreement with UUNET Communications Services.