Comments

Sat Sep 3 01:08:01 UTC 1994

	 Milo S. Medin wrote ...

	 ...

	 I knew the truth about NAPS would come out.

I think you are overreacting here. I don't think anyone has been hiding
anything intentionally.  We're only recently getting enough of the details
of how the NAP's are to be implemented to have cogent discussions.

	 The idea is to squeeze out the small US players and force them to 
	 pay the DS3 capable telcos for their access.

No, the idea here is to transition from a currently operating core network
backbone that is central to the global Internet to a system where this
functionality is provided by a set of NSPs', and RA, and do this without
breaking anything.

The issue that I have been trying to address is really that a NAP can't
be used as a dessert topping and a floor wax at the same time.  You can't
optimize for everything.  This is a limit of the technology and human 
factors that we have to deal with today.  In the future, this may change,
but today, if you try and be all things to all people, you will be poor
in almost every aspect of whatever you try and do.

	 Is this anti-competative or what!

No, it's not.  It's called partitioning the problem space so that you can
actually make progress.  Look, I'm sure you would be unhappy if you could
get a NAP attachement and the performance and reliability was so bad 
that your user's switched providers because of the poor service they were
getting.  

Besides, why do you think that you will be better off attaching to a NAP
rather than attaching directly to an NSP?  Do you think that some NSP is
obligated to carry your traffic to the other NAP's or NSP's?  The general
purpose transit network that NSF is providing today is going away.  
Connecting directly to a NAP isn't going to change that.  Remember all
those bilateral agreements that people are talking about?  Nothing says
that people have to accept your traffic for free or even peer with you.
This is true whether you are NAP connected or not (except for the issue
of NSP's who are contracted with by regionals with NSF money, and then
only for R&E traffic).  

	 I'm glad I don't operate in the US

Well, I think the food is better in the UK, but there are more country
music stations here in the US (and cowgirls too! :-)).

						Thanks,
						   Milo