Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!mcsun!ukc!edcastle!tardis.cs.ed.ac.uk!jonathan
From: jonathan@cs.keele.ac.uk (Jonathan Knight)
Newsgroups: uk.misc,eunet.followup,comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: Re: Internet routing Europe - USA -} Europe...
Message-ID: <4835@tardis.cs.ed.ac.uk>
Date: 5 Sep 90 11:38:57 GMT
Sender: knight@tardis.cs.ed.ac.uk
Organization: Organisation ? What organisation ?
Lines: 41

From article <1990Sep4.164546@jatz.aarnet.edu.au>, by pte900@jatz.aarnet.edu.au (Peter Elford):
> And this from a user in country connected to the Internet via an
> extremely wet piece
> of string - a 14.4 kb voice grade modem link!

At least he is connected to the Internet by something.  Our political
gateway (ukc) from the UK to Europe used to be a 9600 baud UUCP link.
According to the maps at mcsun this is now a 9600 baud TCP/IP link.
The rest of the UK uses something called coloured book software which
works great as long as all you want to do is transfer files of data in
the UK.

It looks like the management want to go ISO, so at least we stand a
chance of making contact with the rest of the world.  It does seem
foolish that with most of the world talking TCP/IP there are no plans
in the UK for any TCP/IP service over JANET.

Fortunately for us, the UKnet gateway isn't the only one.  UCL have
a 56Kb link to the USA and offer a guest FTP service which allows us
to transfer files to and from internet connected sites.  They also
transfer our mail, and make no charge.  This is unlike UKC which
charge for news, and mail, and they also advertise themselves as
a valid route for uk mail.  This is a pain as they are trying to fit
a full news feed and email down their 9600 baud line, when there
is a no charge route for email down a 56kb line.  There's also the
problem that UKC advertise themselves as a forwarder for the ac.uk
domain, when in fact they only forward mail to uknet members and drop
everything else on the floor.  UCL forward all ac.uk mail regardless
of what they are members of.

So you see that the UK has poor connectivity with the outside world
and is politically restricted in its development.  Hopefully somebody
somewhere will learn how to utilise the resources we have to provide
the service that we want, within my lifetime......

Then again, I'm not going to hold my breath.
--
  ______    JANET :jonathan@uk.ac.keele.cs     Jonathan Knight,
    /       BITNET:jonathan%cs.kl.ac.uk@ukacrl Department of Computer Science
   / _   __ other :jonathan@cs.keele.ac.uk     University of Keele, Keele,
(_/ (_) / / UUCP  :...!ukc!kl-cs!jonathan      Staffordshire.  ST5 5BG.  U.K.