Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!think.com!mintaka!spdcc!rbraun From: rbraun@spdcc.COM (Rich Braun) Newsgroups: comp.admin.policy Subject: Re: Question about Internet access Message-ID: <7581@spdcc.SPDCC.COM> Date: 20 May 91 21:46:21 GMT References: <1991May20.150134.11699@panix.uucp> <1991May20.170041.12885@bellcore.bellcore.com> Organization: Kronos Inc., Waltham, Mass. Lines: 15 Indeed, there are several companies (NearNet, et al) which have recently gotten together to provide new backbones for commercial Internet service. These backbones only provide regional service at the present time, but my guess is that world-wide non-restricted service will arrive soon. If your network traffic is confined to, for example, the NearNet backbone (and avoids NSFnet), you only have to play by the rules of NearNet, and not of the U.S. Government. I wouldn't try to use the Internet as a means of setting up dedicated business applications between branches of a company. (Things like credit-card transactions or manufacturing process control...) But for research purposes, it's great. -rich