Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!bu-cs!kwe
From: kwe@bu-cs.BU.EDU (kwe@bu-it.bu.edu (Kent W. England))
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: Re: Rumors about the death of the ARPANET
Message-ID: <20786@bu-cs.BU.EDU>
Date: 21 Mar 88 15:48:43 GMT
References: <8803210118.AA19481@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Reply-To: kwe@buit13.bu.edu (Kent England)
Followup-To: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Organization: Boston Univ. Information Tech. Dept.
Lines: 44
Summary: T3 would be great but expensive

In article <8803210118.AA19481@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> KASTEN@MITVMA.MIT.EDU (Frank Kastenholz) writes:
>
>When the ARPANET was built, 56Kb lines were used - the leading  edge
>of technology of the day. The "New and Improved" network is proposed
>to use 1.5Mbit lines (I assume T1). In keeping with the leading edge
>philosophy of yore, the just erupting 45Mbit/sec technology (T3?) comes
>to mind.
>
>Any thoughts given to T3? 

	There is the FCCSET [fixit!] committee of the President's
Office of Science and Technology which has done studies and set up
subcommittee's on supercomputing, networking, and technology
development, etc.  Gordon Bell is the chairman of the subcommittee on
networking.  He recently wrote an article [with an unfortunate
derogatory leading remark on BU networking!] in the February issue of
IEEE Spectrum about the need for a new national research and education
network.  He proposes a series of steps upgrading the internet,
leading eventually to a T3 link to every major university and research
center.  He discusses some costs associated with upgrading to T1, but
says nothing about the cost of T3, which may be appropriate given the
lead time to deployment, except to say that the institutions served
should pay (telephone analogy).  I wonder if this is reasonable?
	Paying for T3 would be dear compared to paying for today's
services.  I think the telephone companies rates, based on message
units and not cost-to-provide, are probably too high.
	Bell says it's up to us to take the lead since our government
probably won't.  Anybody want AT&T to provide T3 service for a new
super-internet?  Anybody up to building our own private network?  The
providers of supercomputer services (like, but not necessarily,
Boeing) already have complained about unfair competition from the NSF
supercomputer centers.  Wonder what the telecommunications vendors
will say when someone puts Bell's proposal before the Congress, if
ever?
	Oh, well, I think I'll get our network users used to paying
for service now on a recurring basis.  Soften them up for the $5k to
$30k per month the super-internet will cost.  :-)
	As Bell says, technology is not the issue.  We can build T3
networks and we can build super-routers and we can fix TCP {VJ can,
anyway}...  The problem is figuring out how to do it cooperatively.

	Kent England
	Boston University (which does have the networks the Medical
	Center doesn't have. [read the article])