[Leica] Not so Urgent: Long Distance Charge for Internet?

[Jim Brick <jimbrick@photoaccess.com>]

Well, that might be semi useful if people used only modems. But I haven't
used a "modem" is several years. At least over here, ISDN, Digital Cable
modems, and a plethora of other DIGITAL computer network interfaces are
becoming the prevailing technology. The packet leaving your computer is
digital from the get-go. No modem squeals or other analog gobbledygook. And
if you were using just an ordinary ANALOG modem, how does the exchange know
that you are not talking only to your service provider, using its UNIX
services, or connecting to your neighbor's computer (modem-to-modem)
playing a game of Battleship. These will all go through the "exchange" but
are NOT using the Internet in any way. Just local computers talking to
local computers. If what you said is happening, then the exchange would see
fax machines as modems, even though you might be faxing a mile away, and
fax machines never use the "Internet".

The use of the "Internet" is digital. Any accounting of Internet usage
would have to be done at possibly the ISP level, but probably farther down
stream. So what I said about a gargantuan processing nightmare, is still
true. And because of the "billions" of Internet packets that pass through
the Internet nodes, throughout the world, each day (probably each hour),
this will never happen on a message by message basis. And our tree hugger
Algore, wants to have Internet service to every home in the US. We already
pay an access fee on our phone bill to subsidize this. What about Libraries
and other public entities that provide Internet access? They use digital
access (not analog modems) and how would an individual get charged? They
wouldn't. And neither will the Library. The Internet cannot be broken down
to the "phone call" level. It's a different technology. It just happens to
be riding on the "telephone system backbone"

To solve the "tying-up local phone lines with analog modems", local phone
companies can put a "local phone call time limit" and charge a fee for all
time used over the limit. Many people still pay "connect charges" for a
dial-in line to an ISP. But all of this doesn't have anything to do with
the Internet. The Internet is simply a resource that you can get to through
your ISP.

Jim

At 11:34 AM 12/4/98 +1000, you wrote:
>Jim,
>
>I would suspect that "Internet use" would be correlated to modem use which 
>is easily detected via signal bandwidth analysis in moden exchange 
>equipment. So I suspect that under the new proposal the scenario may be 
>that if the exchange equipment "sees" a modem in action they would revert 
>to a different billing rate.
>
>I have heard of a similar concept here in Australia where no local calls are 
>currently timed, the problem lies in the fact that the exchange equipment is 
>now under a far greater loading than was projected due to the volume of 
>internet users tying up shared exchange resources, often for many hours at 
>a time.
>
>Cheers,
>
>Rob Studdert