Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 13:01:14 -0700 (PDT) From: Michael Dillon <michael@memra.com> To: freebsd-isp@FreeBSD.org Subject: Re: Telco/NAPs Message-ID: <Pine.BSI.3.93.960816123948.1456A-100000@sidhe.memra.com> In-Reply-To: <199608161816.NAA16050@brasil.moneng.mei.com>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
> > our competition for the most part.... Would you buy your upstream
> > connection from your existing competitior? Hell no!
>
> Eh, why not? (Assuming all other things are equal, which they often are)
> The very concept of the Internet is based on the concept that discrete
> entities choose to interconnect their networks. If you start refusing to
> connect with people who are 'competition', pretty quickly the list can grow
> so large in scope that you have eliminated every available candidate for an
> upstream connection.
That's right. Here in British Columbia, BC-Tel is *THE* telephone company.
They supply leased line IP access to corporate customers and to ISP's.
They have a Fibre-ATM network that connects to corporate customers, ISP's
and a regional provider named BC-Net who is not affiliated with the telco.
BC-Net also sells leased lines to corporate customers and ISP's. The telco
also supplies dialup IP access (Sympatico) to end users. And some of the
larger ISP's connected to either BC-Tel or BC-Net supply access to other
ISP's in addition to corporate leased lines and dialup access.
For example, here in Vernon the Okanagan Internet Junction has a fibre ATM
connection from BC-Tel. But they buy IP access over this ATM link from
BC-Net. Then, downstream they sell frame-relay access to customers
connected by frame relay from either Sprint Canada or Unitel(national LD
provider), by the local cableco, and by BC-Tel leased lines. They also
supply IP access to another ISP by colo ethernet and that ISP's modem
lines are supplied by BC-Tel and the packets are delivered to the colo ISP
via a multiple PVC's on the ATM network.
Let me draw a picture to explain the colo ISP.
User --- modem --------PVC to ISP A---------|
on a | colo ISP
telco |---PVC from BCNet----| servers
owned | | |
Ascend Max | ISP A's |
BC-Net ---------------- ATM link---ethernet---|
| |
Internet ISP A's modem lines
and servers etc.
As you can see the colo ISP is a rather virtual ISP in that they own their
own servers but everything else is leased somehow. They are piggybacking
on ISP A's infrastructure and the telco's infrastructure; for a fee of
course.
With the USA's Telecom Act of 96 and the unbundling of telco services into
7 different access points, the above scenario is going to be the normal
state of affairs rather than the exception.
I suppose I could talk about people who rent a virtual domain from their
ISP and then resell websites on it. Or the national ISP's which colo POP's
at local or regional ISP sites who they compete with.
> There is no advantage in either refusing to provide connectivity for your
> competition, or to refrain from buying connectivity from your competition.
In fact it is very important to your long term success that you remain on
friendly terms with your competition. One day he might buy you or you
might buy him or you might both be bought by somebody else or he might go
out of business and you too but when you apply for a new job he is the one
doing the interviewing... Be nice, be happy, your career may depend on it.
> Hate to burst your bubble, but the telcos have always been involved. They
> provide the data circuits that carry a vast majority of the Internet's
> traffic. Buy a T1. Who do you get it from? A telco. Buy a T3. Who do
> you get it from? Probably a telco. Buy a {phone line, ISDN line, 56k
> line}. Same thing.
And coming soon, ISP's who start offering telco services in competition
with them. Does your uncle build subdivisions? Maybe you should wire them
up for phones and sell the telco access to your local loop.
Michael Dillon - ISP & Internet Consulting
Memra Software Inc. - Fax: +1-604-546-3049
http://www.memra.com - E-mail: michael@memra.com
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?Pine.BSI.3.93.960816123948.1456A-100000>