RFC 1527 (rfc1527) - Page 3 of 17
What Should We Plan Given the Dilemma of the Network?
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
RFC 1527 Cook Report on Internet September 1993
Unfortunately, our current regulatory system does not distinguish
between the unique nature of the Internet and commercial systems like
Prodigy and Compuserve where perhaps a million people pay monthly
fees for access to systems offering a few dozen databases run from
two or three hosts and electronic mail to several hundred thousand
people instead of many millions. (The picture is made somewhat fuzzy
by the fact that Compuserve does provide electronic mail access to
the Internet through a gateway and for an extra charge.) The Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) considers all three to be Value Added
Networks (VANs) run by Enhanced Service Providers. All use common
carriers to provide their enhanced services and the FCC, in refusing
to regulate them, reasons that all services are roughly alike. If,
for example, Compuserve charges too much, the consumer can quit
Compuserve and move to Prodigy. Or, if the monthly cost of access to
the Internet were to become too much, access to Prodigy or Compuserve
would be basically the same thing. Here unfortunately the analogy
fails: the Internet now and the NREN to be, with its unparalleled
resources, is not the same. Nevertheless, the FCC points out that
without Congressional action it is powerless to regulate NREN service
providers.
Regulation is a key NREN policy issue.
Perhaps there will be no need for regulation. Hopefully, the
marketplace for the provision of network services will remain
competitive and higher prices and cream skimming will not keep the
national network out of the reach of the general public who wish to
avail themselves of what it has to offer. However, given the scope
and power of what is contemplated here, Congress should realize that
there are important considerations of social and economic equity
behind the question of access to the network. This is especially
true since libraries and groups representing primary and secondary
schools are demanding what could be considered as universal access to
the network without having any knowledge of how such access might be
funded.
The economic stakes are huge. Other players such as US West's
Advanced Communications division are entering the market and AT&T is
expected to do so by the spring. When combined with the award of the
EINet backbone to Uunet, their entry should help to level the playing
field. While one company is less likely to dominate such an
uncontrolled, unregulated market, those concerned about widespread
affordable access to the network would do well to watch unfolding
events with care.
Cook