🚀 go-pugleaf

spw@world.std.com (Sean P Wilson) writes:
|> In a recent Wall Street Journal (6/22) there was a small article about a 
|> company called Bolt Beranek who is buying up Internet service providers.  
|> Most recently they have signed a letter of intent to acquire Bay Area 
|> Regional Research Network.

That's where I work now.

|>  As a stock analyst for an insurance firm who 
|> is always looking for good ideas, I am trying to understand this 
|> industry.  I don't understand how people connect to the internet.  I know 
|> that I connect through a service in Boston.  Does this service have to 
|> connect to a bigger service like the Bay Area Regional Research Network?

Correct.  We operate at what's commonly called the Regional Network level.
That means that we are the middleman for connecting various large companies
or Service Providers, like CRL, who offer various value-added services
like Serial Line Internet Protocol (aka: SLIP), Unix shell access, Unix-to-Unix
Copy (UUCP) mail and Usenet.

At the regional level, we connect these companies and service providers directly
to the National Science Foundation Network (NSFNet) backbone (which is run
by Advanced Network Services [ANS] in Elmsford, New York) at their backbone
connection speed, which is 45 megabits per second.

|> If so how much does it cost?

You can get a table of connection charges by writing info@barrnet.net.

|>  And why can't they just connect directly themselves?

I do believe that direct connection to the NSFNet backbone is available
through Advanced Network Services.  You'd have to contact them for their
pricing.  They only connect at 1.544 megabits per second and above.

|> How much does it cost to operate a connection to the internet?  Isn't just 
|> a computer with a bunch of modems and maybe some software?

You're essentally right, but those "modems" are high speed devices (and
at that speed, they are usually called Digital Service Units [DSU's]),
and the "computer" is a TCP/IP router with very specialized "software"
designed to route ans switch IP packets very fast.

|> I would apprecitate any help understanding how people connect and your 
|> thoughts on what the industry (if there is one) will look like in the future.

Good question.  I think the industry in in a frenzy to grab something, much
like the media circus surrounding O.J.Simpson's alleged problems.  I think
this time right now is more of a speculators market, with many corporations
and groups just trying to get the piece of the pie, without wondering what
kind of pie they are buying right now.

I myself am waiting for the frenzy to die down ... waiting for the buzzards
to clear out ... waiting for the media circus to go find somebody else to harass.

	Robert Gutierrez