🚀 go-pugleaf

Gentle Usenet Reader:

It's been a while since we posted last, but we've been busier than ever getting
the Toronto Internet Co-operative off the ground.

Our club of founding members has grown to 70 users, 68 currently on the
Internet.  There are 8 users at remote sites who have provided valuable
feedback and have been included on an information only mail list.

The general trend is still towards higher performance service and becoming
fully connected into the graphical information of the World Wide Web.  The
initial Internet link will be a 64 kB/s "low contention ratio" partial T1
with peak rates up to 1 MB/s!  The number of members required to start the
co-op has been brought down to 250, and the number of users per line has been
reduced to 10:1.


      Art Stretton (Toronto Co-op Internet Consultant)
      Rocco Racioppo (PEO Chapter Liaison)

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-----------------------------  8<  for CO-OP.10  8<  --------------------------
DISCLAIMER: This proposal is the sole responsibility of the authors
         Rocco Racioppo, P.Eng. and Dr. Art Stretton, BASc, MSME, Ph.D.
     The PEO has not yet provided its official endorsement of this concept.

*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
* PROPOSAL FOR NEW KIND OF ACCESS TO INTERNET IN 416/905 AREA (METRO TORONTO) *
* FORMING A GROUP OF PRIVATE CITIZENS IN A CO-OPERATIVE INTERNET VENTURE      *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

WHO  > Anyone who wants great SLIP/WEB access to the Internet from home and is
     > fed up with paying too much for too little service.  Anyone who wants
     > a personal Internet mail address that won't change with their jobs,
     > or is fed up with bumming Internet access from a friend or a university.

WHAT:  A cost effective *PRIVATE* non-profit collective to own the hardware
       (say 256+MB RAM, 40+GB Storage) and the software for SLIP access to the
       Internet.  Membership to be limited to the first 3000 founding members.

WHERE: Location in Toronto to be determined based on minimizing total cost,
       primarily operating costs such as link to Internet provider.

WHEN:  Up and running by Fall 1994.  Meeting in early September at the
       University of Toronto to ratify proposal and elect the Executive.

WHY: > Internet addicts who want full access from anywhere as good as at work.
     > Potential WEB surfers and Unix neophytes craving the graphical and
       multi-media aspects of the Information Superhighway that's here already.
     > Busy signals? How does a 28.8kB/s modem for every 10 members sound?
     > Overbilled? Preliminary costing shows C$10/month instead of C$5/hour.

HOW:   The ultra low rate is due to minimal overhead and self-capitalization.
       Telnet members from remote locations will be charged the same as locals.
       A meeting will be set up when the response tally reaches 250 e-mail
       replies from individuals ready to put C$300 into the collective fund.
       Monthly expenses will start at C$15/month, reducing to C$10/month as the
       number of members grows to 3000.  Note that U.S. exchange provides a 30%
       discount to our U.S. members, who should be ready to put US$10/month and
       US$230 into Co-op equity.

MAIL:  peo@ecf.utoronto.ca  (Professional Engineers of Ontario)
       Art Stretton         (Toronto Internet Co-op Consultant)
       Rocco Racioppo       (PEO Chapter Liaison)

       Send us your name and postal address if you consider yourself a
       potential founding member and you want more information before you
       commit yourself to joining.  These are the working files so far:
                                                                          Size
     + CO-OP.10  - Toronto Internet Co-operative Proposal                 (4K)
     + FAQ.9     - Frequently Asked Questions about Tor-op.Net           (40K)
     + BUDGET.11 - Capital and Operating Expense Latest Estimate          (4K)
     + BYLAWS.5  - Proposed By-Laws for Tor-op.Net                        (5K)
     + ACCESS.3  - Listing of Service / Fees by Toronto SLIP Providers   (10K)
     + FORM.1    - Registration Form for Co-op Founding Membership        (3K)

FOLLOWUP:  The tally on responses will be posted bi-weekly in alt.bbs.internet.
           Depending on the number of responses and amount of mail received,
           a timely response to individual queries cannot be guaranteed, but,
           all official responses will be sent feedback once they are received.

NOTE:  Please feel free to spread the word to friends and co-workers not
       currently on the Internet, particularly Professional Engineers.
       Training on using the Internet and how to find files on the Internet
       will be available at a reasonable cost from members of the Co-op.

DISCLAIMER: This proposal is the sole responsibility of the authors
 (again) Rocco Racioppo, P.Eng. and Dr. Art Stretton, BASc, MSME, Ph.D.
       The PEO has not yet provided its official endorsement of this concept.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proposal revision August 2, 1994 10:42pm by Dr. Art Stretton and Rocco Racioppo
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-- 
Rocco Racioppo, P.Eng.               Dr. Art Stretton (Aecometric Research)
Professional Engineers Ontario       Toronto Internet Co-operative
Tel. (416) 961-1288 ext 369          Tel. (905) 883-9555 o.  (416) 767-2108 h.