🚀 go-pugleaf

Connection to AARnet is difficult for commercial use. One problem
for anyone who wants to provide an alternative service would be the
link to the US.

Recently I gave my two cents worth that International data communication
costs were not as high as people thought. I was howled down.

I decided to actually find out what they were.

Whilst not in the 'millions' figure, they are much higher than
I supposed.

I rang the overseas division of Telecom (OTC) to get pricing of
various USA services:

	ISDN $1 flag fall
	     $3.15 per minute (32c for 6 secs)

	This is per 64Kbs channel

	Added to this is the cost of your ISDN equipment, line rental etc.

Even if this was used as a demand based service, this is very expensive.

However, when you compare the cost of Compuserve - $39 ph for a 2400 b/s 
service, if all you were doing was transferring data, what you can transfer
in an hour at 2400 b/s, you can do in about 3 and half minutes at 64Kb/s.

Unfortunately you need time to think, look etc. Also this doesn't consider
any intermediate low speed lines (if you were ftping across the US to Europe).

I haven't added any USA network charges. It's memory time again,
but I seem to recall connect charges of $2 per hour for 9600 b/s connections on
CERFnet.

Obviously a 64kb/s connection is another story.

Internet is primarily an academic/ government/ military network. 
However, there are several commercial backbones running
in parallel, offering commercial services. CERFnet is one of these.

The OTC (sorry overseas division of Telecom) also volunteered the pricing for
a leased line.

	64Kb/s cable half circuit      $8900 per month
	64Kb/s satellite half circuit  $7100 per month
	
A half circuit means that someone at the other end has to buy the other
half! Presumably, that would mean the above figures would double.

In addition, you need a tie line to OTC, which costs $2500 to install.

Playing with the figures, ignoring computer, installation, CERFnet and other
charges

	how many users would it take who were prepared to pay $30
	per month?
	
	7100 * 2 / 30 = 473 users

I guess this would be hard to reach :)

The yearly dollar amount (7100 * 2 * 12 =) $170,400 , although not millions,
is not the 20,000 I naively thought it might be.

The third possibility from the chap from OTC (sorry ... sorry ... overseas
division of Telecom) is a service called SprintNet. This is a packet
switch service.

SprintNet is offerred both internationally and nationally.

Nationally, the dial in cost from anywhere in Australia to the user is $15c
per minute ($9 per hour). This is 9600 and includes V42bis and MNP5.

Internationally there are two ways to go:

   per kilosegment (no time charge) to the US is $14.
	(a segment is 64 bytes)
	
	Thus 10 Meg of Usenet would cost $2240. (
	(There are between 10 - 40 Meg of News per day!)
	
	A 1 Meg file transfer would be $224

   a permanent virtual connection
   (assuming the US node is attached to SprintNet already)

	for 9600 this is $6310 per month
	for 19200 this is $8472 per month

   This is data independent.
   
Playing with the figures once more, ignoring computer, installation, CERFnet
and other charges

	how many users would it take who were prepared to pay $30
	per month?

	Assuming 9600 permanent virtual connection
	
	6310 / 30 = 210 users

Getting better, although this must be much higher when you take
into account other costs.

Who's got $75,000 to spare to try this out for a year? :)

Or, alternatively, who's got spare satellite capacity to rent out?
   
I still hold to what I think was my main assertion, glibly, smugly
and otherwisely:

	The first one to make a commercial success of such a service,
	and to consistently provide a high quality of service
	will grab and hold for a long period the overwhelming
	market share.

Time will prove me correct on this.

This assertion has nothing to do with the current rates or the previous
information. I offer no proof here for this assertion. I base this
on (secret knowledge gained over the ages :)

Regards

Jamie