*BSD News Article 72541


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From: Ken Bigelow <kbigelow@www.play-hookey.com>
Newsgroups: demon.ip.support,demon.tech.unix,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Subject: Re: Batch FTP and Web Pages
Date: Mon, 01 Jul 1996 17:58:30 -0700
Organization: A poorly-installed InterNetNews site
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Message-ID: <31D87436.7C7F@www.play-hookey.com>
References: <31D4AA3A.BC0@www.play-hookey.com> <836073421snz@dsl.co.uk>
	 <4r4oup$o76@newsgate.duke.edu> <836115689snz@microvst.demon.co.uk>
	 <4r71bs$bpt@newsgate.duke.edu> <Snews.960701.180806.chris.7414@keris.demon.co.uk>
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Chris Croughton wrote:
> 
> In article <4r71bs$bpt@newsgate.duke.edu>
>            reese@chem.duke.edu "Charles Reese" wrote:
> 
> >I also connect via a dial up account, it is to Duke University but it
> >shouldn't make much difference who provides your ISP service.  If you
> >have a shell account on your ISP machine
> 
> You still haven't got it.  We don't have shell accounts on Demon's
> machines, we have PPP/SLIP directly routing TCP/IP.  It's not a
> university account, we have our own nodes.  If we want a continuous
> connection we have to pay for it, not some educational institution.
> 
> >    Using this approach has nothing to do with phone charges as I don't
> >pay them (its a local call in US)
> 
> Bully for you.  We *do* have to pay them, local calls aren't free in the
> UK.
> 

I've been having an e-mail discussion of this with Ian Stirling, who is 
connected to Demon. We've batted it back and forth a number of times, and I 
still don't see any real solution to the problem in the UK, as long as you are 
stuck, for whatever reason, with those s-l-o-w links. I mean no offense, but 
200 bytes/sec *stinks!* It's a wonder you can do anything useful at all on 
that basis.

The technology exists to speed things up, so that's not the barrier. What kind 
of regulations, taxes, and other impediments would be applied to an ISP who 
actually did have a direct, high-speed connection to the backbone and who 
could therefore offer practical dial-up connections at 14.4 kbaud or higher?

Also, what are the chances of establishing a flat fee for local telephone 
usage? I have a sneaking hunch that that one factor is *the* primary 
limitation in your system, and that you folks in the UK will be held back 
until some sort of flat rate becomes possible.

Sorry, but the almighty Dollar (or Pound, or whatever) will still rule the 
roost long after this discussion has faded out.

Ken