Philipp Schmidt wrote: > The ARPANET, the first stage of what has grown into today's Internet, > was implemented by the U.S. military. It was then extended to be used > by U.S. universities mainly for research purposes. It seems that > anybody wanting to connect to the network that was up to this point > payed for by U.S. tax money, should cover the costs needed to do so. If > you want to come to the party - you pay for transportation. > > In addition the high costs of telecommunications in Africa are mostly > due to monopolistic structures and mismanagement and I dont think the > U.S. is to blame for that. Please jump on me - if you have evidence > that says otherwise - I would be more than happy to revise this opinion.
Dear Phillipp, Have a look at the below -taken from the ITU news-server- and you'll find that there do exist other opinions. And as you might note the US delegation rejected even the very weak recomendation to look bilateraly for more apropriate solutions. By the way: an Internet-E1 connection from Nicaragua to the Backbone somewhere in the US -- without any (!) local TELCO costs -- takes between 9,800 to 24,000 US$ a month -- depending on the period of the lease. This is 8 to 18 times what the same service -- no tax money involved anymore -- costs within the US. As obvious final enduser in Nicaragua either have to pay 8 to 18 times what they would pay in the US or get a 8 to 18 times poorer service (means email only, no high graphic web, no larger downloads). As long as this situation persists, there is a unilateral tariff-barrier which provokes in turn digital divide ... and even the most efective local TELCO can't change it. At the same time and applying general ITU principles, telephone traffic is handled on shared cost base with precentages varying according to who initated the call and who pays for it. Long distance moreover is only 3 times more expensive than same service within the US. Cornelio --------------------------------------------------- International Internet Connection The discussions on this very contentious issue found a positive outcome on the last day of the Assembly. The purpose of the recommendation is to set out the principle according to which there should be bilateral agreement when two providers establish a circuit between two countries for the purpose of carrying Internet traffic. The possible need for compensation between the providers has also been recognized. At present, when providers install Internet circuits, they generally have a choice between the "sender-keeps-all" or peering system of bilateral connections when traffic is more or less balanced, or the asymmetrical system whereby the initiating provider pays for the whole connection with the other country (full-circuit cost). The Recommendation endorsed by the WTSA, which represents a very delicate balance between the various interests, calls for arrangements to be negotiated and agreed upon on a commercial basis when direct Internet links are established internationally. The Recommendation requires only that the two providers involved reach a mutual agreement and does not prescribe any particular formula or system, thus leaving to providers their freedom to determine the forms or methodologies to be used in implementing the principle. The Recommendation, which is voluntary, suggests that parties involved take into account the possible need for compensation for elements such as traffic flow, number of routes, geographical coverage and the cost of international transmission among others when negotiating such commercial arrangements. In addition, the Assembly agreed that while international Internet connections remain subject to commercial agreements between operating agencies, there is a need for on-going studies in this area. The Chairman recalled that the decision made in Montreal provided a framework for future discussions and was therefore only the beginning of a process where issues would be further analyzed. Two countries - the US and Greece - made reservations and stated that they would not apply it in their international charging arrangements. The full text of the Recommendation can be found here: <http://www.itu.int/newsarchive/press/documents/wtsa2000rep.htm#Internation al> ------------ ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, an NGO that is a GKP member*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/>
