I would like to hear from people who have experience with a PTT that
Though we may have some "wannabe-PTTs" here, there is open competition in the US, and we have haved reaped the benefits of that competition over and over again. So, the answers that follow may not really be appropriate to the questions directed at PTTs.
provides some sort of IP service as a joint venture with academia or as a new service with no ties to academia. Questions I have are:
- Does the PTT provide for a POP (Point of Presence) model within their telephone exchange buildings?
Following open competition, NSF awarded a Cooperative Agreement to Sprint for International Connections Management services for NSFNET, commencing January, 1991. Initial POP in the U.S. was in Cornell University, but since then, Sprint has moved POP to its facility in Washington, D.C. Also, another, to its POP in Stockton, California. For the record, other telco providers also offer POP location of routers and other IP networking equipment. In fact, it has become more the norm than the exception lately in the U.S. Both mid-level networks (e.g., the former NSFNET "regionals") and nationwide private service providers (the "commercials") have routers located in telco POPs.
- If yes, how much does the PTT charge for the POP service? Rent? Facilities management?
Sprint and NSF have negotiated a management fee, by the port, for each country's connection it manages.
- Does your network have the PTT providing just the fiber infrastructure for the IP network (levels 1 & 2 in the ISO model) or do they also provide all management services including routing table management, IP address allocation, etc.? If they do not provide the management of the upper layers, who does?
Sprint provides services through Level 3.
- How much new manpower was required by your PTT to provide an IP service?
Started small, but when they saw the opportunity and got the experience with ICM project **they decided to launch their own unrestricted (non-AUP-limited) service, SprintLink** and then added staff which are shared between the services. I do not know if any were previous X.25 operators. By the way, our agreement with Sprint calls for services and not links. This has permitted Sprint to share links with other service providers in offering us services. One example is the NORDUnet-NSFNET/SWIPnet-Alternet shared link. No multiplexers, by the way.
Where they able to retrain X.25 network operators to be competent IP network operators? - In addition to NOC (Network Operations Center) services, who provides NIS (Network Information Services)? The PTT? The consortium? An outside contractor?
Network Information Services for NSFNET are provided by other organization(s) and are currently in the process of new award.
- How are shares divided between consortium owners and the PTT?
N/A
...Anything else you might be able to add to this topic would be greatly appreciated.
Sprint has performed admirably for us. One of the first things they had to learn was the spirit of competition-within-cooperation which characterizes the Internet community. This is indeed a different culture, and you have only to look at the potential competitors within RIPE to see how the cooperation can work to everybody's benefit. IN FACT, THE INTERNET, AS WE NOW KNOW IT, CANNOT WORK WITHOUT COOPERATION AMONG AUTONOMOUS NETWORKING ADMINISTRATIONS! THE TECHNOLOGY DEPENDS ON COOPERATION. Also, I think that Sprint would be the first ones to acknowledge the tremendous amount of assistance that they received from our European colleagues in setting up operations for ICM and in re-configuring the service (e.g., the move to Washington POP, coexistence with SprintLink). Yes, our *European* colleagues in RIPE and Ebone and NORDUnet! There is a deep well of practical and theoretical knowledge and experience in European IP networking, and Sprint has been wise enough to accept the technical assistance when offered. Sprint acknowledges that their experience with the ICM task and the launch of SprintLink contributed to their winning the DoE/NASA award for an advanced mission network service in the U.S. There might be some lessons in here...
Thanks, Hank Nussbacher Israel
Steve G. NSF