EMPB are offering their customers a network with guareanteed quality of service (well 200kb/s on a 2m link). Any one that buys a EMPB connection to his workstation, needs to asure that this connection, actually makes the IP arcitecture as a whole fully functional. This means that EMPB has to provide connectivity to all nameservers as an example. If EMPB connects through something that has no quality of service guarantees at all, the quality of the FUNCTIONALTY provided is the sum of the transit networks. So I suggest that all regional/RBS etc networks in the world choices to offer the EMPB providor to connect to them locally, at the expences of EMPB, so that EMPB customers can reach a particular RBS-region through EMPB controled paths. Otherwice it would be really hard for the EMPB providor to live up to any of the guarantees for quality of service, if they relay on such a thing as the unreliable Ebone. For those wo don't follow me, here is a summary; If you want a free EMPB connection, so that EMPB customers can talk to you, just excercice the right of implementing your policy in the RBS, and offer EMPB a free ethernet connector on your central routers. -Peter If you talk to EMPB through the Ebone, you are using your resources to subsidise the EMPB providor.