This column is a continuing feature of
Benchmarks
intended to present news and information on various aspects of wide area
networks.This column is a continuing feature of
Benchmarks
intended to present news and information on various aspects of wide area
networks.
As I hinted in the last Network
Connection, there are some changes looming in the operation of the
group of networks we know as the Internet. You may have caught news
reports of Vice
President Gore's proposal to restructure the
communications industry in the U.S. The administration's proposal seeks
to reduce regulation on the telephone and cable TV industries and
encourage the development of a new level of electronic information
access for U.S. households. If implemented and successful, the new
policies will have a definite effect on who and how many will have
access to the Internet.
Changes to the Internet as we now
know it may happen even sooner. Currently, much of the Internet traffic
is carried on the National Science
Foundation-subsidized NSFnet.
This network was developed primarily to support communication to the
NSF-funded supercomputer sites, however, another result has been the
development of a national networking infrastructure that includes local
sites, regional networks, and national communications providers. The
most recent legislation implementing the concept of a National
Research
and Education Network (NREN) is encouraging the privatization of a
number of services which to date have been subsidized.
The biggest noticeable change which is looming on the horizon is
the restriction of traffic on the NSFNet to communication only from
member Supercomputer sites. While this is the current mission of the
NSFNet, it also currently allows any two NSFNet member sites to
communicate with each other. Such a restriction in NSFNet traffic
obviously has serious implications for the Internet as we now know it.
If the NSFNet is not going to be the primary communications path for the
Internet, then an alternate solution will be needed.
Fortunately,
a number of companies are ready to begin providing Internet services in
the wake of the proposed changes. Sprint, for one, has developed an
extensive fiber-optic network in the U.S. and is poised to become a
major player in data networking services. Other companies are also
gearing up to provide network access. From the University's standpoint,
there may not be noticeable change. We will most likely remain members
of one or both of the regional networks in Texas, Sesquinet and THENET,
and they in turn will contract with a service provider for the Internet
access. The NSF is providing grants to educational organizations to help
ease the conversion process from a primarily subsidized operation to a
mostly private infrastructure.
One of the main benefits of the change in the Internet should be
the extensive development of private Internet services. It is already
possible to contract with a private service provider to get Internet
access from your home. The trend toward more reliance on commercial
network providers should greatly increase the number and extent of
services available to private households. The year 2000 may see us truly
in the midst of the Information Age.
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