Re: ANS and the CIX (second of two)

[David Farber <farber@central.cis.upenn.edu>]

Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1993 16:50:49 +0000
From: "Martin L. Schoffstall" <schoff@psi.com>
To: Ittai Hershman <ittai@ans.net>


Ittai,


>
> Anyone who is at all tuned in to the mass media has certainly realized
> that the Internet has come of age.  The transition from our academic
> childhood of the 1980s to the commercial Internet economy of the 1990s
> has been hugely successful.  With that success, however, came growing
> pains as chronicled on this list over the past two years.
>
> I think we can all agree the single largest driver of the Internet
> phenomenon is the value organizations and individuals derive from
> being able to obtain connectivity into a global mesh of networks that
> now interconnects upwards of 15 million people.  ANS CO+RE Systems,
> Inc. ("ANS") has recognized this since its inception and has worked to
> develop business models that incent the interconnectivity which has
> driven the growth of the Internet.


If you remember the postings from 1990 and 1991 your "business models"
basically incented everyone to stop being an anonymous ftp server.  So
i guess that was an incentive in a way.


>
> In August 1991, three Internet service providers formed an
> organization called the CIX to pursue a different vision of
> interconnectivity.  The CIX embodied a business model that ANS did not
> believe was equitable or scalable.  Since the CIX was created,
> however, ANS has attempted to work out our differences with the CIX
> leadership.


Equitable between  whom?  Is it equitable between all the CIX members?
Equitable to all its customers?


>
> In June 1992, ANS agreed to interconnect with the CIX on a provisional
> basis, at our expense.


All CIX participants connect at their expense.


> This connection has provided transit services
> on ANSNet to the CIX router in California for CIX members who are also
> ANS subscribers.  Prior to initiating this service, ANS engineers
> collaborated with PSI and Alternet engineers to develop a routing plan
> which was made available by anonymous ftp after it was approved by both
> the CIX and ANS.
>
> A few weeks ago, on October 26th, two CIX members (PSI and Alternet)
> unilaterally installed a gateway router between the CIX router and the
> ANS attachment to the CIX with the express purpose of filtering those
> networks which are allowed to traverse the interconnect and blocking
> those they decided should not be allowed.  Most CIX members found out
> about the filtering gateway after it was installed, as did ANS.
>


Sorry this is a gross distortion.  PSI and Alternet did nothing unilateral.
This was discussed by the Board well in advance of implementation.  Having
gone to Europe and discussed this with other CIX members I didn't find any
philosophical disagreement from the majority of the membership.  One can
argue on the amount of notification.




> Since that day, dozens of commercial networks attached to CIX member
> networks (particularly in Europe) have reverted from AUP-free use of
> ANSNet back to being announced under the NSFNET AUP in order to regain
> connectivity.  In other words, not only did this filtering gateway
> balkanize the Internet, it also made commercial networks more reliant
> on US Government subsidization.  This is contrary to everything ANS has
> been trying to accomplish since its creation.


Your original plan balkanized the Internet into two camps, R&E and commercial.
>From this original philosophical decision imposed or not, but certainly
embraced in your business plan with fervor, ANS has endeavored to saddle
the known universe with the master plan.


>
> ANS has, therefore, chosen to join the CIX Association, effective
> immediately.  By joining the CIX, ANS will carry at its expense all
> traffic between any site affiliated with a CIX member and any ANS
> CO+RE site, to the extent the CIX membership agreement and bylaws
> permit.


Congratulations.


>
> Given the vast quantity of words that have been broadcast on this
> forum on this topic, I thought it would be helpful to share with you an
> outline of the issues ANS has been grappling with throughout our
> discussions with the CIX leadership over the past two years.  Most
> recently, on September 29, 1993, when Jordan Becker of ANS met with
> Bill Washburn, Executive Director of the CIX, in a face-to-face
> meeting in Washington D.C.
>
> What does ANS want from a Commercial Internet Trade Association:
>
>   o  A forum to develop recommendations for public policy and public
>      commercial service standards, and a program for convincing the
>      executive and legislative branchs of government to adopt these
>      recommendations.
>
>   o  An objective of expanding business relationships among members.
>
>   o  An open forum that invites broad membership participation from
>      all existing and potential Internet players (existing commercial
>      Internet providers, LECs, PTTs, IXCs, startup dialup providers,
>      regional networks, commercial system integrators).
>
>   o  High quality Washington DC representation to pursue the
>      political agenda of all of its members.
>
>   o  Democratic governance of the CIX with member participation
>      similar to a professional society or standards body.
>
> What does ANS *NOT* want in a Commercial Internet Trade Association:
>
>   o  A forum to establish or regulate business relationships among the
>      members (e.g. interconnection agreements or settlements).
>
>   o  A private Internet service that competes with its members, or its
>      non-members.
>
>   o  Any group activity that might be seen to restrain trade.
>
>   o  A governance structure that is not open to its members input or
>      subject to changes that meet its members needs.
>
> Ways in which the CIX can become the Commercial Internet Trade
> Association that ANS envisions:
>
>   o  Create an environment that allows the CIX to expand its
>      membership to include a broader set of data network service
>      providers.
>
>   o  Develop a CIX mission statement that defines what the CIX mission
>      is, and how it will seek to accomplish that mission.
>
>   o  Remove policies or restrictions that regulate the business
>      relationships among its members (e.g. backdoor connections,
>      settlements).  These are not enforceable or appropriate for a
>      trade association to manage.
>
>   o  Segment the levels and structure of organizational memberships
>      that may be granted to encourge broader organizational
>      participation including small startups, and large Fortune 500
>      members.
>
>   o  Get out of the network services business.  A trade association
>      can not provide a high quality, well managed network service.
>
>   o  Amend the by-laws to ensure increased member-involvement in board
>      of director selection, retention and oversight.
>
> In summary, it is our hope that the CIX Association becomes an
> effective trade association for the entire Internet service provider
> community.  While it is not that today, ANS feels that the time has
> come to put aside past differences and begin to work together to
> ensure the continued success of the commercial Internet.
>


I believe from the above that you are implying that the CIX is "restraining
trade", or did I read that wrong?


That would be a very rich allegation.


But I'm glad that you are finally joining and embracing the vision that a few
of us non-rocket-scientists came up with in 1990.


Marty