To all that are sick of this thread , I appologize , to evryone else , read
on .
My final word shall be this :
Look at who is getting into and investing in cable modems .
Microsoft , sony , 3Com , and they are just the ones off hte top of my head .
And just a few short months ago , the co-founder of Microsoft , Paul Allen
, puchased the company I work for , Charter Communications , just after
purchasing another cable company , Marcus Cable . Check out
www.paulallen.com and learn about his vision of what he calls a "Wired
World" .
Also , I would refer you to the CEO of Mindspring , Charles Brewer .
For the fast year or so he has been on Capital Hill almost begging
politicians to regulate cable so that they can force cable companies to
allow any ISP to provide service over their cable lines .
Here are just a couple of quotes from Charles Brewer :
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution , Wednesday , Jan.6 , 1999
"MIndspring founder: 'We still talk about our core values' "
Q) Where do you see the Internet industry and the role of ISPs changing and
growing over the next few years ?
A) "The advent of high-speed broadband will led to a transition over the
next few years. It's very certain that's going to happen. It's on it's way
to becoming the core of the Internet."
----------------------------------------------------------------
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution , Wednesay , Jan6 , 1999
"Mindspring: Company says bumps will be smoothed out"
"Mindspring is still not convinced it can make a profit on it [DSL] , given
what Bellsouth and other phone companies charge wholesale."
----------------------------------------------------------------
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution , Wednesday , Dec.16 , 1998
"Mindspring chief calls for increased regulation of cable"
"Brewer has said in the past that he believes open access to cable lines
will enable Mindspring to become more competitive as the Internet industry
eventually moves from a dial-up service to a high-speed environment."
-------------------------------------------------------------
And last but certainly not least , a monthly e-mail sent to all Mindspring
subscribers by Charles Brewer concerning regulation of Cable as it pertains
to ISPs (Edited for length) :
Delivered-To: charter-jackhilton@charter.net
X-MindSpring-Loop: jackhilton@mindspring.com
From: Charles Brewer <re.announcement@mindspring.com>
Subject: MindSpring Announcements, February 6, 1999
Date: Sat, 06 Feb 1999 11:02:22 -0500 (EST)
Reply-To: Charles Brewer <re.announcement@mindspring.com>
MindSpring Announcements, February 6, 1999
Dear MindSpringers,
I periodically send out a letter on topics I think will be of interest to
MindSpring customers.
<big-ass snip>
OPEN INTERNET AT RISK
The Federal Communications Commission, Congress, and other
governmental agencies are considering whether the keys to the Internet will
be left in the hands of consumers, or instead given over to local telephone
and cable company monopolies.
<snip>
Now imagine a future in which only one ISP is allowed to connect you to the
Internet. You must use that ISP no matter what its price, or how poor its
quality and customer service. You are forced to see the content that ISP
puts on its home page or splash screens - perhaps obnoxious advertising,
perhaps political commentary that you disagree with.
Believe it or not, that is the result we could have in the next generation
of the Internet. The Internet of the future will require high-speed
"always-on" connections.
<snip>
The key to all these new services will be a permanent "broadband" connection
from your home or office to the Net. You will no longer "dial-up" the
Internet by a local call from your computer to your ISP. Instead, you will
be permanently connected to your ISP with a link that is capable of carrying
far more information than today's phone line.
These "broadband" local links are not futuristic technology. Cable
companies are adapting their lines so
that they can carry communications to and from the Internet at high speed.
It remains to be seen where and how quickly these upgrades will occur.
Cable, for example, may have a particular advantage in the small business
and residential market.
The catch is that both the cable industry and some telephone companies want
to use their control of the "last mile" wires leading to homes to gain
exclusive control of access to the next generation Internet. These "local
wire companies" want to force consumers to use the local wire company's
affiliated ISP - whether the consumer is happy with that option or not.
Cable companies are unanimous and very direct on this subject. They do not
intend to allow customers to select any ISP but the cable company's own
service. When the cable company offers a broadband link to your home, you'd
think that you could use that link to connect to MindSpring or any other
ISP, just as you buy local phone service today that allows you to reach
anyone you want, including your preferred ISP.
But cable companies state emphatically that they will not give you that
option. If you want to get next generation Internet service delivered
through their wire, you will be required to use the cable company's own ISP.
You'd better like that company a lot, including its prices, service quality,
the editorial views it promotes on its home page, and the use it makes of
your customer information with junk mailers.
<snip>
It doesn't have to be this way. Both the phone and cable companies can
easily allow customers to connect with other ISPs besides their own so that
consumers can continue to choose their ISP for themselves. They just don't
want to do so. They want to completely lock up the next generation Internet
customer for themselves (the cable position).
Either way, today's open
and competitive door to the Internet would be slammed shut.
<snip>
Government policy makers are considering these questions right now. They
are hearing plenty from the telephone company and cable company interests.
They need to hear from customers. The message is simple. The government
should adopt policies that allow consumers to use the Internet service
provider of their choice - both today and in the next generation "broadband"
world.
We at MindSpring have never asked you to take a stance on any political or
public policy issue. But, this one is so critical to the future of Internet
consumers, and so directly relevant to the service that MindSpring provides
to you, that we feel we need to make sure you are aware of this issue and
encourage you to speak up.
As always, thank you very much for your attention and for choosing MindSpring.
Sincerely,
Charles Brewer
MindSpring Founder and CEO
At 07:24 AM 2/10/1999 -0600, you wrote:
>(1) ISDN - $20/mo for the ISP and $30-$40/mo for the Line. (Those are the
>averages)
>(2) You can "push" ISDN up to 920K if you want (through the
>TurboPort920)...that doesn't mean you'll get it. (Same goes for Cable
>Modems)
>(3) Look at the areas covered by Cable Modems vs. ISDN.
>
>Are we back to Dakota's yet?? :)
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: owner-dakota-truck@buffnet4.buffnet.net
>> [mailto:owner-dakota-truck@buffnet4.buffnet.net]On Behalf Of
>> HEMI@charter.net
>> Sent: Tuesday, February 09, 1999 11:32 PM
>> To: dakota-truck@buffnet.net
>> Subject: Re: DML: RE: Cable Modem
>>
>>
>> At 10:59 PM 2/9/99 -0600, you wrote:
>> >Cable Modems are still considered a "New Idea" by corporate
>> standards. (The
>> >same goes for ADSL.) ISDN has been the choice for most home
>> users since the
>> >overall and initial cost are much less than the above.
>>
>>
>> Excuse me ?
>>
>> It costs more to have ISDN than a cable modem last time I checked .
>>
>> ADSL will die , too high in the equipment costs .
>>
>> You can also push
>> >the ISDN modems/routers up to 230K UP/DOWNLOAD without any problems..this
>> >does depend on the site though.
>>
>> You can push a cable modem over 2-3Mbps without any problems regularly .
>>
>> I've been running my old BitsurferPRO with
>> >a TurboPort 920 card (16750UART CoProcessed Serial Card) at 230K for the
>> >past 2 years without any problems..and this is also taking into
>> >consideration that I run an NT Proxy Server at home for three different
>> >workstations (all running DHCP with full access to the internet
>> and email).
>> >Cable modems can be setup to do this as well, but with some
>> >difficulty...Home ADSL uses a static IP and does not allow Proxy Servers
>> >since it communicates with ISP via IP Translation through the routers.
>> >
>> >Pro's/Cons:
>> >
>> >Cable Modems - Fast, but highly susceptible to "slowdowns" due
>> to increased
>> >client usage over smaller backbone.
>>
>>
>> This really depends on the backbone .
>>
>> @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
>>
>> Jack Hilton III
>>
>> HEMI@charter.net
>>
>> http://webpages.charter.net/hemi/jbd1.html
>>
>> @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
>>
>>
>
>
>
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