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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!pur-ee!uiucdcs!ccvaxa!preece
From: preece@ccvaxa.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.news
Subject: Just what DOES it cost?
Message-ID: <1300024@ccvaxa>
Date: Tue, 5-Nov-85 10:49:00 EST
Article-I.D.: ccvaxa.1300024
Posted: Tue Nov  5 10:49:00 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 8-Nov-85 07:27:32 EST
Lines: 26
Nf-ID: #N:ccvaxa:1300024:000:991
Nf-From: ccvaxa.UUCP!preece    Nov  5 09:49:00 1985


Much has been made lately of the amount of net traffic and
the cost to backbone sites of maintaining the flow.  Some
very large figures have been reported (always as "I've heard
that X's phone bill is ...").  Anybody willing to volunteer
facts about the actual costs?

I had always guessed that much of the backbone traffic went
over long haul links established and maintained for other
purposes and therefore had no marginal costs.  Certainly there
are plenty of Usenet sites that have access to leased lines,
satellite links, microwave links, and whatever that have
some excess capacity that net traffic could piggyback on.

Does anyone know what the balance of trasmission methods is?
How much longhaul traffic goes by telephone and how much by
dedicated line?  What does a backbone site actually pay, per
month, for longhaul links?

Anybody with hard data and a desire for anonymity may send
data to me for summarization.

-- 
scott preece
gould/csd - urbana
ihnp4!uiucdcs!ccvaxa!preece