From hungary-online-owner Sun Feb 11 17:20:43 1996 Received: from localhost (daemon@localhost) (fnord) by nando.yak.net (8.6.5/8.6.5) id RAA06901 for hungary-online-announce-out31415; Sun, 11 Feb 1996 17:20:43 -0800 Received: from localhost (daemon@localhost) (fnord) by nando.yak.net (8.6.5/8.6.5) id RAA06882; Sun, 11 Feb 1996 17:20:17 -0800 Received: from steve@isys.hu () via =-=-=-=-=-= for hungary-online-announce@hungary.yak.net (6876) Received: from kingzog.isys.hu (KingZog.iSYS.hu [194.24.160.4]) (fnord) by nando (8.6.5/8.6.5) with ESMTP id RAA06866 for ; Sun, 11 Feb 1996 17:19:51 -0800 Received: from [194.24.160.22] (bubba.iSYS.hu [194.24.160.22]) by kingzog.isys.hu (8.7.Beta.11/8.7.Beta.11) with SMTP id CAA05683 for ; Mon, 12 Feb 1996 02:19:45 +0100 (MET) X-Sender: steve@mail.isys.hu Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Mon, 12 Feb 1996 02:26:04 +0100 To: hungary-online-announce@hungary.yak.net From: steve@isys.hu (Steven Carlson) Subject: (HOL-A) The Land of Cheap Internet - done! Sender: owner-Hungary-Online-announce@hungary.yak.net Precedence: bulk Reply-To: Hungary-Online@hungary.yak.net I don't how I did it, but I neglected to post this column. Here goes. -- The Land of Cheap Internet Brave Old World By Steven Carlson Isn't the dream of the digital age to liberate ourselves entirely from location? To work without going to work; to earn one's daily bread while sipping a rum and coke on some deserted Carribean beach? Well I'm not sure telecommuting is always such a great idea, especially since I'm here in sunny California sipping Holiday eggnog with no excuse not to log on each day and check my mail. Or to write this week's column. I just can't get away! It's not often I find myself in the United States - physically that is. Though I spend much of my working day wandering about the Internet, most of which is still "made in USA," it's entirely another thing to drive down old familiar streets and see the net displayed on full-sized billboards. It's no joke: Bank of America is currently running an ad featuring only this URL: . It's like I've died and gone to geek heaven! My best friend's kid brother now writes web pages for a living. Most of my old school friends have email addresses. (Others sheepishly promise they will soon.) So if the US is now geek paradise, how long will we have to wait in purgatory? Or to put a different spin on the question: how closely will the European Internet market follow US trends, and how long will this take? Prices One determining factor is how much people have to pay to use the Internet. Believe it or not, in the US you can now get unlimited PPP access for $29/month. That includes 8 MB of server storage, and if you pay the year up front you get a 25% discount. The only European provider I know that comes close to this price is XS4ALL in Amsterdam, which charges around $20/month. And they're non-profit. Business often require faster access, or even a dedicated connection. ISDN is a service that gets you 64-128 kbps over a digital dialup line. This presently costs around $2-300/month in the US and is becoming popular. Other businesses that require fast, full time access opt for a 1.5 Mbps T-1 line. This connection presently runs at about $1,300 - 1,500/month. To figure the European costs you can start by doubling US prices. US users generally get better prices and service because the deregulated US telecom market is highly competitive. Now that MCI, Sprint AT&T and local carriers are entering the Internet market, some people expect to see unlimited access for under $10/month. We won't be able to hope or those kind of prices in Europe until after 1997, when the EU fully deregulates the telecom market. However local telecom monopolies will remain in many Eastern European countries until well after that date. Regulation In most countries the local telecom, or PTT, is a cash cow guarded by regulation from competition. The US example has shown that deregulation actually increases profits by driving down prices and boosting volume, while forcing companies to trim waste. Presently European IP providers pass on what they pay in protectionist tarrifs and waste to consumers. Sadly, the Europeans have been slow at passing laws to lowers these barriers and encourage competition. The Europeans may be quicker in adopting more lamebrained US legislation. For example, the Americans have been lobbying their foreign allies to restrict use of strong encryption, for fear that criminals will be able to communicate in complete privacy. Unfortunately businesses also require secure communication. US law has prevented American companies from building these technologies, such as email encryption, into their products. Notably, France has followed the American lead on restricting encryption. Others could follow. Clueless US Congressmen have also tried to regulate "indecent speech" on the Internet. You can curse to your heart's content over a regular telephone conversation, but if you send those same words as text over the net, according to the Exon amendment to the pending Telecoms Bill, you face a stiff fine. Again, the Europeans could follow the US. In the first days of January CompuServe banned a list of sex-related newsgroups because according a new interpretation of German law they could be illegal. Such restrictive laws can also mean Internet providers and online services are liable for the actions of their customers. Business Trends The Internet craze hit Europe two years after the US. Yet European markets have reacted differently from the US for a number of reasons. While numbers of Internet users in each country are growing steadily, higher prices and lack of local language content have held the market back. Plus, the while the Internet is native to America it is definitely a foreign import to Europeans. Local language content is key is acheiving critical mass in Europe. Language is also a primary reason why online services have been slow to start here. Notably, Europe Online had hoped to appeal to users in English, French and German, but investors lost confidence. Interface was another problem. The service had originally planned to offer users a proprietary interface, but following the example of Microsoft Network decided at last minute Europe Online should be Internet-based. Not surprisingly, cautious European investors are watching the US carefully to see what works. This year the action will be in America: online banking; more, richer English-language content; and a growth in Internet-based shopping. A richer US net adds to the critical mass of European Internet, drawing in more users. ------------------------------------------------- Steven Carlson, iSYS Hungary - Hungary's business Internet provider Moderator - Online Europe list Author - Hungary Online "A government with the policy to rob Peter to pay Paul can be assured of the support of Paul." - George Bernard Shaw ############# # This message to Hungary-Online-announce@hungary.yak.net # was from steve@isys.hu (Steven Carlson) # # To unsubscribe, # send "unsubscribe" to # For a full subscription (rather than this announcement-only subscription) # mail "subscribe" to # Send mail to for more information, # or to if you need human assistance. #############