High Speed Networking Needs Different Business Mod

High Speed Networking Needs Different Business Model

High speed data networks need a different tariff structure and business model if their take-up is to be successful, NGI-NZ Chief Executive Officer Tone Borren said today.

Old telecommunications industry models based on carrying voice do not apply in an environment where technology changes have created abundant capacity at low incremental cost, he said at the IT Tertiary Sector conference in Wellington.

“Computers and databases have become universal tools. Data communications ought to be about remotely connecting them. The LAN is the network model for high speed data.”

NGI (Next Generation Internet)-NZ Society Incorporated was established recently to provide a national and international high-speed network for research, education and innovation. NGI networks around the world typically utilise connectivity at speeds upwards of 2.5Gigabit/sec.

The type of data network and tariff structure proposed by NGI-NZ is not deployed by telecommunications companies anywhere in the world. “Only Research and Education networks do it this way,” said Tone Borren.

“Telco’s aggregate voice calls onto high bandwidth. But data is harder to aggregate, so the LAN structure provides high bandwidth loops to users on a burst-over-shared-access basis.

“With fibre optic capacity, we could re-create the telephone structure for LANs. There would be always-on national access with rental based on pipe size, and pay-per-burst internationally, with traffic largely unconstrained.”

NGI-NZ hopes to have agreement soon with its preferred suppliers for provision of a national and international network on this basis. Current members of the NGI in New Zealand are University of Auckland, Auckland Institute of Technology, University of Waikato, Massey University, Victoria University, University Of Canterbury, Lincoln University, University of Otago, National Library, Natural History NZ, Internet NZ, CityLink and Crown Research Institute AgResearch. Membership is expected to expand rapidly once membership criteria and pricing have been finalised.

Tone Borren also announced that the original NGI-NZ Consortium was wound up and replaced by the NGI-NZ Society, incorporated on 3 June 2003. The non-profit organisation appointed an initial Board on 14 August 2003, as follows:

Chairman: Neil James, Otago University Treasurer: Cathy Budd, Victoria University Secretary: Simon Riley, Internet NZ Board Members: Nevil Brownlee, Auckland University; Clive Martis, Massey University; Phillip Lindsay, AgResearch; Robin Harrington, Canterbury University; Derek Postlewaight, Waikato University; Graham Coe, National Library.

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