Message-ID: <12514728.1075857000741.JavaMail.evans@thyme> Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 00:34:00 -0800 (PST) From: vince.kaminski@enron.com To: vincek@leland.stanford.edu Subject: FW: Internet Services - Bandwidth trading Cc: vkaminski@aol.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Bcc: vkaminski@aol.com X-From: Vince J Kaminski X-To: vincek@leland.Stanford.edu X-cc: vkaminski@aol.com X-bcc: X-Folder: \Vincent_Kaminski_Jun2001_8\Notes Folders\'sent mail X-Origin: Kaminski-V X-FileName: vkamins.nsf Vince, Interesting newsletters. DAd ---------------------- Forwarded by Vince J Kaminski/HOU/ECT on 02/15/2000 08:34 AM --------------------------- Paula Corey@ENRON COMMUNICATIONS 02/15/2000 07:31 AM To: Anthony Mends/Enron Communications@Enron Communications, Vince J Kaminski/HOU/ECT@ECT, Richard Weeks/Enron Communications@Enron Communications cc: Subject: FW: Internet Services - Bandwidth trading ---------------------- Forwarded by Paula Corey/Enron Communications on 02/15/2000 07:33 AM --------------------------- ametz@houston.rr.com on 02/14/2000 07:16:06 PM Please respond to alaina@alaina.net To: Paula Corey/Enron Communications@Enron Communications, Steve Lovett/Enron Communications@Enron Communications cc: Subject: FW: Internet Services - Bandwidth trading See below for an article on EBS... Alaina -----Original Message----- From: NWFusion Focus [mailto:news@caserta.itwpub1.com] Sent: Monday, February 14, 2000 7:39 PM To: Alaina Metz Subject: Internet Services - Bandwidth trading NETWORK WORLD FUSION FOCUS: DENISE PAPPALARDO on INTERNET SERVICES Today's focus: Bandwidth trading 02/14/00 Dear Alaina Metz, Find out what's new in Access Services and Equipment at Network World's free event, State of the WAN: Capitalizing on New Technologies and Services. For complete program information and registration go to http://www3.nwfusion.com/click;929112;0;0;2;0;?http://nww1.com/go/929112.htm l Coming in March -- 7 new Network World e-mail newsletters: Whitepapers download; Application Service Providers; Product review of the week; NetWare; Linux; Storage; Security and Bug Alert. Sign up today at http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/newsletters/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~This newsletter sponsored by Cisco Systems~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cisco Systems is changing the way people live, work, and play with their world-class technologies. For more information on high tech opportunities visit our site. Cisco Systems. A better way to work. Equal opportunity employer. http://www3.nwfusion.com/click;939609;0;0;2;0;?http://nww1.com/go/939609.htm l ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Copy and paste URLs that break in two lines and remove extra spaces. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Editor's note: Join Network World's Readers Forum on denial of service attacks at http://www.nwfusion.com/cgi-bin/WebX.cgi?forum-230@@.ee6e125 Today's focus: Bandwidth trading -------------------------------- By Denise Pappalardo Last week Enron Broadband Services held a press event to talk about the company's trading of bandwidth. While bandwidth trading, or intermediation, as Enron's CEO Joseph Hirko prefers to call it, does not directly affect customers, it's something they should be aware of. Enron has developed "pooling points" in Los Angeles and New York, where Enron and other serv-ice providers buy or sell bandwidth. Carriers have been leasing capacity from each other for decades and ISPs have been setting up private peering connections with each other for several years, so the concept of using each other's bandwidth is not new. But Enron has set up a system that's based primarily on Lucent network management gear, which Enron claims will allow it to do two important things: Guarantee performance over multiple net-works; and change circuits in a matter of seconds, as opposed to days or months. Today, when carriers buy capacity from each other, they ink deals that sometimes span 20 years. But Enron plans on changing that. The company's idea is to treat bandwidth as a commodity. Instead of signing a 20-year deal, the carrier signs up with carrier ABC because it is offering a competitively low rate on T-3 connections for that month. But next month carrier XYZ is expected to lower its rates, so the carrier then switches its circuits from ABC to XYZ. Enron has the capability to change circuits every five seconds, says Tom Gros, vice president of global trading at Enron. So the idea is that carriers are going to be able to get high-quality bandwidth at reduced rates. Nothing wrong with that idea, but a few questions come up. One: Will your carrier or ISP share those savings with you, the business customer? Well, that's hard to say. This is a difficult question to answer because most Enron's "intermediation" partner deals are confidential. Global Crossings, a wholesale carrier, is the only deal that's been announced because it was Enron's first. So chances are you won't even know if your carrier is working with Enron, who claims several other carriers are in fact working with them. Two: Doesn't constant circuit changes bring up monitoring issues for business users? Gros says it should not, and in fact end users should expect even better monitoring capabilities. Now while En-ron very well might provide its carrier and ISP partners with high-end monitoring tools, I would take the position that it's highly unlikely that carriers are going to make those tools available to their cus-tomers. Why? Well the answer gets back to the first issue. If all of the deals are confidential, end us-ers aren't going to even know their circuits are getting switched around. Would you want to know if your carrier or ISP is participating in bandwidth trading? To contact Denise Pappalardo: ----------------------------- Denise Pappalardo is a senior editor for Network World, covering ISPs, VPNs and related topics. Reach her at mailto:denisep@nww.com. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FOR RELATED LINKS -- Click here for Network World's home page: http://www.nwfusion.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Enron inks deal with Sun to further broadband Net service, Network World, 01/21/00 http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2000/0121enron.html Bandwidth broker opens for business, Network World, 10/18/99 http://www.nwfusion.com/news/1999/1018bandtrade.html Enron building bandwidth the IP way, Network World, 08/02/99 http://www.nwfusion.com/news/1999/0802carrier.html Archive of Network World Fusion Focus on Internet Services newsletters: http://www.nwfusion.com/newsletters/isp/ Other ISP-related articles from Network World: Denise Pappalardo: ASPs to jam with Jamcracker, Network World, 02/14/00 http://www.nwfusion.com/archive/2000/87199_02-14-2000.html New ASP twist: Mgmt. service providers, Network World, 02/14/00 http://www.nwfusion.com/columnists/2000/0214cooler.html Questions or comments? ---------------------- * For editorial comments, write Charley Spektor, Managing Editor at: cspektor@nww.com * For advertising information, write Jamie Kalbach, Account Executive at: jkalbach@nww.com * For all other inquiries, write Christine Rhoder, Circulation Marketing Manager at: crhoder@nww.com Subscription Services --------------------- You can subscribe or unsubscribe to any of your e-mail newsletters by updating your form at: http://www.nwfusion.com/focus/subscription.html For subscription changes that cannot be handled via the web, please send an email to our customer service dept: listnews@gaeta.itwpub1.com Network World Fusion is part of IDG.net, the IDG Online Network. IT All Starts Here: http://www.idg.net Copyright Network World, Inc., 2000