Wishlist (Was: new pricing program)
Andrew Luck
(Okay, so not all of this is directly pointed at Interramp, but you'll get
the idea.)
[The announcement ... greatly abbreviated]:
Hello
Effective August 1, 1995, PSINet is pleased to announce new pricing for
InterRamp users. .....
* Users of $29/29 hours program will receive 29 Prime Time hours. Prime
Time is Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., local time at the point
where you connect to the PSINet network.
* InterRamp users of the $29/29 hours program will have ** unlimited **
InterRamp access during Non-Prime Time hours. Non-Prime is 11 p.m. through
8 a.m. Monday through Friday, Saturday and Sunday ALL DAY.
..... { Lots deleted}
InterRamp Support
[ A BIG QUESTION HERE]
How will the free time be differentiated from the Prine Time hours?
Will the counter just make note of the time and not turn on ?
I checked my usage summary and there is no indication of Prime-Time versus
non-Prime-Time usage.
[ End of BIG QUESTION ]
[And the Responses to the announcement (edited to conserve space)]:
Lots of deleted kudos and hurrahs......
[ End of some responses ] :
Well, not quite. But getting closer. Which is the reason for this post.
Now is the time to come up with the real-live Interramp Users Wish List.
To wit:
Since the inauguration of this service, there has been glacial change, but
change nonetheless. Change is good. Especially when market forces are
involved. Market forces which arise when consumers express a desire for a
particular set of features and costs associated with a service.
Of course, there are other forces involved as well, such as consumer taste,
technological change, price and availability of resources, acumen of
management, etc.
And as good loyal customers, it is absolutely imperative that we provide
management with all rational input to help it improve this service.
So I propose a comprehensive list of features that the collective Interramp
user community would like to see implemented as soon as technically
feasible. ( Notice that I have left economics out of the equation, since
market forces will take care of that side of the equation. No doubt that
the concept of "free service", while desireable from a consumer point of
view, wouldn't last very long. )
No feature idea is too outrageous, but please be polite. If an example of
an ISP which currently provides (not just announces) such a feature is
available, please provide a reference. Of course, the existing feature set
is always subject to improvement, so some of it should be listed as it
strikes one's fancy.
Existing feature set ( lifted from interra...@psi.com w/o permission):
[ Heavily abridged ]
InterRamp Service Offers
--------------------------
* PPP dialup access to the Internet
* ISDN and V.32/V.34 Connections
* Local Access Points
* An electronic mailbox accessed through POP3
* A USENET News account with unlimited access
* World Wide Web access
ISDN Please!
-------------
PSI is installing thousands of ISDN ports throughout 1995. With fully
digital 64 Kbps performance (minimally) and remote diagnostics and
integration that no analog modem can touch, ISDN is the future of Internet
dialup access! With the ability to bond two 64 Kbps channels and
compression at the end of 1995, personal ISDN access will be even more
powerful.
Your InterRamp account will work both at a stationary location at home or
the office, or while you're traveling. In fact, you can use your account
with ISDN at home and then v.34 from a hotel room when you travel.
Support : As the largest Internet service provider in the world, PSI has
an experienced and responsive Customer Support Group available to integrate
your PC into the world-wide Internet. Your computer system will be able to
participate in a variety of applications from electronic mail to file
transfers to information services. InterRamp Support Group hours are from
7:00 am - 12:00 Midnight Mon.- Sun. (EST). InterRamp Support Group can be
reached via phone or email. Call (518) 286-1100 or send email to
sup...@interramp.com.
Two Great Pricing Plans : You have the option of choosing a pricing plan
that meets your access needs. Prices for V.34 and ISDN are the same.
Local Access Cities : PSI has established local dialup 14.4/28.8 and ISDN
service numbers for InterRamp in many U.S. cities. Send electronic mail to
number...@psi.com or access our FAXBACK information server. To retrieve
the list of cities via FAXBACK, call toll-free 1.800.FAX.PSI.1. The best
and most up to date way to view the list and other information on-line is
via PSI's World Wide Web server at http://www.psi.net.
Copyright 1995, by PSI, Inc. - Rev.6/15/95
[ End of existing feature set ]
Examples of the type of suggestions which could be added to the wish list :
From: THOM...@interramp.com (Peter Thomas) Date: 28 Jul 1995 13:58:03
1. Multiple aliases so a person could have both a business and a private
identity on Interramp, without having to carry two accounts? The usage is
the same with much less administrative hassle.
2. Automatic forwarding of mail to another Internet address. While a
domestic traveler can call in from anywhere, once you go overseas you are
effectively unable to use your mailbox. Telnetting from a foreign site to a
temporary recipient of your mail would be very helpful.
From: alw...@interramp.com (Andrew Luck) Date: 07 August 1995 Right now:
1. Faster information services, especially the news. It seems like PSI is
probably measuring the utilization rate of their servers. I'm just hoping
that the response rate is also being measured from the user's end of the
connection. The amount of variability in transmission rate tells me that
the servers are being hard pressed, esp. in the middle of the day. Either
that or the intervening network is being saturated.
2. More comprehensive WWW page covering "un-certified" applications and
packages. Yes, I don't expect PSI to provide on the phone support for
this, but it would be nice if there were several pages of tricks and tips
to get better performance and more stable usage out of the plethora of
available software that can run using the Interramp conduit. After all,
that is supposed to be the attraction of the Interramp package, as opposed
to say the Pipeline USA package, that a user can use just about anything.
3. Personal Web page. This is rapidly becoming a standard element of
Internet packages from locally based ISPs. Also, I understand that Prodigy
is/will be providing space.
An example of what is available is as follows:
(in...@mindspring.com) All plans below include 3MB on our server for Web
pages or FTP files. We reserve the right to place a surcharge on accounts
whose Web pages generate an average bandwidth usage greater than 4MB per
day. Additional space is available at a rate of $X per month for an
additional 5Mb (at the 8Mb level, bandwidth surcharge may apply for average
bandwidth usage greater than 8Mb per day). Web page usage reports and forms
capabilities are not included; if these services are required, please
choose one of the Hosting Services at the end of this listing.
4. Domain registration and routing on Interramp accounts. I'd be very
interested in and...@luck.com . Unfortunately luck.com is already taken.
But I think that small businesses and individuals should be able to have a
REAL internet presence. It should be transportable and available.
5. Small network support. The price jump between individual accounts and
business accounts is just too steep. If small-nets are the coming wave in
homes and what-not, I'd like to encourage PSI to step into this market.
6. Hosting services. Interramp works great for an individual dialing into
the net to do work. But an Interramp User does not exist when not logged
in. And many services which might be useful are not available, unless
there is a step up to a dedicated business connection. Just too big a step
in terms of equipment and connection costs. THIS IS A NICHE TO BE
EXPLOITED !
Hosting a mailing list - $XX setup plus $XX per month for up to 100,000
messages per month.
Hosting Services - Host an organization's information on PSI servers. The
minimum charge per month is $XX. Includes domain name registration and
monthly report showing bandwidth usage and number of accesses. Also
includes use of forms which reader may complete; contents are e-mailed to
organization. System administration charges for updating or maintaining
the information will be charged at $XX per hour.
7. Access control on newsgorups. A big plus for parents.
Custom editing of available newsgroups (to, for example, deny access to
specific newsgroups) - $XX initial plus $X per month
8. An absolute flat rate plan. Yes, I understand that access costs money
and the infrastructure has to pay for itself, but the timing of the new
"free use" period is a little interesting. I suppose that folks running
automation capable OSes such as Unix, WinNT, and OS/2 could set up cron
jobs to execute batch functions (downloading news, FTPs, etc.) so they
don't have to stay up late at nite. And weekend surfing is okay. But true
flat rate 24/7 is still an option I'd like to see.
Flat Rate Plan - $XX flat rate per month. Modem speed up to 28.8 kbps.
This plan is for an individual (and members of immediate family) only. No
limit on hours used, but this is not intended to be a full time connection.
Line will be disconnected after 10 minutes of inactivity. Member agrees
not to provide any full time information services over this connection, not
to use any automatic method to avoid inactivity disconnect, and to keep the
connection active only when the member is actively using it. Startup fee
$XX. Total first payment = $XX.
9. Lower or more open options for a purely dedicated connection point.
This is the functional equivalent of the a flatrate service where the
provider doesn't really care whether your on line all the time or not. Of
course, this doesn't really work for someone on the road, but it would
defintely facilitate a person, small group, or organization that needs to
maintain a full-time internet presence but doesn't need a T-1.
The rates for Lan-On-Demand services seem to be fairly reasonable. But I
am assuming that this is only a dial-out router from the customer's site.
I'm wondering if a dial-in option would be available for home users to dial
into a work-site. The routing would need to be done at the POP, I guess.
The other alternative would be to have dedicated service available so true
flat rate employees could dial up using a personal flat rate account.
Dedicated xx.x Plan - $XXX per month for unlimited usage. May be used by
multiple individuals within an organization. Modem speed up to XX..X kbps.
Dedicated phone line at MindSpring provided. Startup fee $XXX. Total
first payment = $XXX. Includes optional domain name registration and
routing. Includes optional UUCP.
Just a few possiblities. I think the most important issue are reliability
and speed of information providing services, and the ability of a single
user to look like an organization, with WWW, FTP site, and the other
facilities that begin to provide a net presence, and not just net access.
If net access is going to become a commodity, and it will, then the dial-up
user is going to be in the market for the abilities that differentiate a
dial-up user from a fulltime net presence. If PSI only provides the
conduit, it will be undercut just as soon the the Baby Bells get into the
act.
Chow.