Poland Internet society protests rate hike plan THE INTERNET SOCIETY OF POLAND'S OPINION ON THE RATE INCREASES PROPOSED BY NASK

December  1995

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PSI feels that payment for the amount of information sent to and from the subscriber works to his disadvantage. First of all, incoming traffic is beyond the subscriber's control. Every Internet user can generate as much information as he wishes and send it via electronic mail to every subscriber without their knowledge or consent. Payment for unwanted mail, in extreme circumstances, may ruin a subscriber financially. Secondly, outgoing traffic is only partially controlled by the subscriber. As much as he may control self generated traffic (such as outgoing E-mail) he has no influence on the information sent by other subscribers. In modern information systems (WWW) with fees for outgoing traffic we would have to deal with a major drawback; the better the service the subscriber has to offer, the greater costs he must carry. The proposed charges by NASK, for incoming and outgoing traffic, links the faults of both charging methods and that is why it cannot be accepted. Thirdly, with the new rate system the subscriber has no assurance that he has been accurately charged and has no method of recourse. Accessible counting devices - if they can be implemented at all - additionally increases the working cost of network. The only price structure we can accept, is one that currently is in Poland, as is in the majority of countries in the world, fees for bandwidth. The subscriber then has the absolute freedom to choose the line, in order to satisfy his needs within his financial boundaries.

PSI feels that the proposed rates by NASK for access to the Internet are inflated and the increase is excessively high. In order to prove the latter we can use an example. Today a NASK subscriber with 128k bandwidth and using on the average only half, pays 13,577 zlotys quarterly. This sum is independent from amount of traffic, which enables usage at critical moments with full possible speed of data transmission, which is essential for interactive services, such as telnet or WWW. According to the proposed rates, the subscriber quarterly would pay 10,170 zl. and could for this sum transfer 2,130MB in international traffic and 8,520MB in domestic traffic. This amount of information represents not even 2% of international use or 7% for domestic use. If the subscriber wanted to maintain traffic at his current level, he would have to pay 190,000zl for 121,500MB (international) and in excess of 10,000zl for domestic traffic. A rate hike for international traffic in this case would add up to 1,600%. For bandwidth, which is crucial for multimedia applications the rates are increased FORTY times. The Internet is a global network and the inflated NASK prices will cut Poland off from the Web. The point is that if we are cut off from the Net, then not only can we get any information, but we won't be able to tell the world what is going on in Poland. In regards to the proposed rate increase, we feel NASK should specifically justify its action and put it up for public opinion on the Net. Also their grounds for charging customers more for their services is questionable because currently their services leave much to be desired.

An analysis of fees charged by European network providers reveals that NASK intends to lower its rates for commercial services with the help of government subsidies ( funds that are appropriated for development of the academic network).

PSI believes that to this date, there has been no greater threat to the development of the Polish Network than the exorbitant increase proposed by NASK. The development of the Internet is one of the country's most vital challenges they face today. We cannot let it be thwarted by hungry individuals holding exclusive rights to a market funded by the government with their taxpayers' money. If the proposed rates are implemented by NASK, then PSI will be forced to approach the Parliament and Anti-Monopoly Office and enlighten them as to the destructive position NASK has taken, where its primary function was to guarantee the development of the Internet in Poland. Marek Car

The Internet Society of Poland was founded in July of 1995 for the purpose of monitoring the development of the Internet in Poland and preparing the general population for the inevitable integration in a Global Information Society. Today PSI has more than 270 members domestically and worldwide.

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