NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #1/NN_1993_1.iso/spool/misc/activism/progress/9812

Text File | 1993-01-06 | 18.2 KB | 460 lines

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Subject: INFO:GlasNet brochure (latest)
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Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 02:19:59 GMT
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Dave Caulkins just sent along this more recent
version of the GlasNet brochure.
         Peace, Cathy Flick
-------------------------------

GLASNET INFORMATION
  Version 1.4                          29 Nov 92

"GlasNet (TM)" - A new Commonwealth Computer Network for
Information Interchange.

A computer network called "GlasNet" has been installed in Moscow
by The Institute for Global Communications (San Francisco).
GlasNet is the first non-profit, non-governmental
telecommunications network to be established in the Commonwealth
of Independent States (CIS; ex USSR).  It is a network for people
in the CIS who have access to electronic communication equipment;
typically a PC and a modem.  Many people who are users of
networks in the USA and elsewhere in the world can exchange Email
with GlasNet users; see the list of networks given below.

The purpose of GlasNet is to offer easy and inexpensive
information exchange between diverse groups within the CIS,
including scientists, educators, cultural groups, journalists,
environmentalists, computer enthusiasts, and so forth.  It also
enables these groups to correspond electronically with their
counterparts in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.  GlasNet is
intended to serve the communication needs of pro bono groups in
the CIS who could not otherwise afford modern communication
services.  Charges to non-commercial GlasNet users in the CIS are
entirely in rubles, and will be kept as low as possible while
maintaining good system services.

GlasNet is a member of the Association for Progressive
Communications (APC), a global network-of-networks with host
computers in Australia (Pegasus), Brazil (AlterNex), Canada
(Web), Great Britain (GreenNet), Nicaragua (Nicarao), Sweden
(NordNet), and the USA (PeaceNet,EcoNet).  The first GlasNet host
computer is a 386 computer running UNIX; it uses the standard APC
electronic mail, conferencing, and networking software.  The
initial GlasNet hardware configuration supports 5,000 user
accounts; of these 7 to 20 can be on line simultaneously,
depending on the number of available telephone lines.  GlasNet
was installed in Moscow in March of 1991 and has been operating
officially since May 30, 1991.

GlasNet is negotiating with organizations in Dnepropetrovsk,
Kiev, Saint Petersburg, and Zelenograd to set up associate host
computer systems in these cities.

Even though the only current GlasNet host is in Moscow, users
from many other places in the CIS regularly access their
GlasNet accounts using long distance calls, which are relatively
inexpensive.  GlasNet accounts have been accessed in this way
from as far away as Irkutsk and Vladivostok.

Collaboration among scientists, business people, and other
specialists in the USA has been facilitated in recent years
through the use of computer-based electronic mail and
conferencing capabilities, allowing people in different parts of
the country to work on joint projects, access data banks and
information in computers all across the country, and
electronically publish new work.  These powerful capabilties are
now becoming available to the general public, the non-profit
community in particular, through such services as PeaceNet and
EcoNet.

It is the goal of GlasNet to provide similar
performance-enhancing services to the fast-emerging independent
sector in the CIS, offering Commonwealth users easy access to
friends, colleagues, and potential associates in the CIS and
abroad.

Initial services available to GlasNet users include:

Electronic Mail

GlasNet subscribers are able to exchange messages with
others on GlasNet, other users within APC, or with users
belonging to many other networks through APC "gateways."

Networks accessible through these gateways include: America
Online, Applelink, ARPANET, AT&T LandMail, AT&T MAIL, Bitnet,
BIX, BOLNET, CARINET, CGNET, CIGnet, COMLINK, COMPUSERVE,
CONNECT, CSNet, DASNET, DELPHI, DIALCOM, EasyLink, ECUANEX, EIES,
ENVOY 100, FIDONET, GALAXY, GeoNet, GTE, HandsNet, HURACAN, IMC,
INET, Internet, JANET, MCI MAIL, MicroLink, NASA, NWI, OMNET,
PANDORA, PINET, Portal, PsychNet, ScienceNet, SOURCE, TCN,
Telecom Gold, Telemail, THE META NETWORK, TWICS, Tymnet/Ontyme,
UNDP;UNDRO;UNINET, UNISON, UUCP Mail Net, WELL, WORKNET, OMNET,
Usenet

Electronic mail (Email) overcomes the cost and problems of
telephone use. An electronic mail message is composed at the
user's convenience, then quickly sent by the GlasNet
computer to its destination in the addressee's host computer
mailbox, which may be in Moscow or halfway around the world.
When the person to whom it is sent logs in to his or her local
network host computer, the message is waiting.  Transmission is
immediate, and there is no need for both parties to be present
simultaneously.  Costs are less than long distance telephone
calls or those of air parcel services.

FAX Service

GlasNet provides its users with the ability to send
messages to FAX machines.  FAX messages are sent directly to FAX
machines in the CIS; FAX messages are sent as Email from the CIS
to California, and then as FAX messages from there to FAX
machines in the US.  Similarly FAX messages can be sent as Email
from other APC hosts to GlasNet, and from there as FAX messages
to FAX machines in the CIS.

Because of the bit-mapped nature of FAX encoded messages it is
not possible for users to receive FAX messages via the
character-oriented GlasNet system.

Electronic Conferencing

An electronic conference is a written conversation with other
users; a conference is created to discuss a particular topic or
to facilitate communication between people working on a joint
project.  GlasNet users can start their own conferences on topics
of interest, or are able to participate in on-going conferences
on other APC networks.  Although anyone on any of the networks
listed above can exchange Email with GlasNet subscribers, people
in the US must be subscribers to the IGC networks PeaceNet or
EcoNet in order to participate in conferences with GlasNet users.
Contact information for IGC is given below.

The Russian staff of GlasNet opposed the the August 19 - 23
coup and courageously kept GlasNet operating during it.
GlasNet was used to keep GlasNet users informed about
the fight against the coup, and to pass information about it back
to the West.

GlasMail

In November 1991 GlasNet began offering a new service - GlasMail
(TM).  This allows reliable communication between people who have
no Email or other equipment.  Messages can be exchanged using
phone calls, FAXes, Email, letters, or telegrams.  The messages
are sent rapidly and reliably between the USA and the CIS by
Email; they are translated into the specified form and dispatched
from Moscow (or San Francisco at the US end).  Prices range from
$4 to $9 per message, depending on the speed and cost of
delivery.  Delivery can be as short as 1 day from from receipt of
a message in the USA to its delivery in the CIS.  Messages from
the CIS to the USA will be delivered more rapidly.

For further information on GlasNet or GlasMail (TM), please
contact:

Anatoly Voronov, Executive Director
Email: [e-mail]

Alexander Zaytsev, Technical Director
Email: [e-mail]

Stass Tambovsky, GlasMail Department Head
Email: [e-mail]

GlasNet Moscow office address:

KUDITS
Sadovaya-Chernogryazskaya 4
Moscow, Russia.
(near Krasniye Vorota Metro station)
Telephone:
voice; 208-7639, 207-0704
data; 262-4857, 262-0209
Both 4857 and 0209 are equipped with rotaries; incoming calls are
automatically routed to one of 16 data lines.

In the USA:

David Caulkins
GlasNet USA
437 Mundel Way
Los Altos, CA 94022
[phone] voice
[phone] fax

Email:
[e-mail]  (from Internet in the USA)
dcaulkins          (from PeaceNet/EcoNet in the USA)

People in the USA who wish to access GlasNet and do not have
an account on one of the APC-connected gateway networks listed
above should get an account on one of the IGC networks: PeaceNet
or EcoNet.  For information about these networks, contact:

IGC
18 de Boom
San Francisco, CA 94107
[phone]
[phone] fax
Email: [e-mail]

The current rates for GlasNet ruble services (payable to the
GlasNet office in Moscow) are given in Appendix A.

Because GlasNet charges users in the CIS in rubles, and because
we have some communications costs we must pay in dollars, there
is a charge to US individuals and groups who communicate with
GlasNet.  These costs vary, but at the moment we estimate them to
be about $0.50 per 1,000 characters.

--------------------------------------------------------------

It is possible to sponsor a GlasNet account for colleagues in the
CIS by making dollar payments to IGC in the USA; accounts
sponsored in this way are effectively free to users in the CIS.
Costs as of November 1992 are $60 setup (manuals, helping the CIS
colleague get hooked up and on line, etc.) and $25 per month.
Connect time charges of up to 60 hours per month are free for
sponsored GlasNet accounts.

Contact IGC or Dave Caulkins for more information about sponsored
accounts.
--------------------------------------------------------------

Modems suitable for use with GlasNet should have the
following characteristics:

1) MNP protocol, levels 2 - 5
2) Hayes-compatible AT command set
3) Can be used at 1200 or 2400 bps

Modems of this kind are available at electronics and computer
stores in the USA, either retail or mail-order.  Prices are about
$80.00 for an internal modem (plugs into a slot in a PC), or
$140.00 for an external modem (in a separate box, and usable with
a PC, Macintosh, or any other computer with a serial port.   If
cost is a major consideration, it is possible to use a 1200 bps
modem with the AT command set, and emulate the MNP protocol in
software using a communications package like MTE.  Copies of this
software can be obtained from the US or Moscow offices of GlasNet
(TM).

Communications software packages recommended for use with GlasNet
(TM) are:

For IBM PC computers and equivalent clones using the DOS
operating system:

  Procomm

  For use with non-MNP modems - MTE or MTEZ

For Macintosh computers:

  Red Ryder, Microphone, or White Knight

Other communications software packages have a high probablility
of working with GlasNet.

================================================================

Appendix A

GLASNET  RATES (rubles)                          October 1, 1992
-----------------------

                       A. FIXED RATES
+-------------+-------+------------+-------+------------+-------+
|             |SUBHOST|ORGANIZATION| GROUP | INDIVIDUAL | NGO   |
+=============+=======+============+=======+============+=======+
|REGISTRATION:| 2,500 |   2,500    | 2,000 |  1,000     | 1,000 |
|MONTHLY FEE: | 2,000 |   1,800    | 1,440*|    500     |   350 |
+-------------+-------+------------+-------+------------+-------+
|ON-LINE(min):|       |            |       |            |       |
| 9.00 - 18.00|   -   |    1.50    | 1.50  |    1.50    | 1.50  |
|18.00 - 9.00 |   -   |    1.00    | 1.00  |    1.00    | 1.00  |
|             |       |            |       |            |       |
|via X.25(min)|  9.00 |    9.00    | 9.00  |    9.00    | 9.00  |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
|DATA STORAGE |  3.00 |    3.00    | 3.00  |    3.00    | 3.00  |
|**           |       |            |       |            |       |
|(k/mon)      |       |            |       |            |       |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
   *For each account in a group.
  **First 50k free


                       B. GATEWAYS**

 KC means Kilo Character, or 1,000 characters,
 or about half-page of single-spaced text.

 Express:  Delivery to the nearest foreign node
 =======   takes no more than 4-5 hours (average
           2,5-3 hours).

 Ordinary: Delivery to the nearest foreign node
 ========  takes no more than 16 hours (average
           8-9 hours).

+==================+==============+====================+
|     NETWORK      | PER MESSAGE  |       PER KC       |
|                  |              +----------+---------+
|                  |              |  Express | Ordinary|
+==================+==============+==========+=========+
 GLASNET  (FSU)        0.00           0.00      0.00
 RELCOM   (FSU)        1.00           2.00      2.00

 APC NETWORKS:

 ALTERNEX (BRAZIL)     4.00          12.00      6.00
 COMLINK  (GERMANY)    3.00          10.00      5.00
 ECONET   (USA)        3.00          10.00      5.00
 ECUANEX  (ECUADOR)    4.00          12.00      6.00
 GREENNET (UK)         3.00          10.00      5.00
 NICARAO  (NICARAGUA)  3.00          12.00      6.00
 NORDNET  (SWEDEN)***  3.00          10.00      5.00
 PEACENET (USA)        3.00          10.00      5.00
 PEGASUS  (AUSTRALIA)  4.00          12.00      6.00
 WEB      (CANADA)     3.00          10.00      5.00

 *** NORDNET stands for former PeaceNet-Sweden <PNS> (alias
      FredsNaetet).
 -----------------------------------------------------------
 INTERNET, BITNET,
 CSNET, CompuServe,
 UUCP MAIL, WELL,      7.00          13.00     7.00
 GEONET, MCI
 PORTAL, PANDORA
 -----------------------------------------------------------
 DASNET GATEWAYS
 ----------------
 BIX                     6.00       28.00    14.00
 CONNECT                 6.00       28.00    14.00
 DIALCOM                 6.00       28.00    14.00
 EASYLINK                6.00       28.00    14.00
 EIES                    6.00       28.00    14.00

 NWI                    44.00       28.00    14.00
 OTC                    12.00       28.00    14.00
 TELEMAIL               22.00       38.00    19.00
 TWICS (JAPAN)          36.00       44.00    22.00


OUTGOING/INCOMING TRAFFIC CHARGES
+----------+----------+-----------------------------------------+
|          |  SUBHOST | ORGANIZATION, GROUP, INDIVIDUAL , NGO   |
+----------+----------+-----------------------------------------+
| OUTGOING |      +   |                   +                     |
| INCOMING |      +   |             + if > 0,2Mb                |
+----------+----------+-----------------------------------------+

 KC means Kilo Character, or 1000 characters,
 or about a half-page of single-space text.

Here are some representative FAX prices (FAXes may be sent
directly from Moscow, or may be sent by Email to another APC host
for dispatch by FAX from there).

                       C. FAX PRICES
+-----------------------+-------+------------+-----------------+
|COUNTRY OF DESTINATION |  CODE | FIRST PAGE | NEXT PAGE(S)    |
+-----------------------+-------+------------+-----------------+
Australia                   61      400          300
Austria                     43      330          247

Belgium                     32      310          232
Brazil                      55      450          338
Bulgaria                   359      350          262

Czechoslovakia              42      350          262
China                       86      525          393
CIS(ex-USSR),except Moscow           30           15
Moscow                      95       15            8
Cuba                        53      450          338

Denmark                     45      330          247

Ecuador                    593      450          338
Egypt                       20      450          338
El Salvador                503      450          338

Finland                    358      330          247
France                      33      310          232

Germany                   49/37     320          240
Great Britain               44      230          170
Greece                      30      330          247

Hawaii                    1808      400          300
Hungary                     36      330          247

India                       91      450          338
Indonesia                   62      495          372
Iran                        98      400          300
Iraq                       964      400          300
Ireland                    353      300          225
Israel                     972      350          262
Italy                       39      310          232

Japan                       81      495          372

Portugal                   351      310          232

Romania                     40      330          248

Saudi Arabia               966      450          338
Spain                       34      330          248
Sweden                      46      330          248
Switzerland                 41      330          248

United States                1      250          187

-------------------------------------------------------
All charges are subject to change. GlasNet will make every
effort to keep users fully informed about changes in its
charges.

DISCOUNTS
=========
1.  Monthly fee includes 1 hour of free off-peak connect time.
    Any free time left over at the end of the month is not
    applicable to subsequent months.
2.  All new subscribers receive an additional free off-peak hour
    of connect time during their first 30 days of use.
3.  All public conferences are free to use.
    Private conferences are charged storage at the same rate
    as for mail folders of 1 R per kilobyte per month to the
    user requesting or facilitating the conference.
4.  All GlasNet users are given 100 kilobytes (50 pages) of
    free storage space. You will be notified on the Network if
    you are exceeding the free storage limit.
5.  If you refer a new user to the Network, you will receive 2
    free off-peak hours of free connect time. This credit can be
    used over any number of months.
6.  Special discounts may be granted to individuals and NGOs
    whose goals and objectives are in accordance with GlasNet
    Bylaws.  Please, contact support to discuss the discounts.

Disclaimer: GlasNet is not responsible for the poor quality
            of the phone lines. Please report to the Moscow
            Telephone Company (MGTS) (ph. 299-8759).

We'll also accept accounts sponsored by US organizations and
individuals. In this case payments can be made to IGC or through
GlasNet co-director David Caulkins.