[LINK] Number of ISPs continues to grow - now almost 1100

[lance@cyber.com.au]

Hi Bernard,

The simple answer is that if a person is inside the "immediate circle"
of the organisation then the organisation is not an ISP.  But if they
are outside the immediate circle, e.g. a consultant, a visiting
researcher, or employees of a department that has outsourced its access
infrastructure, then suddenly whoever is operating the service is now
an ISP under the Telecommunications Act.

Even stranger, anyone operating their own Web server like Apache or
IIS, with pages that are *accessed* by someone outside their "immediate
circle," (ie via the Internet!) then due to the amazing definition of
"Point-to-Multipoint" services, the server operator becomes an ISP -
even if they're just Bill's Flower Shop.

In the context of the BSA this means that by the existing definitions
there are tens of thousands of "ISPs" in the country who have not the
faintest idea that they have been declared members of the industry, and
need to be notified by the ABA every time something is banned so they
can block it.

Senator Alston actually agreed that this is what the legislation
implied and said he'd declare exemptions to get around it, but that
hasn't yet happened.

The Internet Society of Australia submitted two documents explaining
the mess, which arose directly from the government not having much
understanding of how the Internet works and worse, not listening to
CSIRO and everyone else who tried to explain it to them:

Who is an Internet Content Host or an Internet Service Provider
(and How is the ABA Going to Notify Them)?
http://www.isoc-au.org.au/Regulation/WhoisISP.html

Are you an ISP? - Ambiguity in the Internet Censorship Legislation
http://www.isoc-au.org.au/Regulation/PFoxBSA.html

Regards,
Kate Lance


On Sat, Nov 03, 2001 at 03:35:12PM +1100, Bernard Robertson-Dunn wrote:
> What is the situation where an enterprise with an intranet provides access
> to the Internet.
> 
> eg an employee of a Government Department might be able to access the
> Internet through that Government Department's IT infrastructure.
> 
> Is said Government Department an Internet Service Provider/
> Carriage Service Provider/Internet Content Host?
> 
> Is the critical issue that members of the public must be involved, rather
> than members of the enterprise?
> 
> Waht is the situation regarding a Public Library that uses a public sector
> infrastructure.
> 
> Aren't definitions a wonderful thing to question?
> 
> -- 
> "That's a great deal to make one word mean,"
> Alice said in a thoughtful tone. 
> 
> "When I make a word do a lot of work like that,"
> said Humpty Dumpty, "I always pay it extra." 
> -- Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
> 
> Regards
> brd
> 
> Bernard Robertson-Dunn
> Sydney Australia
> brd@austarmetro.com.au