Very Important: VDN Tiers & Costs

To: Christopher Majka <nextug@is.dal.ca>
From: foxpoint@fox.nstn.ca (Richard Rudnicki)
Cc: ccn board <ccn-board@chebucto.ns.ca>, David Murdoch <murdoch@csuite.ns.ca>, CCN Information Provider Committee <ccn-ip@chebucto.ns.ca>
Date: Sun, 4 Oct 1998 12:39:25 -0400
Precedence: bulk
Return-Path: <ccn-ip-mml-owner@chebucto.ns.ca>

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&gt; &gt;VDN's &amp; n

>> I am widening a discussion taking place about IP fees so as to make sure we
>> are all clear about what has and has not been agreed to.

Regardless of what's been agreed upon, positioning is everything in the 
world of competitive business, and CCN could learn well from the principle. 

This whole question of what to charge and what not to charge for various 
levels of service can only be answered in the context of what the other 
players in the field are doing together with CCN's mission. We must position 
ourselves relative to what other ISPs are providing and what the consumer of 
these services can get relative to her/his needs -- or we'll be lame ducks. 
We're having this debate about prices with very little information, mostly 
hearsay, and have no definitive overview or agreement on what the heck is 
going on out there in our own field of operations. We can't be effective 
making decisions this way. 

I propose we commission a study that can be done very quickly, this should 
be done annually you know, to 1) identify the ISPs available to Nova 
Scotians and determine the range and cost of their services relative to 
CCN's, and as best as possible determine their marketing thrust, and 2) 
identify the emerging trends in the industry. This is secondary research 
that can be done by one or two sharp fourth year commerce types. The 
methodology would involve research at the Dal business library and on-line, 
and should take about two days research, one day report writing. I'd look 
for two people at fifty to seventy-five bucks each plus photocopy expenses.

We also need to know where the IP heads are at, and this is something that 
maybe Jack Uthe and I could undertake through an interview/survey format

And then of course the information needs to be acted upon, and it seems to 
me this should best be through a coordinated effort by both the IP Committee 
and the Board.



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