Since all of the MICE expenses are recurring in nature, would
it make more sense to have smaller fees, however make them monthly for all
members? Something like $25/month for 1 Gig and $100/mo for 10Gig plus the
one time cost of optics. If members do not want to take on these fees,
they could possibly do some kind of donation of time, such as doing port
moves/adds/changes. I know that the labor in lieu of fees could get
complicated, and some limits would need to be set (such as if a bunch of people
wanted to do it, they would only be able to do so for a limited amount of time
to allow others to have a chance as well). I can foresee a time when the
recurring funds will need to be built up to purchase additional switches,
pay for IP blocks directly from ARIN, and replace failed/old switches/route
servers. I know that the donation of space, and power from FWR had a time
limit on it, and those recurring costs will be coming up as well. I feel
now is the time to plan ahead/save up some extra money so when those donations
run out the exchange will not hit a brick wall with members that would be
sticker shocked by how much it would take to keep it going. I think a
little bit from every member over the years will add up to quite a bit by
the time that some major expenses hit the exchange. By that point in time,
I think small adjustments if any in the monthly fee would be much easier to
swallow for the members. I think that anyone that realizes the value of
the exchange would gladly pay to stay connected. I am sure that the
recurring fees would never need to be more than the cost of the cross connect
which we are already gladly paying for, and the more people that join, the
higher the value of the exchange, and the smaller the cost on a per member
basis. I do not think that the marketing of the exchange needs to be that
it is of little to no cost, I believe it can be marketed as us sharing our
knowledge of the benefits of the exchange with potential members, as well
as making sure that they realize that the exchange
exists.
What is the funding model of the exchange
now?
I go around and beg for donations whenever something pops up. (Thanks again
for the annual ARIN fees BTW)
That was fine when it was a couple of ISPs and a switch but the exchange is
quickly becoming a critical piece of infrastructure for the
region.
Thanks,
Jay
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