Internet2 Responds
November 6th, 2007 by Gordon Cook
I heard today from the Internet2 side of the house. Had a phone conversation as well as email exchange.
The individual said that basically I had it right in my evaluation. However he added useful balance and perspective. Apparently Tom wanted to show what could be done with a research network that did own and operate its own infrastructure and created programs such as Transit Rail for his members that I2 would find hard to match for its members. He believed that this compelled Doug van Houwelling to take some kind of counter measures.
I got a major sense that the I2 approach to such things like the managed services agreement with Level 3 a year ago was to act very quietly by means of a small group at the top and then totell the rest of the I2 members only after the fact what had been done on their behalf. And as my correspondent, who has granted permission to reprint his remarks below, said the strange behavior over the past two weeks that I referred to as a “diktat” it appears that most internet 2 members were never told that NLR was trying in good faith to get answers to serious questions.
The Exchange with Internet2
A Reader at I2: I think that you got it right on the I2-NLR situation. Do you think that the condition that neither of the current CEOs were to play a role in the new organization may have had something to do with the failed merger? Doug Van Houweling got his degree in political science and he knows what to say in public and hide what he is really after. I work for I2. There are plenty of Internet2 staff that say there is a desperate need for a change in leadership, but alas it looks like the politicians are getting what they want.
Cook’s Edge: Do you see anyway out?
A Reader at I2: Not right away. Internet2 has created a new governance structure where council and board members are voted in, (as opposed to being selected by I2 upper management). There was an election for the new council members and they just met a couple of weeks ago at the I2 Member Meeting in San Diego. New board members have not yet been elected other than that the new council chairs will be on the board. So if I2 can get a board with a real voice then things might change.
It really is too bad that the whole community has to go through this when it is just a few people that killed the merger. It is interesting that no one other than the NLR and Internet2 boards saw the document from NLR with the additional issues to make the merger go. If that was the real sticking point why wasn’t it openly discussed? My understanding that is that the issue was what was to become of NLR assets that were contributed to NLR by some of the members. Some of these assets are integral parts of the regional networks so they of course are concerned about what happens to them. But if those in charge really don’t want a merger, then any excuse is a good one.
Now NLR is not blameless either. It has been said that Tom West was out to put Internet2 out of business and there are a couple of others on the NLR board that may feel the same. While NLR started out filling an un-met need for very high end applications and network researchers, it went on to develop services to compete with I2 and to divide the community.
While some friendly competition is a good thing, what has been going on only hurts the community, and as I say, caused by just a few people.” End of comment from Internet2.