The whole economics of ad hoc data communications in the US could be thrown into the melting pot, hitting the home computer user, the hacker and the casual user deep in the pocket if a proposal put up – to be shot down – by the Federal Communications Commission passes into the rules on January 1 as proposed: the switch would require value added service operators like Telenet and Tymnet to pay access charges to the local phone companies for the first time – private network operators would still be exempt – and the effect would be typically to raise charges $5 an hour; the FCC says ordinary telephone users are subsidising digital users under the present system.
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