Providers need to be encouraged to accelerate the process in establishing interconnection agreements with one another. Most providers require your local X.400 address include their name in the ADMD field. If you subscribe to three ADMDs, you must have three local addresses. European providers are using this method. In order to accomplish that, the addressing will have to be carried one level deeper within the address and there will have to be a better interface between the service providers.
Most providers now have gateways to route e-mail to Internet users.
As public e-mail providers continue to expand into the Internet arena, it will be interesting to see how pricing will be established in the future. The providers will soon be major access providers for other Internet services, including the WorldWide Web. They can provide the larger bandwidth for Web access that the smaller Internet access providers cannot offer. Ronald L. Sherman is an E-mail Systems Analyst at U S West. With the ability to determine the best path for routing data packets, routers are a fundamental component for any enterprisewide network.