Internet Service Providers' Association

Costs

There are three cost components relating to JINX. JINX users must pay the appropriate ISPA membership fees and JINX joining fee. JINX users connecting to JINX via means other than circuits leased from a licensed telecommunications operator may also be liable for equivalent line charges.

Please note that all of these fees are subject to occasional review. Please contact the ISPA secretariat or visit the ISPA web site for current information.

ISPA membership fees

Each category of ISPA membership carries a monthly or annual fee:

Size Category	JINX Access	Monthly Membership Fee
Large	JINX (unlimited)	R6,100/month (plus R854 VAT)
Medium	JINX (up to 512kbs)	R1,500/month (plus R210 VAT)
Small	JINX (up to 128kbs)	R350/month (plus R49 VAT ) or R3,360/year (plus R470.40 VAT)

The total capacity of a medium-sized member's connection(s) to JINX may be no more than 512 kbps. Each company applying for membership determines its own size category. Changes in size can be made at any time, subject to approval from ISPA's Management Committee. ISPA also has an Affiliate membership category, but Affiliate members cannot connect to JINX.

Joining fee

In addition to ISPA's membership fees, JINX participants must also pay JINX joining fee:

Size Category	JINX Access	Once off joining fee
Large	JINX (unlimited)	R25,000 (plus VAT)
Medium	JINX (up to 512kbs)	R10,000 (plus VAT)
Small	JINX (up to 128kbs)	R2,500 (plus VAT)

The joining fee for JINX is R25,000 (plus VAT) for large members and R10,000 (plus VAT) for medium members. The new fee for small members is R2,500 (plus VAT). This is a one-time, non-refundable fee, which may be paid in ten instalments. Members upgrading their size category need only pay the difference between the two joining fees.

Note that the same terms and conditions apply to small members using JINX as for other members. In particular, a connection to JINX does not imply that other ISPA members will exchange traffic with your network. Traffic exchange agreements must be negotiated with other JINX users.

Participants downgrading their size category are not eligible for a refund, but regain the access rights they have paid for if they upgrade again in the future. JINX joining fee may not be ceded to a third party, and is forfeit if the member resigns from the ISPA. Any member leaving the organisation and later rejoining will once again be liable for the connection fee.

Equivalent line charges

Prior to the introduction of the equivalent line charges, some companies connecting to JINX enjoyed an unfair advantage over others. While most participants must lease data lines to connect to JINX, ISPA members located in the same building can connect to JINX at minimal cost. The equivalent line charges are intended to ensure that JINX participants enjoy equitable and fair access to JINX.

How the equivalent line charges work:

1. An equivalent line charge is levied on any JINX participant connecting to JINX using non-publicly tariffed infrastructure. (In other words, this does not affect ISPs connecting to JINX via Telkom lines, or via any other publicly advertised telecommunications service available in the future.)
   
   If necessary, ISPA's JINX Working Group will determine whether or not a particular connection meets the above description.


2. The equivalent line charge is based on the traffic measured on the switch port(s) of any ISPA member meeting the above criteria. Traffic exchanged directly between JINX participants at JINX (i.e. via a direct cable instead of via the switch) is not subject to any charge. This means that ISPA members are free to negotiate alternative settlements with other peers, in order to bypass the equivalent line charges.
   
   Traffic levels are calculated based on the five-minute average for any particular month, measured using MRTG traffic graphs of each participant's traffic. Monitoring these traffic levels is the responsibility of the ISPA JINX Working Group.
   
   It is recommended that participants who are liable for equivalent line charges implement some form of rate limiting on their routers to avoid traffic spikes. Members electing not to limit the capacity of their link to JINX will be held responsible for any traffic spikes appearing on the graphs used to calculate the equivalent line charges.


3. The fee is a fixed monthly charge for the 2006-2009 period. However, these charges may be reduced following a review, at the discretion of the ISPA Management Committee.


4. The fee is based on the maximum utilisation during any one month, as follows:
   
   

   Monitored Traffic	Monthly Fee
   0 Mb/s - 2 Mb/s	R 0.00
   2 Mb/s - 8 Mb/s	R   22,000.00
   8 Mb/s - 34 Mb/s	R   51,000.00
   34 Mb/s - 50 Mb/s	R   67,500.00
   50 Mb/s - 75 Mb/s	R   94,000.00
   75 Mb/s - 100 Mb/s	R 120,500.00
   100 Mb/s - 150 Mb/s	R 157,500.00
   150 Mb/s - 200 Mb/s	R 190,000.00
   200 Mb/s - 300 Mb/s	R 255,000.00
   300 Mb/s - 500 Mb/s	R 375,000.00

   
   These figures excludes VAT.
   The equivalent line fees are loosely based on the estimated data line costs for lines capable of carrying monitored traffic levels. Estimated installation costs for these lines have been amortised over 36 months and added to the monthly cost.
5. If you can obtain a cheaper comparable quote you are welcome to submit this to ISPA for review.