There will be more talk in the coming months of how to collect toll on the information highway.

The proposed MCI-WorldCom merger could have a significant effect in the coming year on the future of the Internet backbone, the telecommunications lines that carry electronic information. For example, some observers reportedly have feared a merged MCI-WorldCom could try to charge per-second of Internet use, going against an industry trend charging a flat fee for unlimited use.

This disturbs James Love, for one, who is director of the Consumer Project on Technology. Love says such a merged entity could try to change the way Internet backbone traffic is priced. His group will file comments with the Justice Department to try to stop the merger.

Love is concerned that a merger will "put an emphasis on accounting schemes, charges according to bits."

"I'm not saying that will happen but that's a concern we have," Love said. "All of a sudden you will have this huge concentration. We don't think it is smart."

In another development, a new Internet protocol metering and billing system will be available in the coming year that will help providers bill users for value-added services such as faxing and teleconferencing.

One analyst, Dan Taylor, director of telecom services at Aberdeen Group, says "there is a definite need to meter" for Internet protocol-based services, "whether it's an application you are paying for, or some other form of commerce. What we need from IP networks is what we get from phone services: accountability."

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 4. Web-TV
 5. Rich Ads
 6. The Big Chill
 7. Middlemen
 8. Digital Detente
 9. Cybercommerce
10. Web standards

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 3. 56K
 4. Cable Modem
 5. Web-TV
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10. Comdex '96