Appendix 1

The Computer Linkup Provisions (May 1997)

• Tier 1: MII-operated international gateway
• Tier 2: It is made up of four government ISPs known as interconnected networks including CHINANET (administered by China Telecom), CHINAGBN (administered by Jitong Communication Co. Ltd.), CERENT (administered by the Ministry of Education) and CASNET (administered by the Chinese Academy of Sciences)
• Tier 3: Private-sector ISPs, they can only link to the Internet through the four governments interconnected networks.
• Tier 4: Internet users, which are either individuals, legal persons, or organizations. They can obtain Internet access indirectly from a private-sector ISP or directly from one of the four government ISPs.