We've heard that there may be something in the Code of Federal Regulations
that prohibits a configuration in which a given computer is:

1. used for projects funded by federal contracts, and
2. on a local area network (LAN), and
3. directly connected to the Internet.

(My understanding is that "directly connected" means that the computer on
your desk connects to the Internet backbone directly rather that being
connected through some central computer.  In the former arrangement, each
user's computer has it's own Internet Protocot address; in the latter, they
all share an IP address with the central computer. Techies: is this correct?)

If so, it seems this would cause problems for many institutions doing
federal contract work.  LANS are very common, and direct Internet access is
not rare.

Does anyone on this list know whether there really is a problem, from the
government's point of view, with having a computer on a LAN, directly
connected to the Internet, and used on federal contracts?

If so, what approaches are various institutions taking to providing faster
Internet access to LAN users who work on projects funded by federal contracts?