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No, that would be a logistical nightmare, and the amount of waste and complexity added would just bog down the whole thing and profits would fall. If you have

No, that would be a logistical nightmare, and the amount of waste and complexity added would just bog down the whole thing and profits would fall. If you have 100 acres of land to farm, it does not get cheaper or easier to manage by buying 10 sets of tractors, 10 sets of farm hands, 10 grain silos, 10 of everything... you don't need all those things, and they all have implied costs which will all eat away at your profit by the time the grain gets to market.

wolfgang42 9y ago
Right, which is why I'm confused at the parent's claim that "Of course a tiny regional co-op ISP doesn't cost much. It's simpler!" They seem to be confusing absolute costs with the cost per customer, which is the number that's actually relevant for ISPs' users. Since I wrote my comment, the above comment has been expanded and now seems to be arguing that the reason ISPs are so expensive is because they're paying costs associated with being a media conglomerate (which sounds plausible), and that this is somehow perfectly normal and consumers shouldn't be upset that the cost of their network access is higher (which makes no sense to me at all).
- peterwwillis 9y ago
  Sorry, I wrote both comments and expanded on them. It's multiple things. It's costs associated with other business interests, it's logistical and operational costs, it's a whole lot of things. My main point is that it is naive to compare a tiny isp to a gigantic one, because the tiny one doesn't have remotely as many extra considerations or costs. Of course consumers should be concerned about costs. I personally think they should lobby for municipal ISPs! But I'm also saying you can't say "oh my internet is too expensive compared to the tiny isp". Your internet is probably accurately priced considering who you're getting it from.
  - zAy0LfpBZLC8mAC 9y ago
    In other words: Everything is always accurately priced because there always is a reason for why the price is what it is. Not exactly a helpful way to think about things if you want to understand them, is it?

wolfgang42 9y ago

Right, which is why I'm confused at the parent's claim that "Of course a tiny regional co-op ISP doesn't cost much. It's simpler!" They seem to be confusing absolute costs with the cost per customer, which is the number that's actually relevant for ISPs' users. Since I wrote my comment, the above comment has been expanded and now seems to be arguing that the reason ISPs are so expensive is because they're paying costs associated with being a media conglomerate (which sounds plausible), and that this is somehow perfectly normal and consumers shouldn't be upset that the cost of their network access is higher (which makes no sense to me at all).

peterwwillis 9y ago
Sorry, I wrote both comments and expanded on them. It's multiple things. It's costs associated with other business interests, it's logistical and operational costs, it's a whole lot of things. My main point is that it is naive to compare a tiny isp to a gigantic one, because the tiny one doesn't have remotely as many extra considerations or costs. Of course consumers should be concerned about costs. I personally think they should lobby for municipal ISPs! But I'm also saying you can't say "oh my internet is too expensive compared to the tiny isp". Your internet is probably accurately priced considering who you're getting it from.
- zAy0LfpBZLC8mAC 9y ago
  In other words: Everything is always accurately priced because there always is a reason for why the price is what it is. Not exactly a helpful way to think about things if you want to understand them, is it?