> "On the other hand, if the market were more open, who's to say favoring content or metered billing or whatever wouldn't emerge as optimal strategies." Dial-u

> "On the other hand, if the market were more open, who's to say favoring content or metered billing or whatever wouldn't emerge as optimal strategies." Dial-up ISPs ditched hourly billing and went to flat rates as competition proliferated. During the brief moment that phone networks were classified as Title II, and DSL technology and market penetration exploded, no-one went to metered billing. As long distance competition flared up in the 90s, it too abandoned metered billing for monthly rates and overages. As cell phone usage expanded in the US, it became quickly dominated toward monthly rates and overages. History suggests that metered billing [1] is not something that plays well in the US market. [1] Where 'metered billing' includes monthly packages with usage caps so low that metered charges dominate the average monthly bill.