3 ms·

The best way to do data is (connection_fee + usage/MB). That's the most customer-friendly way to do things. It allows customers to alter their usage according t

The best way to do data is (connection_fee + usage/MB). That's the most customer-friendly way to do things. It allows customers to alter their usage according to their billing ability. Fixed line usage is probably in the decicents per GB. Wireless is probably in the $8/GB range. All acceptable. I may have the numbers wrong but I think I'm probably in the ballpark.

iptrans 7y ago
You are pretty close on the numbers. Fixed network bandwidth is centicents per GB, and that’s for wholesale IP transit. Peering bandwidth can be cheaper at scale. For all intents and purposes fixed bandwidth is too cheap to meter on consumer connections. As such a single fixed monthly rate for unlimited usage at the chosen line rate is the appropriate solution. Also the most consumer friendly way. In regulated markets, wholesale costs for a GB of wireless traffic is less than $3. Here you can argue for billing by usage, but there are markets with true unlimited wireless services, and they do just fine.
- scarejunba 7y ago
  Ah neat. That's cool. I like that. It could also be like fixed below usage and per GB above to mirror the costs. Essentially, small enough that a normal consumer won't see a problem but your torrent 24x7 guy is paying his dues. I have gigabit fibre here in SF and if I ran at full tilt I'm doing 100 MB/s × 3600 s/hr × 0.01 cents / GB × 0.01 GB / MB = 36 cents / hr. And that's $260 on traffic per month. I think it's fine to pay that in overages if you're using at full tilt. I totally get the advantage of not worrying about that. I prefer my unlimited which just has a soft limit but I'd prefer to pay for what I use without subsidizing the 0.01 percentile customer. I'm also a big fan of traffic shaping for wireless because honestly my WhatsApp message is probably more important than my YouTube video. Pause the latter to send the former. Every time. The real tragedy is that we don't have the attention (physically) to be able to auction instantaneous spectrum bandwidth.
  - iptrans 7y ago
    You dropped a zero. There are 1000 MB in a GB, so your cost of running a Gbps line at full tilt is more like 3.6 cents per hour. In other words, bill everybody a dollar per month for bandwidth and worry about it only if average usage per subscriber goes over 10 TB per month.
    - scarejunba 7y ago
      Listen, I have a graduate degree in Mathematics, so a mistake like that was inevitable, especially because I was trying to be careful about it. That changes everything! The full-bore user is only $30 over the non-user. I have completely changed my mind. Why even bother measuring this nonsense? This explains why my provider doesn't charge per usage for my symmetric gigabit plan.

iptrans 7y ago

You are pretty close on the numbers. Fixed network bandwidth is centicents per GB, and that’s for wholesale IP transit. Peering bandwidth can be cheaper at scale. For all intents and purposes fixed bandwidth is too cheap to meter on consumer connections. As such a single fixed monthly rate for unlimited usage at the chosen line rate is the appropriate solution. Also the most consumer friendly way. In regulated markets, wholesale costs for a GB of wireless traffic is less than $3. Here you can argue for billing by usage, but there are markets with true unlimited wireless services, and they do just fine.

scarejunba 7y ago
Ah neat. That's cool. I like that. It could also be like fixed below usage and per GB above to mirror the costs. Essentially, small enough that a normal consumer won't see a problem but your torrent 24x7 guy is paying his dues. I have gigabit fibre here in SF and if I ran at full tilt I'm doing 100 MB/s × 3600 s/hr × 0.01 cents / GB × 0.01 GB / MB = 36 cents / hr. And that's $260 on traffic per month. I think it's fine to pay that in overages if you're using at full tilt. I totally get the advantage of not worrying about that. I prefer my unlimited which just has a soft limit but I'd prefer to pay for what I use without subsidizing the 0.01 percentile customer. I'm also a big fan of traffic shaping for wireless because honestly my WhatsApp message is probably more important than my YouTube video. Pause the latter to send the former. Every time. The real tragedy is that we don't have the attention (physically) to be able to auction instantaneous spectrum bandwidth.
- iptrans 7y ago
  You dropped a zero. There are 1000 MB in a GB, so your cost of running a Gbps line at full tilt is more like 3.6 cents per hour. In other words, bill everybody a dollar per month for bandwidth and worry about it only if average usage per subscriber goes over 10 TB per month.
  - scarejunba 7y ago
    Listen, I have a graduate degree in Mathematics, so a mistake like that was inevitable, especially because I was trying to be careful about it. That changes everything! The full-bore user is only $30 over the non-user. I have completely changed my mind. Why even bother measuring this nonsense? This explains why my provider doesn't charge per usage for my symmetric gigabit plan.