This kind of service is pretty trivial, you can run it for cents per user. If you allow the web to move to a model where you have to pay dollars for a service

This kind of service is pretty trivial, you can run it for cents per user. If you allow the web to move to a model where you have to pay dollars for a service worth cents it turns into the same kind of market as the mobile phone operators market charging fees for sms messages: a total rip off. Why does this needs to be a business anyway? The only reason is because it can be.