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In the end, we are talking about a finite resource, because the Internet can only handle so much data transfer at one time. One way or another, your packets hav
by jff 15y ago
In the end, we are talking about a finite resource, because the Internet can only handle so much data transfer at one time. One way or another, your packets have to travel over physical infrastructure which, just like your home network, has a maximum capacity. Use of this infrastructure costs money; charging by bandwidth should help prevent users from "clogging the tubes" willy-nilly because there is a cost associated with excessive use.
- Karunamon 15y agoExcept most providers don't charge by time and demand (which would actually make sense), but by a fixed cap or fixed cost per byte. If the problem is congestion as you suggest, surely it would make more sense to charge different amounts based on time of day, length of session, etc? Which would give Amazon more trouble? 1,000 TB spread out over a month, or 1,000 TB spread out over a day? Their current pricing model assumes both of these are equal, which they are plainly not. Aside: Caps make the same mistake. If you have a 250GB cap, the ahem ISP charges the same whether you burn through that cap in a month or in a day.
- p9idf 15y agoIt is more complicated than that. Customer convenience must be considered. For instance, I and many others like me will not buy data transfer from someone when figuring the cost requires me to account for the time of day and phase of the moon.
- Karunamon 15y agoCustomers already deal with such billing from other companies and it's not difficult. Ever had a cell phone? During the day counts against an allotment, after a certain time at night, calls are free. For a home internet connection it would probably be reversed, as peak usage is right after work lets out. Some power companies also do the same thing.