I'm not sure I follow the argument. The scheduling seems like it would be de-coupled from the provisioning. With the static rate limit, if the only additional

I'm not sure I follow the argument. The scheduling seems like it would be de-coupled from the provisioning. With the static rate limit, if the only additional requests are from the high-rate client, then those requests are ignored and the server is idle. With the fair scheduling, the server is only idle if all requests from all clients are filled. Which is beneficial depends on how the payment scales. If clients pay for access up to some rate limit, then the rate limit is there to enforce payment, and serving additional requests above that rate limit is an additional cost without a benefit. If clients pay per request, then any rate limits are there to ensure quality of service, and serving additional requests above the rate limit is additional revenue.