ISPs 'Exaggerate the Cost of Data' 173
Barence writes "ISPs are wildly exaggerating the cost of increased internet traffic, according to a new report. Fixed and mobile broadband providers have claimed their costs are 'ballooning' because of the expense of delivering high-bandwidth services such as video-on-demand. However, a new report from Plum Consulting claims the cost per additional gigabyte of data for fixed-line ISPs is between €0.01-0.03 per GB. The report labels claims of ballooning costs a 'myth.'"
Re:Carefull (Score:4, Interesting)
The point of asking content providers is that they are a fixed quantity with deep pockets. ISPs know they can't go to the regulators because if the books on the situation got opened they'd get smack from legislatures.
The big problem is that "the Internet" is still very much a series of nonuniform networks with lots of people trying to make toll booths rather than a "fabric" across the country. For instance my Comcast connection to the Internet shows up 30 miles away in the next city when the route is traced. When I had AT&T I think it went over 100 miles before it was "on the Internet".
This is a problem because when you use Skype to call your friend across town with a different ISP the ISPs are holding Skype up for cross-state traffic that should just go across town. That's the problem that needs to be addressed.