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Van Chocstraw wrote:

>Our power is metered so we only pay for what we use. Why can't broadband
>and cable tv be metered so we only pay for what we use. Right now we pay
>the same if we download a terabyte a day or do nothing for a month. On
>TV we pay the same if you only watch 1 hour a day or 24 hours a day.
>There is something wrong with that. I want to just pay for what I use
>allowing for a small access charge.

I think metered bandwidth would be more trouble then it's worth. I mean, they
would have to charge different rates for different users and the outcome would
be some convoluted "plan" similar to cell phone contracts. The wireless phone
companies are just now getting away from that model and migrating to
reasonable unlimited plans.

On the TV side I couldn't agree more. I have 400+ channels and I only watch
maybe 25. I also have to pay an extra $10/mo. for HD and some of the channels
are not available in HD like Comedy Network, FX, MSNBC. Those behind the
scenes make bundle deals with major networks to determine what channels I get.
I would rather pick channels a-la-carte and maybe pay $.50/channel/mo. then
pay per hour watched though. Then there is of course the commercials which
seem to occupy more and more time. Why do I have to pay to watch ad-supported
TV?