Well show me a poor person that creates job and gives a decent paycheck and maybe I'd agree with your statement. I work for a multi-billonaire, privately owned company and if she continues to give me a paycheck every two weeks I'm happy; as long as she is fat and rich I don't care; I have a job.

oh man .. Reaganomics ... :( --

I might just agree to go along with the concept of pay-as-you-go with broadband (I did with dial-up, after all), but I'm not enthused with the idea of paying to download ads and irrelevant pop-ups along with the stuff I actually do want.

Then simply block ads, there's a plethora of ways to accomplish that.

The first internet provider was GEnie. You paid for hourly access, it was around $6 per hour. Then Sears came out with Prodigy. After Prodigy was Compuserve, then AOL.

The first internet provider was GEnie. You paid for hourly access, it was around $6 per hour. Then Sears came out with Prodigy. After Prodigy was Compuserve, then AOL.

WOW, dollars an hour, that is extremely expensive!!!

Coming soon to a freeway or bridge near you: scanners/computers that record your license plate, decide if you are a motorcycle, car or truck (and how big) and bill you at month end for your consumption of the road system.In place NOW in many locations around the world.A good example of User Pay!Nothing in life is free- even the Soviet Union gave up on that!Be prepared also, to pay for your share of internet consumption- which until now has been dirt cheap due to the excess capacity built during the wild Dot Com boom of a dozen years ago. Investors today, are likely to be somewhat nervous about ploughing more money into new I/Net capacity. In effect- "show me today's profits before I throw more money into the internet."AR

Of course we shouldn't have to pay for bandwidth. We shouldn't have to pay organisations like Microsoft and add-on developers for their products either. Come to think of it I shouldn't have to pay for the electricity my computer uses either.Let's have a campaign for totally free flight simulation - it's our right!

Coming soon to a freeway or bridge near you: scanners/computers that record your license plate, decide if you are a motorcycle, car or truck (and how big) and bill you at month end for your consumption of the road system. In place NOW in many locations around the world.

yes, drive along them myself in seattle, WA, hwy 167. did the same when the early systems were put in in minneapolis, MN,.difference here ... LIMITED resoure (being the roads). i know ... i live in SEATTLE ... top 10 for worse traffic in USA.the ISPs ARE making money ... LOTS of money ... PILES of money. they have no need to increase 'rates' and 'cap' Internet use .... except for greed -

AT&T

Chairman and

CEO

Randall Stephenson earned about $18 million in 2009 ... over 500 times the average pay of an 'average american worker'.

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Having a bit of a laugh at this thread... we've always had bandwidth caps here in South Africa. Used to pay more than $10 per gig. Only in the last year are we getting 2 gigs for $5 or so, and many "uncapped" offerings are just false advertising. Some of you seem to suggest that unlimited bandwidth is some sort of god given right, but then surely electricity and water should be too? But it isn't, for obvious reasons. I'm sure they won't, and probably can't start charging you according to bandwidth used after so long, but nobody can really argue that the proposed concept is "wrong".

Of course we shouldn't have to pay for bandwidth. We shouldn't have to pay organisations like Microsoft and add-on developers for their products either. Come to think of it I shouldn't have to pay for the electricity my computer uses either.Let's have a campaign for totally free flight simulation - it's our right!

Who said it was free to begin with?????? I pay monthly for my internet, every month. Which is acceptable.

-------AT&T[/b] Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson earned about $18 million in 2009 ... over 500 times the average pay of an 'average american worker'.[/indent][/indent]--

Your argument is a non starter. Assuming Mr Stephenson felt sufficiently remorseful to return $15 million to his fellow citizens, each would receive less than 5 cents! One might hope that instead, Mr Stephenson might just reinvest some of his pay in new Internet capacity to benefit us lowly flight simmers!AR

The big problem i see for example , evrytime my weather updates, Im charged for it, everytime i see another aircraft on vatsim, Im charged for it, Evrytime i send message on vatsim im charged for it, everytime i check my ebay account, im charged for it, every time i look at my local news online im charged for it, everytime i lookup weather for my city, im charged for it etc. etc. On top of my monthly fee as it is.I think that would affect a lot more than just the internet user on his home laptop. Plain and simple: NOT A GOOD IDEA!!!!!

The big problem i see for example , evrytime my weather updates, Im charged for it, everytime i see another aircraft on vatsim, Im charged for it, Evrytime i send message on vatsim im charged for it, everytime i check my ebay account, im charged for it, every time i look at my local news online im charged for it, everytime i lookup weather for my city, im charged for it etc. etc. On top of my monthly fee as it is.I think that would affect a lot more than just the internet user on his home laptop. Plain and simple: NOT A GOOD IDEA!!!!!

Since I have never used VATSIM, I hope you are not proposing that I should help to pay for your VATSIM/I'Net time.In my part of Canada, the electric meter spins faster when I switch on a light as does the gas meter if I turn up the thermostat. That's USER PAY. Keeping warm and out of the dark is a higher social objective than playing a game on the net.Why should I'Net time be any different? Somebody has to pay for all that fibre optic cable- how about the users?AR

The big problem i see for example , evrytime my weather updates, Im charged for it, everytime i see another aircraft on vatsim, Im charged for it, Evrytime i send message on vatsim im charged for it, everytime i check my ebay account, im charged for it, every time i look at my local news online im charged for it, everytime i lookup weather for my city, im charged for it etc. etc. On top of my monthly fee as it is.I think that would affect a lot more than just the internet user on his home laptop. Plain and simple: NOT A GOOD IDEA!!!!!

I'm sorry but every time I turn on the kettle, I pay for it. Every time I have a shower, I pay for it. Every time I turn on a light, I pay for it. Every time I turn on the television, I pay for it. It won't be on top of your monthly fee, things will be adjusted, and there's still no real argument against it. It won't be NICE because you're so used to things as they are.

Your argument is a non starter. Assuming Mr Stephenson felt sufficiently remorseful to return $15 million to his fellow citizens, each would receive less than 5 cents!

he makes, in a year, EIGHT TIMES what the average US worker will make IN THEIR LIFETIME of work (assuming most people will work about 45 years).it will take TWENTY FIVE people working for a combined 1100 YEARS to earn the money stephenson has made over the past FOUR years.at what point, AT WHAT POINT, is it too much?remember - stephenson is making 'chump change' when measured against his peers.--