
ISPs' costs, revenues don't support data cap argument - terpua
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/05/isps-costs-revenues-dont-support-data-cap-argument.ars
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paul7986
US ISPs are video providers. THere is no doubt in the next five to ten years
online video will cannibalize their cable biz models. Economically I only see
capping bandwidth as a way to sustain and increase their profits!

Online video currently provides me with freedom of choice I have not had with
the cable biz model; no a la carte options! It's great now (not's sport fan)
as it's free and I watch what i want to when I want to. Though I know this
free ride won't last too long; hopefully it does for awhile though as I only
pay the cost of Internet!

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quoderat
Like any business, they are trying to grab as much money as they can, hoping
no one will notice.

People noticed, in Time Warner's case, and they got called on it.

Not ethical or nice, but it is the way our system works.

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andrewljohnson
Why does this article not compare the gross margins of various industries?

It seems worthless (and disingenuous) to quote absolute figures in the
billions.

For example, Exxon made 40.6 billion in profits in 2008:
[http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/economy/2008/02/01/e...](http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/economy/2008/02/01/exxons-
profits-measuring-a-record-windfall.html)

That's more than the entire ISP industry, but does it matter even a little
bit?

