> Is asking people to pay for what they use really that uncommon of an idea in the States?
Not from the states but from a country without data caps on either mobile data or home: we do pay what we use, but not by the traffic. The pricing is done here by the speed you want to get your data or upload.
I literally pay to raise my Internet connection from a measly 5Mbps to 100Mbps (theoretical max) then I pay extra to increase my data allowance. I guess it comes down to how much access costs. I'm presently on unlimited data, max speed available and I'm looking at about $75USD/month.
EDIT: I should note that I'm with a budget ISP. Most charge more than what I'm paying.
Not from the states but from a country without data caps on either mobile data or home: we do pay what we use, but not by the traffic. The pricing is done here by the speed you want to get your data or upload.