High-speed access monopolies have been raising prices gradually for years, until the flow of new customers has decreased to a trickle [PDF], according to ARS Research. (Thanks, Medialife)
ARS predicts that the next step will be the introduction of tiered levels of high-speed access, such as sub-300K service for less than $40/month. As the access monopolies continue to eliminate competition like DirecTV Broadband, we can expect to see them charge us for services that cost them nothing, but are valuable to us.
Directory Assistance used to be free. Back in the 70s, AT&T started running ads on TV “educating” the public about people who were too lazy to pick up the damn phone book and instead used 411. Twenty years later, they were charging $1.25 for a 30-second call to Directory Assistance. That’s $150 an hour.
The onging campaign against “bandwidth hogs” is the first step toward charging you for bandwidth.