Is this site really necessary? Don't 'free' ISPs kill your argument? Unmetered local calls will never happen But electricity and gas are metered The problem is the cost of PCs The network can't cope! Dial 999 for unmetered Metered local call charges are reasonable

Why should I pay for someone else's calls? Computer gamers will cause trouble ISP charges would replace phone charges An American Mythbuster Unmetered calls would trouble ISPs People on low incomes would be affected Unmetered calls would favour the South-East

Unmetered calls would trouble ISPs This is probably the most commonly raised objection to unmetered access, and the brutal answer to it is 'So what?'. After all, there's no doubt that Internet users want unmetered access and that unmetered access would attract users. With general unmetered access Internet Service Providers would either sink or swim; swimming would probably involve buying more modems, if required, to improve the users-to-modem ratio. This ratio is known from experience; it's not rocket science. If an ISP is unable to invest in its own infrastructure, as needed, its viability should be questioned, as would the viability of any other business which can't support its customers. There's no reason why businesses in the telecommunications sector should be protected: we are sure that many United Kingdom ISPs are happy with the current situation because they don't have to try hard. ISPs in other countries, for starters, can cope with unmetered access, so there is much precedent and, surely, a lot of acquired knowledge for UK ISPs, not being competitors, to tap into. For example, modem ratios (the number of users per modem required to support unmetered access) are known; working out these numbers is not rocket science. And The Direct Connection and other UK ISPs who already support unmetered access can cope in any case! There's a feeling that unmetered access would lead to the demise of many ISPs. We disagree; given the rise of 'free' ISPs, why have none of the £10-a-month ISPs folded? Quite apart from scepticism on the part of users who keep their £10-a-month accounts going despite it all, there is a lot of slack. We know of ISPs with two or three hundred subscribers which work perfectly well; once the capital outlay on equipment is made the marginal cost of running an ISP is low and staff costs are the principal expenditure. In any case, we see lots of small local ISPs as being the principal route to unmetered access. Finally, the fatal blow to this objection is the AOL announcement.