"Thomas Mueller" <tmueller@bluegrass.net>  wrote:
 > I don't know where you are, but in the USA, in parts where cable Internet or
 > DSL is available, the price is < $60/month, and those connections are always-on.

Canada.  But those are cable companies and telcos who are able to 
subsidize their 'internet' business with their other more profitable
businesses.  So the cost to customer is not necessarily representative
of the real cost of doing business. The world at large has come to 
expect that it is their god-given right to get 24x7 T1 speed bandwidth
to their home for $39.95/month.