Pricing different bits

Andrew Odlyzko, a professor at the University of Minnesota, thinks that price discrimination might not be in telecoms companies' interests after all. Unlike on canals, toll roads and so forth, internet capacity is abundant. Internet service is therefore a commodity. Simpler, flat-rate pricing, he argues, is likely to increase usage: discrimination would turn some users away.

Hey, celcos take heed!

More at the Economist.

The full thesis is here.