When you have an unregulated monopoly, usage-based billing is just one tool in their book for extracting more money from customers.<p>If internet service in the US were not effectively unregulated or not effectively a monopoly, usage-based billing would not be a problem.<p>Consider the lowly restaurant.  Say a buffet restaurant comes out to $20 per diner.  If you&#x27;re not a top-10% eater, you could probably go to a menu-based restaurant and eat as much food as you would care to for just $10; or you could go to a $40-a-plate restaurant for food of a quality you simply don&#x27;t get at either of the other choices.<p>In my scenario, unless the quantity itself is what you want (and, with data as well as with food, trust me—it&#x27;s not), you get neither the cheapest product nor the best product when you buy the unlimited-quantity product.<p>If we had a working market for broadband in this country, you would find the same thing: the cheapest ISP will be cheaper than the unlimited ISP, and the unlimited ISP will not have the best quality of product available.