stox@balr.com (Ken Stox) (01/22/91)
One point I have not yet seen made in the "are BBS's a business"
debate, that I think has been overlooked, is that BBS's must be a
great source of income to the phone companies right now even if they
are being charged residential rates. Let's make the following
assumptions:
1) Most BBS usage is during the evening and late night hours
when the telephone system is at it's lowest usage.
2) A great deal of BBS calls, if not the majority, are at the
very least not a 'local' call, but measured service. ( From
what I have read in comp.dcom.telecom, Texas appears to be
flat service. That seems to be an exception to most of the
country; am I wrong in this assumption?? )
So, what is the end result ?? The phone company is getting a great
deal of revenue from times that would normally be idle, or close to
it. What a great deal.
I beleive these points make a significant difference when compared to
hotlines, etc. who are paying business rates since their usage will
probably fall closer to or in peak hours. I always thought the
justification for business rates was that the premium was to offset
the costs necessary to cover the peak load on the network.
Ken Stox [ former sysop of 'yabbs-yet another bulletin board system' ]
stox@balr.com
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