[e2e] The e2e cost of bandwidth

[Henning Schulzrinne]

For a panel, I'm trying to get some quotable data on bandwidth 
prices/costs for commercial users of modest size. (Thus, a DSL that's 
oversubscribed 100:1 doesn't count.) So far, I'm finding mostly 
breathless hype on how much bandwidth prices have fallen, but no real data.

To provide some counter-intuitive data that begs to be contradicted: 
http://www.coop.net, a not-for-profit cooperative ISP in Colorado. 
Courtesy of http://www.archive.org, has charged the following in the 
past 7 years:

1996: $500/month
1998: $500/month
2000: $550/month
2001: $650/month
2002: $640/month ($555/month for 3-year contract)
2003: "as low as $555/month"

Their detailed 2003 prices are no longer available on the web.

(Their pricing model has changed over the years, but I tried to pick 
reasonably comparable prices reflecting the second and onward year of 
one-year contracts. This price does not include the telecom leased line 
costs, which seem to have changed hardly at all.)

Clearly, this is only one set of data points, but since a T1 is mostly a 
T1, one would imagine that the price is roughly in line with that 
charged by competitors. If anybody has other data, even if it requires 
removing the name of provider, please let me know.

Henning