Post by thread:Totally [OT] - Re: A question for the Brits.

In message <spam_OUT34438763.38FF6DATakeThisOuTsunada.com>, Matt Bonner <.....mbonnerKILLspam@spam@SUNADA.COM> writes: > A question for you British PIClisters: > > My girlfriend (an ex-Brit) says that each e-mail sent from the UK > costs 10 pence. She figures that's why her brother doesn't send very > much mail. Considering the volume of mail on this list from the UK, I > find this charge on e-mail hard to believe - perhaps it's just one > particular ISP. Any comments? Any suggestions as to an ISP that > doesn't do this? > > Thanks, Matt Doesn't this sound like a neat excuse on the fellow's part? Surely even at that rate, it's cheaper than surface mail postage and a good deal. But of course, it's ridiculous anyway! E-mail is just one of the forms of internet traffic and volume-wise, a minor component. If there was a charge for it by one server, there would immediately be a rash of offers by other servers to under-cut it. No reason you have to use your own ISP to handle your mail! The real worry is the exorbitant BT connect charges! Wow! There is a move afoot to time-charge local DATA calls in this country to profiteer >from the Internet. Maybe that is reasonable with a fee of a couple of dollars a DAY, but $2.00 per HOUR (rough equivalent in our currency of one English pound) is a rip-off, twice what I pay at "economy" rate (before noon) to the ISP here, as well as the 25 cent local call fee for my average of ¹ to one hour connect time. But I suppose they would call that cheap compared to the all-up fee to use the telecommunications company's OWN ISP service, about $6 to $8 per hour I understand! Cheers, Paul B.