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My understanding of modern networks is that to first approximation, the bandwidth is free and what costs money is actually making and maintaining the connections. All the unused bandwidth is wasted in the same sense that unused CPU cycles are a wasted resource. So, it is wasteful to _not_ have that Internet radio on ;-) Seriously, if you are listening to Michigan Radio, the stream is coming off servers at U-M and our connection to them goes across fiber that is partly owned by MSU. Pretty sure there are no per bit fees there, just the fees to make and keep the connection. There probably are fees involved when traffic goes from Merit to commercial networks, don't know how those would be structured. -Tom Ray Hernandez wrote: > I envision a bunch of little yellow stickers stuck to people's > monitors with a sad computer face saying "Why waste?" Similar to the > ones seen on the light switches around campus. > --Ray > > On Jan 17, 2008, at 12:40 PM, Brian Hoort wrote: > >> NAGgers: >> >> We have several users who listen to Internet radio on their campus >> workstations. Often, they’ll let it play all day, even if they are >> not at their desks. This has bothered me because I am under the >> impression that MSU pays for our bandwidth per bit used and not with >> an all-you-can-eat subscription basis, like we do at home (DSL, >> cable). If so, leaving the radio on when not listening would be akin >> to leaving the refrigerator door open while you’re at work—just watch >> that meter go!. How does MSU pay for bandwidth, and is there a >> policy or recommendation against “leaving the refrigerator door >> open”? I realize this brings up a whole can of worms, like our >> computers being used as Skype master nodes, peer-to-peer file >> sharing, academic freedom, etc., and it is not my intention to rouse >> a discussion on this quagmire, I’m just hoping to learn how we are >> charged for bandwidth so that we can police ourselves better. >> >> Thanks >> >> Brian Hoort >> [log in to unmask] >>