comsumer download speeds outpacing upload speeds

With Verizon announcing profits on its FIOS service, AT and T announcing faster speeds on dsl then the cable companies scrabbling to increase download speeds to keep pace I have noticed that the cost per MB of download bandwidth is WAY outpacing the cost of our upload bandwidth, where a 100 MB pipe used to be just fine , is now painfully show to hang a server on. Unfortunately although costs are dropping at data centers a little they are in no way dropping to the extent needed to be able to offer the higher bandwidth that is becoming the expected norm for speed hungry consumers. Have other people noticed this and are data centers offering better rates especially for adult hosting or is it just time to tighten our belts. ?

years ago I read an article on Slashdot which basically stated that download bandwidth was free or nearly free while upload bandwidth was where the providers had their actual cost. There was an explantion as to why this made sense, but I don't really remember what it was (it was rather complicated, as I remember.) Hence the stuff you see with all the providers offering 6Mbps down and 256k up.

So my guess is that while we'll probably see a continuation of the price drop, there will probably always be a big disparity between download bandwidth and upload.

Also dont forget, as the price of bandwidth drops, the demand for larger types of content is constantly increasing. If you had mentioned on any adult board 5 years ago that we'd have moved to a timeline where video, much less streaming video or even user submitted video would become the accepted 'norm' you would have been laughed at.

Its not going to be long before we're all streaming 1 hour previews to get a surfer to become a member on our sites so while bandwith costs are decreasing, usage is increasing and as more and more sites such as YouTube hit the web, its not going to be long before we all start being charged on a bandwidth basis by our ISPs.

Regards,

Lee