Why do hosts charge for data transfer? Does it cost them anything and why do people need to pay to transfer data? If I had my own T1 line, would I need to pay for data transfer? And why don't I have to pay data transfer for my computer?
Thanks

Of course data transfer costs some $, the host gives money to the noc for it and the noc pays the backbone providers.

Yes of course data costs . "If you had your own T-1 " do think the telco and backbone provider would just give the T-1 ? Yes you would pay for the T-1 , however you would not be charged for data transfer , you would simply pay for the line and would basically be paying for 1.5 mbits of transfer 24/7 whether you are using that much or not . On the flip side you would not be capable of data transfer over 1.5 mbits because the T-1 can't handle more than that . Most providers of servers or services that charge for bandwidth have much more connectivity than what is needed for the servers to have the headroom for transfer spiking even though average use might be much lower . They split the costs of the bandwidth among the clients based on usage .

There is just no free lunch !

Originally posted by everyone
Why do hosts charge for data transfer? Does it cost them anything.... ? ......
If I had my own T1 line ....

If you can get your own T1 line for free, then you are very well justified in wondering why hosts charge for data transfer .... But if you do know that getting your own T1 line costs you money, then your question just does not make sense :D :D

cheers,
:beer:

Web hosting companies have to charge for bandwidth (also known as data transfer) because it is a large expenditure. They have to ensure they have enough connectivity to enable sites to load fast and to prevent packet loss.

One T1 (~$800per month) can do approximately 330gb per month. Web hosting companies will generally buy more lines when 50-75% capacity is reached, as you can see it costs.

DS-3,OC-3 etc.. work out better value but they still cost. Bandwidth is a finite resource, it has be paid for.

I do not own a T1 line, I was just woundering if the provider gives you limits on how much data you are allowed to transfer. Thank you. I understand now.