The costs of that network expansion, however, are evident to almost anyone who flies: the risk of huge delays.
The use of advanced receivers presents an inherent advantage in that, since the interference is mitigated at the receiver, there is no need to limit the interfering cell's resources, effectively eliminating the performance cost that network-based coordination implies.
As Peter Kafka pointed out a few weeks ago, YouTube, Demand Media, and others are creating a ton of on-demand web video series at a fraction of the cost that networks like Scripps spend to produce similar programming.
Under the terms of the proposed settlement, merchants could offer consumers an immediate discount or rebate for using a particular type of payment, a particular credit card network (Visa versus American Express), or a low-cost card within that network (a Visa debit card rather than a Visa credit card).
Given that network costs are significantly driven by peak capacity requirements, many proposals for more cost-reflective tariffs include a demand (capacity) component.
And branch networks add a cost that can only be justified by cross-selling.
Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that CBS is considering outsourcing its newsgathering to CNN (though both parties denied), a sign of cutting costs that reflects the network's low ratings (indeed, Dan Rather connected the rumor to the company's low stock price and sluggish ratings under Moonves and Sumner Redstonee's leadership).
That is a cost that the network won't be able to afford for long, and neither will the rest of us.
The division lost 237,000 subscribers in the quarter as narrowband customers migrated to broadband providers and advertising declined 5percentt because of a loss of $31 million in intercompany revenue, but big revenue from paid search ads -- $27 million -- and network costs that were $132 million lower than they were in the period a year earlier allowed the company to show better earnings.
And, even if Verizon spent $200 million in just New York, and in just one year, it would still be a fraction of the network costs that have been allocated against the copper-based local phone service revenues.
