Bill, I did not change "whenever I demand it" to "all the time". You're hand-waving now. I clearly said that users can't all demand their maximum bandwidth at the same time. That's nothing like "all the time." Every house can't use its 200 amps at the same time, which happens when everyone turns on their AC on a hot day. The electrical grid is not built to the worst case scenario, and it does in fact break down when those events happen. Your shower example is perfect. Yes, you can get 120A tankless water heating for a brief interval. But not "whenever you demand it." If you demand it while the everyone is experiencing an HVAC-induced brownout on a hot day, your won't get it. Period. You never responded to my "BillsNet" real-world example. Is that a straw-man argument too? -mel On Feb 27, 2015, at 12:02 PM, William Herrin <bill@herrin.us<mailto:bill@herrin.us>> wrote: On Fri, Feb 27, 2015 at 2:44 PM, Mel Beckman <mel@beckman.org<mailto:mel@beckman.org>> wrote: In what way is my argument a straw man? I specifically address the assertion you make, that an ISP must deliver X Mbps whenever you demand it, by explaining the real world essential practice of oversubscription. You changed "whenever I demand it" to "all the time" and then proceeded to argue that if everybody used their whole bandwidth all the time, oversubscription wouldn't work and therefore Internet connections would cost thousands of dollars. Well sure, if every house used 200 amps all the time the electric gird would collapse. Yet somehow when my 120 amp tankless electric water heater kicks on for my morning shower I don't black out the city. How could that possibly be? It's a straw man, Mel. Own up to it and move on. Regards, Bill Herrin -- William Herrin ................ herrin@dirtside.com<mailto:herrin@dirtside.com> bill@herrin.us<mailto:bill@herrin.us> Owner, Dirtside Systems ......... Web: <http://www.dirtside.com/>