it’s quite a success that you don’t have to pay additional money to send a megabyte to another continent than you have to pay to send it to your neighbor while you have to pay more when you make a phonecall
Is it a success? If sending a megabyte to another continent costs more, then it’s plausible that things would work better if the sender actually pays that cost. We may not know what we’re missing.
A young lady (20) in Japan who had the temerity to charge her phone using a socket at a railway station has been arrested for theft of electricity, after a passerby called police to avert the robbery, having stolen 0.015 watt hours (or 54 joules), worth a shocking total of 0.03 yen ($0.0003).
The lady, a student, is suspected of charging her phone at a station whilst waiting with a friend. A passerby saw the crime in progress and dialed 110, summoning police, who came rushing the arrest the thief before she fled with her ill-gotten gains.
After being arrested the thief was repentant: “I understand now it was a bad thing to do.”
Police issued a reprimand, but did not consider her crime grievous enough to prosecute, treating it as a minor offence.
The police in charge had this to add: “Theft is theft, even three hundredths of a yen.”
Is it a success? If sending a megabyte to another continent costs more, then it’s plausible that things would work better if the sender actually pays that cost. We may not know what we’re missing.
This doesn’t directly address your comment; it just came to mind.
Girl Arrested for Charging Cell Phone (link Not Safe for Work)