Indeed, offering unlimited bandwidth puts the provider in a position similar to that of an insurer, with a high bandwidth user equivalent to a customer who causes insurance losses. Thus, for such a scheme to work, they need to have low loss coverage costs and broad risk distribution. As has been pointed out above, Yahoo can probably achieve the former; they are also in a much better position for the latter -- they have marketing channels through which they can reach a lot of average customers. Compare this to a small provider whose unlimited hosting package might end up attracting mainly users who got kicked out of their last "unlimited" plan.
Slashdot Mirror
Indeed, offering unlimited bandwidth puts the provider in a position similar to that of an insurer, with a high bandwidth user equivalent to a customer who causes insurance losses. Thus, for such a scheme to work, they need to have low loss coverage costs and broad risk distribution. As has been pointed out above, Yahoo can probably achieve the former; they are also in a much better position for the latter -- they have marketing channels through which they can reach a lot of average customers. Compare this to a small provider whose unlimited hosting package might end up attracting mainly users who got kicked out of their last "unlimited" plan.