Usage of the net = $ when it should be free.
Spoken like a true "I've never been in the corporate world" person. Got news for you, the internet is NOT free. Your ISP *PAYS* to allow you to connect to the internet. Why you ask? Is electricity free? All the servers at your ISP run off of electricity, right? And that costs money, right? So, how exactly should the ISPs pay for "keeping the lights on" when they aren't charging? That's just one (trivial) example. The biggest cost is bandwidth. Yes, it costs money to send data across the internet. Why? Well think of it this way. The internet is one big sewer. Each building (computer) is connected via pipes (wires). Now, a pipe can only hold so much water (information), there comes a point where no more water will fit into the pipe. This means that the total water flow through out the sewer is limited. So how do you regulate the water flow? You charge people to have exclusive rights to some of those pipes. Consider, you and your neighbors share one sewer pipe... you'll be calling a plumber weekly to have your toilets unclogged. On the other hand, if every house has it's own pipe, then it's ok because a smaller amount of water is flowing through, and the pipes can handle that.
That's pretty much the internet right there. Except instead of pipes (and they are often called pipes) you have wires, instead of buildings/toilets you have PCs, and instead of water you have information. But the example is the same. If you want to ensure your information is always going to make it to where you want it to go, you have to setup the wires to ensure that... And of course, the internet is global. So, do you think they run a wire from the US to China? Nope, they use a satellite. Any idea how much it costs to put a satellite in orbit? It's in the millions I'm sure. Then lets not forget the people. Computers don't run themselves you know. Someone has to install software, upgrade hardware, diagnose problems, answer telephones, activate new accounts, etc. You think the ISPs employees are gonna work for free? I doubt it.
So the problem is, you are saying the internet should be free. Well if the internet were free, that would mean EVERYTHING would have to be free. Electricity would need to be free, and for electricity to be free oil, coal, nuclear energy all needs to be free, the equipment to harness that energy must be free, and the people who operate that equipment must do it for free. Then all the wires must be free, which means the copper and fiberoptics must be free, which means again the machines to make them must be free and the workers must work for free. That list goes on and on. The fact remains, you never get something for nothing.