Many people appear to use the Internet for free regardless of distance or volume of traffic.
Faculty members and others in institutions that have connections to the Internet through their regional networks ordinarily do not see any charges because most institutions have not chosen to recover their costs through usage charges to the end user. Those fees are usually membership fees that provide operations, training, and access. In addition, the institution usually is paying the regional telephone company for the high-speed line that connects the campus network to the regional network. In some instances, the charge is a flat fee governed by a maximum number of users. Total costs of networking include local computer support and local network infrastructure, in addition to the wide area services.