Heck, it was a bargain. But that was in 1984. Lines were expensive. Hardware was expensive. Even the software was expensive.
Networks are cheap.
Today, the only sensible way to charge for network usage is based on the size of the pipe. That's one price, per month, all month. Faster lines cost more. Not only does this kind of charging closely mirror the actual costs incurred in running the network, it makes sense to the consumer of the service. That's a rarity in today's business world.