My initial comms forays were with BBSs with a 300 bps modem (long since given away), eventually settling on CIX (the Compulink Information eXchange).
My first venture on to the net (sort of) proper was a UUCP (store and forward for mail and USENET, complete with a bang path email address) connection to a machine made from spares by an acquaintance at a BT offshoot. A local call after which my traffic went over BT's internal network to Martlesham Heath, and then on to UKC. UK traffic was free, but international email traffic via the satellite link was several pence per kilobyte. "Downloading" via email could get very expensive.
Later, I switched to Demon's Internet by dial up, complete with long distance rate calls. There were a few 24 hour phone call incidents. Followed, in some sequence, by Pipex (ugh), Nildram (good till they were taken over), Sky (never again, they lied to me), Be (happy, but left on the Sky take over news), BT Business (just say no, unbelievable incompetence), Plusnet, and recently switched to the at long last available Plusnet FTTC.
A pair of Courier HSTs only recently entered my electronic waste box, along with some other dial up modems, an ISDN modem (I think), and a frightening number of ADSL modems. Free to anybody who wants to lumber themselves with them and can collect from the vicinity of Crewe. The power supplies are not available, being jumbled in a big box of spares. I long ago fried my Trailblazer (2400 bps with UUCP spoofing) by connecting the power supply with it turned on (8-(
Returning to question posed in the title - see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_segmentation - internet junkies like us are prepared to pay a lot to get our fix fast.