首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
考研
The staggering variety of free stuff available on the Internet sometimes seems to have repealed the first law of economics: Ther
The staggering variety of free stuff available on the Internet sometimes seems to have repealed the first law of economics: Ther
admin
2015-07-13
33
问题
The staggering variety of free stuff available on the Internet sometimes seems to have repealed the first law of economics: There’s no such thing as a free lunch. But as so often happens, the dismal science actually has it right. When it looks like you’re getting something for nothing, somebody is paying, and it’s often instructive to know who that is.
I’ve been testing a new phone service called ooma that provides an interesting case in point. Once you pay $399 up front for a box called the ooma Hub and connect it to your phone and the Internet via your home network, you are promised free, unlimited phone calls over two lines, plus voice mail. The system works fine and is simple to set up.
When a voice-over-Internet call has to go to a regular phone number, a service such as ooma usually has to pay a ’termination fee" to a carrier such as Verizon. Skype, for example, charges 2% per minute for calls outside the Skype network. But ooma avoids this by using some of its customers—those who have kept regular phone lines—to serve as gateways onto the local phone network at no charge.
When you want to call outside the ooma network, the call moves from your Hub over the Internet to a second landline-connected Hub within the destination’s local calling area. The Hub dials the target number and patches the call through. In effect, ooma customers with landlines pay to keep the whole system going. You don’t even notice if your landline is being used because your own phone calls go out over your broadband connection, with your flat-rate monthly phone bill covering the ooma traffic. In fact, this improves the efficiency of the phone system by putting idle lines to work. But if ooma ever gains real traction, I expect a legal assault from big phone companies, which are losing income from termination fees.
Web services do take advantage of genuine economies. The phone network is more expensive than the Net. Lots of Net players build on these advantages. Skype relies on selected users who act, often without their knowledge, as "super nodes" to manage the system. FreeConference.com provides calls by taking advantage of regulatory quirks—namely, the stiff termination fees long-distance carriers must pay to certain rural phone companies that handle calls into their territory. In effect, the free conferences are subsidized by customers and shareholders of the long-distance carriers. You may as well enjoy free calls while you can. But it’s always a good idea to read the fine print. If it isn’t obvious who’s paying for a free service, it might well be you.
The ooma system promised free, unlimited phone calls by _____.
选项
A、connecting the ooma Hub to your phone
B、taking advantage of their customers
C、paying termination fee to carrier Verizon
D、keeping regular local phone lines
答案
B
解析
推理判断题。文章第三段提到ooma是通过利用一些使用常规电话线的用户而提供免费无限制打电话的服务,故选B。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/F074777K
0
考研英语一
相关试题推荐
Ifthereisanyendeavourwhosefruitsshouldbefreelyavailable,thatendeavourissurelypubliclyfinancedscience.Morally,
Itisatruthuniversallyacknowledgedthateducationisthekeytoeconomicsuccess.Everyoneknowsthatthejobsofthefuture
Itisatruthuniversallyacknowledgedthateducationisthekeytoeconomicsuccess.Everyoneknowsthatthejobsofthefuture
WriteacertificateforClairishComputersLtd.,clarifyingyourqualificationtocertifythiscompany,yourrelationshipwith
Asafreshmaninuniversity,youhavesomequestionsinjoiningactivitiesinschool.WritealettertothePresidentofStudent
YouareastudentofBeijingScienceandEngineeringUniversity.Writeanapplicationtogetascholarshipforyourgraduatestu
Publicimagereferstohowacompanyisviewedbyitscustomers,suppliers,andstockholders,bythefinancialcommunity,bythe
Wesometimeshearthatessaysareanold-fashionedform,thatso-and-soisthe"lastessayist",butthefactsofthemarketplace
In1998consumerscouldpurchasevirtuallyanythingovertheInternet.Books,compactdiscs,andevenstockswereavailablefrom
In1998consumerscouldpurchasevirtuallyanythingovertheInternet.Books,compactdiscs,andevenstockswereavailablefrom
随机试题
一、注意事项1.申论考试是对应试者的阅读概括能力、综合分析能力、言语表达能力及实用文体写作能力的综合测试。2.请首先在题本和答题卡上填写(涂)好自己的姓名和准考证号,准考证号一律从左到右填写,答题卡上的准考证号横排空白方格用蓝、黑色墨水笔填
关于框架柱的轴压比,下列说法中正确的是
A、化痰止咳B、消肿生肌C、宣肺平喘D、下乳消肿E、引血下行虎杖味苦、性微寒,除活血祛瘀外,还能
下列关于金融负债初始计量的说法中,错误的是()。
中国公民孙先生承包一企业,对经营成果不拥有所有权,2016年孙先生取得承包所得24万元,另每月领取生活费3000元,2016年孙先生应缴纳个人所得税()元。
某首饰制造企业(增值税一般纳税人),主要生产加工并零售金银首饰、钻石饰品和其他贵重首饰,2015年8月发生以下业务:(1)外购的红宝石不含税价110万元,取得增值税专用发票;本月生产领用65%的外购红宝石继续加工成宝石手链,销售给某商贸企业,开具的增值税
出租车在开始10千米以内收费10.4元,以后每走1千米收费1.6元,请问走20千米需要收多少钱?()
为增强访问网页的安全性,可以采用(47)协议。
下列选项中不符合良好程序设计风格的是()。
Youaretowriteacompositionofnolessthan250wordsanddoyourcompositionneatlyontheAnswerSheet.Yourcompositionsh
最新回复
(
0
)