I am at a Starbucks in Sioux City, Ia. using their wireless connection. Thank god for Starbucks. I get coffee and wireless access when I need it.
As always, I see economics everywhere I go. Here at Starbucks, as in many coffee shops, customers put their own cream into their coffee but the access to coffee is controlled. Why does Starbucks give customers unlimited cream but charge them for extra coffee? Are people more altruistic when it comes to using cream and sugar than they are when it comes to drinking coffee?
Of course not. The marginal utility of extra cream is near zero once you've filled your cup while the marginal utility from more coffee is greater than zero. For me, the marginal utility of cream in my coffee is zero to begin with. If there were unlimited coffee here, I'd probably depart more wired than the local electric company.