when the internet first launched, it was slow, clogged up phone lines and was most certainly not cheap. In fact, most Internet service providers (ISP) charged a flat rate access fee that included 20 hours a month of internet time. After twenty-hours of use, the ISP’s charged an additional per-hour fee. Suppose in 1995, Charter charged a flat rate of $39.95 for the first twenty hours of service and an additional per-hour charge of $5.99.
a. How much would a Charter bill for 18 hours of internet used be in 1995?
b. How much would a Charter bill for 28 hours of internet used be in 1995?
c. Write an equation that could be used to model the total price of your internet service in 1995 from Charter.
a. For 18 hours of internet usage, the flat rate fee of $39.95 would cover the entire usage. Therefore, the Charter bill would be $39.95.
b. For 20 hours of internet usage, the flat rate fee of $39.95 would cover the first 20 hours. For the remaining 8 hours, there would be an additional per-hour charge of $5.99. So, the bill would be $39.95 + (8 * $5.99) = $39.95 + $47.92 = $87.87.
c. Let's denote the total price of internet service as P and the number of hours used as H. The equation that could be used to model the total price of internet service in 1995 from Charter would be:
P = $39.95 + ($5.99 * (H - 20)), where H > 20.