My internet provider claims that the data transmission from internet traffic, puts such a strain on the copper wires, that all their clients have to pay a fee for "copper wear-down". I don't mind the fee (it's very small), but i'm curious about, how the data signal affects the copper wire?The copper wire system in the area is all underground.
Sounds like a load of hooey. What you're actually paying is a maintenance charge if they have to dig up the wire and replace it for any reason.
I think the internet provider is using terminology that is not very descriptive. The term 'wear-down' implies that the copper wire is being damaged in some way. That's physically impossible - data transmission does not cause any damage at all to copper wire. I think what is more likely is that the copper wire system was designed for a presumed level of usage (both number of users, and data transmission rate), and what the internet provider is really doing is collecting an additional fee from you to pay for eventual replacement of that wire with something else. That's a sensible thing to do. A good analogy would be a toll bridge across a river. You pay a toll each time you cross the bridge. As time goes by, more and more traffic will use that bridge, and eventually, it will need to be replaced with a larger bridge. The money paid in tolls was intended to provide for both maintenance and eventual replacement. The challenge you have is that over time, increased usage will result in degradation of the service you experience - not because the wire has degraded in some way, but because the total usage has exceeded its design specification. As you start to experience deterioration in service, you should start complaining to the internet provider to force him to use some of that reserve to upgrade his system to support the higher level of usage. Of course, the internet provider will be reluctant to do that because he will have spent that reserve on something else - - - (just like the governmental agency that built the toll bridge).
