By 2004, the cost of bandwidth had fallen by more than 90%, despite Internet usage continuing to double every few years.83 As late as 2005, as much as 85% of broadband capacity in the United States was still going unused.84 That meant as soon as new “killer apps” were developed, apps like social media and streaming video, there was plenty of cheap capacity allowing them to roll out to the masses. The tracks, as it were, had already been laid.
