[lsc]

unless their load is /way/ more peaky than average, they are most likely lying. The people running ISPs know this stuff. I mean, unless their margin is so high that bandwidth costs don't matter, getting different customers with different peaks is what ISPs /do/ (well, it's what transit providers do, and any ISP of sufficient size eventually starts acting like a transit provider.)

[Bo102010]

I'm saying the engineers may know it, but their bosses _do not_.

[lsc]

It's possible? but I'd be very surprised if this was common. First, it's fairly core to the business of being an ISP; second, it's a fairly easy concept to grasp. I could pretty easily explain the concept to someone who is average; I mean, most upper management looks kinda dumb compared to Engineering, but they are usually above average, even if they usually spend more points on social stuff that doesn't correlate with G.

This would be like saying the president of ford motor company doesn't understand the difference between the EPA 'city' and 'highway' mileage numbers, and how to game each. Sure, if it's convenient, he might claim ignorance to the press, but there's no way he doesn't understand something that central to the business.