[geeks] Bandwidth education

[Jeff Cole]

Okay. Could someone give me a rundown of how exactly commercial 
bandwidth works? Let's say I want to get a 10mb connection in a colo for 
a reasonable price per mbit. What's the best way to get a reasonable 
price? I assume that billing for the bandwidth is provider specific, but 
is there some generally accepted way of billing for bandwidth? I've 
heard the term 99th percentile tossed around. What is that exactly? I'm 
assuming I'll have telco fees on top of the price of the bandwidth? Can 
I max out the line for the entire month and expect to have the same 
amount due each month, or will it change based on how much bandwidth I 
actually use?

I've never dealt with anything like before, and would like to have a 
fairly solid handle on it before I make any plans or decisions.

Thanks

Jeff