Yes that’s true, BUT think, what effect it would have on the network, it all won’t happen instantaneously. First, if You will be able to lower egress cost for customers from $7TB to $2,5. I foresee the usage of STORJ will grow and data inflow can increase only God’s knows how much, but i think there is no other option, as to arrange these prices better for the needs of SNOs, Customers, and STORJ inc. simultaneously, and find out!
Only then, depending on how much that data inflow will increase, the process of dropping VPNs by SNOs can start. But it’s a process, during such, there always be SOME with VPNs, still gaming the rule /24! BUT if the increase of data flow will be big enough, so 20TB HDD, can fill in reasonable short time, then VPNs will be just unnecessary cost!
I’m talking here, like crazy fast!
like in 6-12 months, or even 3 months, then who needs VPNs to bypass /24 rule. VPN beside cost, are constant pain, it can disconnect by itself, or the app will freeze. They impose transfer limits too, may happen it will be faster to fill the HDD without VPN!
They also causing delays in latency even with downloads, and i don’t remember, is there a race for downloads(ingress) among nodes too?
We can rid off any byzantine actor willing to cut egress or internet plan,
- You are setting the requirements for upload and download for given size of a node.
- You implement measures to check if node is keeping the agreement.
- You can suspend and disqualified a node, if not so.
That’s egress. And internet plan: SNO might be better off to have higher internet plan, in order to fill the HDD faster to get paid better. Were talking about scenario where STORJ grows in terms 20TB in 3-6 months per SNO average, So SNO could freely add HDDs to existing nodes, without need to bypass /24 rule, because the filling will not be any faster with VPN on each HDD. Talking about benefits in filling HDDs from having better download speed, without VPN, surpassing benefits from having nodes on VPN, getting same pieces on each node, but in the end slower. Also VPN’s could not withstand so much traffic for the price, recently Mullvad VPN closed port forwarding, officially because some abuse in content people hosted, but in practice? they got very good speeds of upload, and cost only $5/mo per 5 devices, unlimited bandwidth, i think traffic got them too. VPN’s usually has low upload speeds, so now a SNO even without making egress intentionally lower, is risking suspension or DQ if You implement egress speed audit daily.
Shouldn’t say that, because who knows, maybe You will implement that fast and i’m in trouble too soon… hopes nobody reads that! 
i think I touched the heart of the matter… And a proverb comes to my mind, which clue is somehow like that: “People tend to do sensible things when all else fails.” My concerns are, You will do some things anyway, You don’t think off doing now, but could be little late, when nodes count will keep falling, and customers won’t be coming. I think, i foresees that. Don’t want to take Your time now, i’ll maybe write You back here if counter shows much less nodes. Thank you for your responses, which allowed me to clarify more details.