Just a quick clarification - we charge for data as uploaded to Tardigrade users and pay Storage Node Operators for data as stored.
For example, a user uploads a 1 GB file and stores it for a month. That user is charged for the storage of 1 GB.
That data is stored on the network as 2.76 GB including the erasure code overhead. That 1 GB file is broken up into sixteen 64MB segments. Each segment is broken up into eighty 2.2 MB pieces. The pieces are spread over 1280 statistically uncorrelated storage nodes. Those Storage node operators are paid for storing that data for that month.