Mark [1] has been calling around and it seems that if we were to provide our own network block, it costs more. One place quoted him $350 a month if we provided our own IP addresses.
$350/MONTH!
I can see something like $350 to set up the routers to route the block, but once it's set that's it. It's not like it's that much overhead but since such a request falls outside the standard template that most of these companies seem to use, they probably feel they can charge outrageous fees.
And then there are the various DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) horror stories I've heard of, where it takes months to get DSL installed.