Hi @KatTheFarmer - yes it would be great if you can join the call. There is some great background on hosting and funding here from @CynthiaReynolds.
There are two other very useful posts from @MyriamBoure on infrastructure
and security
Yes there are costs involved in setting up and running the servers. In the UK we pay UK£2,160 per year. I guess this would be higher in the US. We ask users to contribute to these (and our support and development costs) by paying 2-4% of their OFN turnover to the pot.
Yes I understand that server costs do grow with use but I don’t know the detail. Let’s ask @Kirsten
We have explored the idea of regional instances for OFN USA but my concern with this is that producers and hubs who are on the borders of 2 or 3 instances will find it difficult to trade with people over the border.