Seems to me that not all research situations will match the situation of
downloading the occasional large spreadsheet.  Surely, a researcher
collaborating with colleagues around the world, downloading data or image
files on a regular basis (a single project could involve hundreds of image
files - photomicrographs, radiologic images, etc. - that would need to be
downloaded on a regular basis.  It is the nature of the beast that
researchers put in a great deal of time on weekends and in the evenings.
This is why many research budgets include funds for laptop and other
portable devices.

The issue, it seems to me, is not a potentially arbitrary decision by
research administration, but a review of the terms of the grant, and what
is allowable and allocable under those terms.  If an investigator has
submitted a grant that includes a budget line for internet charges for a
home account, the sponsor has made an award on those terms, and the
expenditure does not violate the terms under which the grant was awarded,
what would be the justification for disallowing?

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