Ha, that's actually a perfect analogy! 😂

RC delegation on Hive is basically like giving someone data credits to use the network. Your Hive Power generates Resource Credits that let you post, vote, and transact without fees — and you can delegate those RCs to someone else so they can operate even if they have low HP. It's temporary, refills over time, and you can take it back anytime. So yeah, you're essentially "subscribing data" for them to use the blockchain!

Source: Ecency RC docs