ComputerWorld explored the impact of XML file size on network infrastructure, and the results aren't entirely encouraging.

For some organizations, already large files may multiply in size - the article cites a 100MB file at United Parcel Service (UPS) that triples, putting strain on network resources. For other organizations, file size appears to be much less of an issue, as smaller documents transmitted on an irregular basis don't crush the network.

This has been an issue on the XML-DEV mailing list and in other venues as well, typically as a criticism of XML's verbose text-oriented approach. As the Origin and Goals section of XML 1.0 puts it, "Terseness in XML markup is of minimal importance."

Or, as the article puts it:

"The size of files is a key consideration," Picado said. "It's something that we have to plan for."