I think that's FUD, first of all, and unlikely to come about. Also, if there was QoS, etc, I wouldn't mind having a dedicated "Netflix ISP." The streaming experience still sucks compared to flipping a cable channel, and co-location and integration of the software stack could make such a service better. Heck, I'd love it if this was Apple's play after an iTV. Vertical integration can lead to a marvelous user experience, as Apple has shown.
What irks me about this is that services like edX are going to be affected. I didn't want MIT et al. being charged for the free video lectures they provide. Now people who used to provide high quality material for free are disincentived doing such things.
I don't love the internet because of Hulu or Netflix or iTunes or whatever else, I love it because of Wikipedia and edX, and countless other stuff that's put there by everyday people. That's what's in danger.
I honestly don't think it would happen. The cable companies have no incentive to go after sites like that. They don't use much bandwidth, wouldn't pay much before just shutting down, and are very sympathetic. There's nothing but downside for a cable company to go after such a site. It'd be irrational. They're going after Netflix because their site is responsible for a ton of bandwidth on their network and Netflix makes a lot of money leveraging their network.
No, they are going after Netflix because Netflix streaming video service competes directly with the cable companies own TV and streaming video services. It's a straight up toll to compete.
All I can think of at your response is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came_. A few years ago I would have thought it to be be simply unthinkable that FCC would be considering such a proposition. Now, I'm all but certain that this would be the natural next step.
> They don't use much bandwidth, wouldn't pay much before just shutting down, and are very sympathetic.
Wikipedia consumes a lot of bandwidth. Okay, not as much as Netflix, but what about the Wikipedia of tomorrow - which houses lots of high-quality media? It feels like there might not be one if net neutrality is beaten. Or the future of education that's video lectures for the masses. Etc.
