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Netflix Changes Course, Says It Will 'Never Outgrow' Fight For Net Neutrality (vice.com)
After a few months of wishy-washy statements on net neutrality indicating that the company had largely given up on it, Netflix is changing course. From a report: On July 12, the video streaming company will join Amazon, Reddit, Pornhub, Imgur, and more to incorporate slowed-down or disrupted service to raise awareness for the importance of strong net neutrality guidelines, giving visitors to its site a taste of what a future without a free and open internet could look like. The protest, organized by Fight for the Future, freepress, and Demand Progress, takes place five days before the first deadline for comments on the FCC's proposal to roll back net neutrality protections. The change in heart comes days after Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said, "[Net neutrality is] not narrowly important to us because we're big enough to get the deals we want."
I want to say I'm happy to pay by the GB, but then I remember that telco companies used to charge 20 cents for a text message or roughly $1,250,000 per GB. (assuming 140 bytes per message and a 20 byte overhead).
Now I know that's a ridiculous comparison, but if they thought they could get away with charging that much to use unused overhead in their existing lines, I imagine we won't be getting a particularly good deal if they switch to a pay-per-use plan.
If we make them Title II, and regulate their pricing then fine. Otherwise, we'll need a LOT more competition than the market has now to drive prices down.