Here's what Comcast and Verizon are doing to Netflix streaming- and this is a big deal

[DanTex]

51. How is Netflix parasitic? Of course they provide a service.

They provide content. And they do pay for bandwidth. A lot of it. The only part of the service they don't directly provide is getting the content down to your home. That's what you pay your ISP for.

Problem is, some ISPs have their own streaming video service that competes (or hopes to compete) with Netflix. So it is obviously to their advantage if Netflix becomes unreliable and choppy.

An ISP should provide a link to the internet, period. Whether someone is on Skype, or Netflix, or Youtube, or downloading porn, or using Verizon's own streaming video service shouldn't matter. Obviously, the obligation isn't "infinite" (where did you get that idea). You get a certain, finite amount of bandwidth. If you pay more, you get more bandwidth.

Sure, if you pay for a 1Mbps internet connection, you shouldn't complain if Netflix is choppy. But if you pay for something say 10 or 20, which should be plenty for streaming 1080p, then your ISP shouldn't be able to limit the amount of bandwidth that you can get from Netflix specifically. In fact, that's the essential premise behind net neutrality. The ISP provides a link to the internet. You get a certain amount of bandwidth, and it can come from anywhere.