I was thinking about the arguments between Internet providers like Comcast and content providers like Netflix. ISPs argue that content providers like Netflix and YouTube account for the lion's share of customer bandwidth, and that they should therefore pay up for the ISP's costs to supply that content to customers.
I suppose that to an extent, an ISP is akin to a trucking company that specializes in delivering 1s and 0s. If ISPs wish to be viewed in such a way, then it makes little sense why the end user is forced to pay a monthly service fee to these 'cyber trucking companies'.
Would it be better (particularly with regards to cellular data) if every time we used an app or downloaded a media file that we were required to purchase enough data to carry out the transfer (a sort of 'in-app-purchase' or cyber shipping charge) beforehand? Imagine a YouTube in which every video clip cost you so many credits and the ISP got a cut of that money directly from YouTube.
Imagine a setup in which basically nothing on the web is free anymore (every transfer would carry with it a cyber shipping charge) BUT you are no longer forced to pay a monthly fee to any ISP. Would you be better or worse off than with the current setup? Would it mean an end to the predominantly ad-supported websites we now have, with their annoying and privacy-invading tactics?
