Jason Calacanis just noticed that ESPN was only offering certain video on their site to customers of ISP’s that paid ESPN for access. The ESPN story was out last July in the New York Times.
As I see it the future of Internet Access will consist of 3 types: a. ISP pays fees and charges subscribers for packages (like cable). b. ISP blocks services that don’t pay the ISP for carriage or features web sites that pay the ISP for premier placement or faster access. c. Internet service only operators that provide credible non-biased access to the Net. In my opinion, and I’m not one for regulation normally, the FCC should require all Internet access to be open and unbiased (my choice 3) like our phone service. Let the websites charge the users for subscriptions or not-don’t control our access to the net. Otherwise we’re at the mercy of the ISP/Cable Operator who will control what is available to us just like your current cable subscription.
Jason, thanks for the heads up.