Talk of an Internet Fast Lane Is Already Hurting Some Startups
This entire problem comes down to the fact that internet isn't priced the way other utilities are.<p>You don't pay your water company a fixed rate based on the size of the pipe to your house. You pay based on water actually delivered. You don't pay your electricity company based on the maximum number of amps that can flow down the wire, you pay for the electricity consumed.<p>Internet should be paid in bytes delivered. Then all the incentives will be aligned for all parties.<p>High usage end users pay for more of the network than low usage end users, which they should because they are the ones putting strain on it.<p>The ISPs would then prefer to transport the larger content that users demand because they will be paid more for it. Thus they are also incentivised to create more and better infrastructure to deliver it.