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RSSCable companies are all too aware of this possibility and already appear to be preparing preemptive strikes. Earlier this year, Time Warner threatened to extend unpopular pay-per-byte pricing to four new markets. Had the company done so, consumers would have had to pay $150 per month for unlimited broadband access -- up from the $40-$50 a month they currently pay.
Time Warner backed off from that plan, but said it would revisit the topic later. Meanwhile, other Internet service providers continue to experiment with bandwidth caps and tiered pricing that would limit people's ability to watch video online.
Additionally, cable companies are reportedly gearing up to launch "TV Everywhere" -- an initiative that could require Web users to subscribe to cable video before they can watch TV programs online.
These strategies might be lawful but, even so, they don't appear to mark a change for the better. Certainly they're not sitting well with some advocacy groups. Today, Public Knowledge said today that it intends to ask the FCC to scrutinize TV Everywhere as well as limits on bandwidth consumption that could limit people's ability to watch video on the Web.
"The commission should closely examine any practice that discourages users from viewing Internet video, to the advantage of an ISP's own video offerings," Gigi Sohn, president of Public Knowledge, says in a statement. She adds that TV Everywhere "could discourage innovation if it requires, encourages or allows programmers and content providers to sign exclusive deals with cable companies."
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Of course they are dead wrong as services like http://www.ustream.tv http://www.freetubetv.net and hulu are the pinnacle of pushing these boundaries and end users are becoming more and more frustrated and insatiable in demanding video content.