Metered Internet Use Already Making An Impact

Everyone and their Aunt Sally wants to sell users on a different use for broadband.  You can stream HBO shows, Netflix videos, using tons of bandwidth, and that's not even taking P2P into account.  Ah, and NBC would love it if you would watch the "Olympics on the Go."  Problem is, you poor folk with metered-use broadband, which may soon come to the rest of us, might have to watch just what you ... well, watch.

We’ve talked before that metered access is a boneheaded idea that is bad for innovation, bad for Microsoft and Google, and ultimately bad for you. Until today, the idea seemed like an eventuality, not an immediate reality. But then NBC and TonicTV launched a new service that lets you download video from the Olympics and watch it offline. Right next to the installation instructions was this “important”note:

NBC Olympics On The Go delivers large video files; it may use a lot of bandwidth. It is not recommended for people using dial-up or metered broadband accounts.

That’s the first warning I’ve seen about a particular service not being recommended for folks with metered broadband access. But the real bummer? That is just a taste of things to come — especially if you’re a fan of video services like Hulu.

We’re not even talking P2P throttling, just straight video consumption.

Ah, yes.  Please, please use more.  Wait, don't go over your cap!  The eventual result of this?  Will we see tiered service, with one tier being unlimited (and expensive)?  Readers, what do you think?