I don't blame the ISPs. If they don't charge more to the heavy hitters then they have to charge more to all.
I totally agree. The ISP has to pay for and build for their own expected capacity. When you are planning for a network, you try to anticipate the usage of your end users. When you have an already built, in production network, and 30% of your users are clogging your critical ‘pipes’, you’re going to have to pay big $$$$ to upgrade/expand to accommodate the extra traffic. Chances are, when the network was designed, it wasn’t expected that 30% of the users would be downloading video and HiDef movies 24/7. In order to stay in business, the cost of the expansion/upgrades HAVE to be passed on to the user base. The only moral way to do it, IMO is make the heavier users pay the bill.
NetFlix’s business model is built upon the above scenario, and when those costs for the end users begin to come into play in a big way, it will eventually lead back to THEIR profit margins. They won’t retain as many subscribers if they are having to pay both NetFlix AND their ISP for usage. On the other hand, what happens if the ISPs(such as cable companies) decide to get into the game and compete with Netflix? The ISPs will be at a significant advantage, which will be ANOTHER hit against the NetFlix margin.