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I agree that there needs to be a discussion. Here - I'll start it:

In Australia we have download caps.

The end.

Okay, maybe that's a little to simplified but it's not that far from the core issue. In the US, there are, by-and-large, no download limits. That means that people can stream 24/7 if they want. I am fully aware that bandwidth is not the same as download limits and, everything else being equal, a subscriber downloading 100GB really doesn't cost the ISP any more that it does for them to download 10GB.

BUT, what a download limit does do is to restrict how often people download data, which means that at any given time there will be fewer users utilising the pipe and thus more bandwidth available for those who are downloading.

Download limits may not completely solve the 'problem' of ISPs trying to recoup their costs but they go a long way.

That's because you can charge people based on how often they are consuming the shared bandwidth available on the pipe. And so charging based on download amount is, indirectly, a way to charge people for the bandwidth they use - averaged out over their billing period.

This one, simple difference between the US and Australia changes the debate considerably because in most instances, the US providers do not have a mechanism for charging the subscribers based on how much of the line they are using and so the question is around them then trying to charge those on the other side of the equation. In Australia, that mechanism is in place and has been since day one - it is largely accepted by most people.

The point is that the Australian system is already geared around charging subscribers based on how much they use the line. So, if a subscriber start using Netflix, one of two things happen: either they restrict usage so that it is within their existing plan or they increase their plan - and thus pay more - to be able to cope with the amount they want to use.

I.e. - the more 'Netflix' they watch, the larger the plan they will need and the more they will pay.

'Discussion' over.