So how is streaming HD going to benefit those of us crippled by monthly bandwidth limits? The cable companies aren't going to be encouraged to get rid of those, especially in the face of a new competitor that uses those very pipes.

And fwiw, I am in Canada, where ISPs have been imposing caps for a while now. If you're lucky, you live somewhere where you can buy service (without a monthly cap) from a re-seller (who themselves might be getting throttled by Bell, or whoever else it is).