No, but they're obligated to get those GB to the consumer in some frickin way, because they have a signed contract with the consumer obligating them to get them their damn bytes. Who cares if it's netflix or 1,000 myriad other sites. The only reason netflix is an issue is because they're a big enough target to extort.
No, they're not obligated.
Not legally.
Not contractually.
Not morally.
Consumer internet is a "best effort service". If Netflix refuses to acquire sufficient connectivity, then it's not Comcast's fault.
This is really simple. You should get it after I repeat it a few dozen times.
> because they have a signed contract with the consumer obligating them to get them their damn bytes.
It's an implied contract, but the problem's still the same: you never read it.
> Who cares if it's netflix or 1,000 myriad other sites. The only reason netflix is an issue is because they're a big enough target to extort.
The only reason it's an issue because only Netflix is so big that the existing connection is insufficient. When you subtract the Netflix traffic, the link's not saturated.
Subtract netflix traffic and more traffic will come from someplace else. The internet's not going away, usage is growing across the board, and netflix is just (one of) the first to hit our current traffic peaks, which will themselves look small in a few years.
If ISPs can't deliver that bandwidth at current prices, they should A) look at whatever korea, japan and northern europe are doing right, and B) failing that, increase prices until they can deliver the service they're charging for. This is really simple. You should get it.. well, you won't, probably. But the rest of us won't stand for it.
That's not what peering is, though, right? Nobody's asking for anything like this. They're asking for building a couple links between a small number of large networks, or have I got this wrong?
Nobody's saying build out huge infrastructure that belongs to a particular website for free.
1. Those people are free to stop paying. 2. Why are they obligated to give something to party A for free, because they overcharged party B?
You're not really offering any sort of logical point here. You're not thinking, you're just reacting.
> If I choose to spend that 300Gb in a week
If you chose to use that 300gb downloading from my website, would Comcast be obligated to let me put a server in their data center for free?
No.
You're just being absurd.
> That's why I pay for it.
Nothing in your contract with Comcast says anything remotely resembling the claims that you're making. If you are mistaken and think you're paying for this, then perhaps you should end your relationship with Comcast. Or, if that is too uncomfortable to consider, then perhaps you should realign your expectations with those laid out in the contract.
No judge would ever listen to some juvenile whining for very long, and god help us all if you get the politicians to do so. We'll be in real trouble then.