RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Media Netflix streaming gets MGM, Paramount and Lionsgate

Mark Cooper, director of research for the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), says Netflix should have to pay into the Universal Service Fund.

"The Internet is not an infant industry anymore. It can certainly bear the burden of making sure that wires and the communications mediums are there," Cooper said.

Phone companies pay into the Federal Communications Commission's $8 billion telecom fund, which subsidizes phone service in high-cost and rural areas. They write off the cost on consumer telephone bills.

The FCC is trying to migrate the subsidies to fund broadband rather than phone calls this year. As it begins the overhaul, the question of who must contribute into the fund is heating up.

It would be "legitimate" to force Netflix and other high-bandwidth companies to contribute to the fund, Cooper, a longtime consumer advocate, said Wednesday during a panel discussion.