Get ready for a new little war to break out.

We have seen the first skirmishes already as our ISP (Internet Service Providers) had a set-to with the VOIP (Voice over IP) providers a few years back.

In that fracas the ISPs were accused of throttling back Internet speeds when they detected customers using VOIP for their phone service, at least when customers used a VOIP service that wasn't provided by the ISP.

In the modern world one day you are a customer, the next a client and the next a competitor.

For example, Telus and Shaw provide Internet and voice service, but other companies, like Vonage and Skype only provide phone (or video chat) but not Internet access.

So if a Shaw or Telus was to identify when one of their Internet customers was using Vonage for telephone, and then . . . ahem . . . limit the available bandwidth to the customer, just for that application, the customer would think Vonage was a marginal service and would be inclined to switch.

Nasty business, no?

There are laws and rules to govern this activity but it is very difficult to prove.

I don't think that any of the major ISPs are currently regulating service in this manner, but the potential is always there.

Now the stakes are being raised, as US based Netflix is set to launch movie and TV download service in Canada. Within days of this announcement Rogers announced they are cutting back on the amount customers can download. Co-incidence? I think not!

All the major ISPs in Canada also offer some form of TV. They are all in the movie and TV market, so any competition on that front will certainly be responded to.

One effective way to discourage that competition is to make it more expensive for customers to download their movies. The question is, is it ethical?

We are definitely going to see a period of struggle as the major cable TV providers come to a realization that a large part of their business model is as broken as the major TV networks' historical business model.

People want to decide for themselves what they want to watch and when they want to watch it. And if we can avoid irritating commercials when we watch TV and movies, so much the better!

Customers are prepared to pay for content, we already do through cable fees and rental charges, so the concept of paying for downloading TV and movies is going to be successful. The big question is who is going to gain our business, niche players like Netflix and Apple (through iTunes) or our traditional cable carriers like Shaw and Rogers (I'll throw Telus into that mix).

I believe it will come down to who has the most compelling content and best user experience, along with allowing us to view our purchases on any platform we choose, be it computer, TV, phone, iPod or iPad.

One thing is certain, the brewing battle between Netflix and the cable companies is just the precursor to a much larger fight as all content providers step into the fray to deal with the "free" services, represented by the bit torrent sites.

Steve Dotto hosted and produced the TV show Dotto Tech for 15 years. Visit his website at www.dottotech.com.