Give us access to Netflix!

I'm what you would call an adventurous user of the internet. I've been known to download a movie or two in my time although it's fair to say my days of bit-torrenting films is over.

That's for a simple reason - I find most of the pap passed off as movies these days to be boring and uninteresting.

There are a few films recently which I've enjoyed (including Source Code and Soul Kitchen) - but they tend to be less mainstream and more 'indie' for want of a better word.

But what's pissing me off is how far we are behind in New Zealand compared to the rest of the world.

While our government implements a law to cut off downloaders from the internet other countries are providing citizens with options which will stop them from breaking copyright law.

I recently purchased a VPN connection for 12 months. It cost me US$60 and it gives me unlimited connections to VPNs situated all around the world - meaning I can get a US or UK IP address when I want.

Not only does this mean I could download with impunity (if I wanted, which I don't) it also gets me access to services in those other countries.

Now I can listen to football on the radio, watch the highlights of the Rangers games and access the odd show through the BBC iPlayer.

I can also stream audio from Spotify if I want.

In the US, though, I've found the killer service. For just US$8 per month you get access to Netflix - and access to their online catalogue.

You can watch thousands of films and television shows instantly and the service is just fantastic.

I always doubted people who said they would happily pay for a service instead of bit-torrenting - but having used Netflix I can say I would happily pay a flat fee if this were an option.

We shouldn't be forced to jump through hoops in this day and age. The internet brings down borders and attempts to create borders are destined for failure and a hangover from how the world used to be.

Give me access to Netflix in New Zealand for $25 per month and I'd be glad to pay.

Unfortunately I'll be an old man before that's going to happen. In the meantime thousands of New Zealand users will download movies and television shows because they simply aren't catered for in this country.