Did Internet Founders Actually Anticipate Paid, Prioritized Traffic?

Thu Sep 16 17:57:07 UTC 2010

> I DO have a problem with a content provider paying to get priority
> access on the last mile.  I have no particular interest in any of the
> content that Yahoo provides, but I do have an interest in downloading
> my Linux updates via torrents.  Should I have to go back and bid
> against Yahoo just so I can get my packets in a timely fashion?
> </end user>
> 
> I understand that the last mile is going to be a congestion point, but
> the idea of allowing a bidding war for priority access for that
> capacity seems to be a path to madness.
> 
> --Chris

Hi Chris,

Since prioritization would work ONLY when the link us saturated
(congested), without it, nothing is going to work well, not your
torrents, not your email, not your browsing.  By prioritizing the
traffic, the torrents might back off but they would still continue to
flow, they wouldn't be completely blocked, they would just slow down.
QoS can be a good thing for allowing your VIOP to work while someone
else in the home is watching a streaming movie or something.  Without
it, everything breaks once the circuit is congested.