Did Internet Founders Actually Anticipate Paid, Prioritized Traffic?

[cboyd at gizmopartners.com (Chris Boyd)]

On Sep 16, 2010, at 12:15 AM, George Bonser wrote:

> I believe a network should be able to sell priotitization at the edge,
> but not in the core.  I have no problem with Y!, for example, paying a
> network to be prioritized ahead of bit torrent on the segment to the end
> user but I do have a problem with networks selling prioritized access
> through the core as that only gives an incentive to congest the network
> to create revenue.

<end user>
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