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> Internet traffic has to prioritized on the backbones and local networks before it gets to the local wireless transmitters therefore it will be available in a prioritized order to local wireline consumers too.

Is this true? Given that this is the main argument of the article, the author could have elaborated a bit and I don't know nearly enough about the inner workings of Internet providers, so is this actually true or just some senseless punditry?

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I can't comment on backbone technology, but it's common for network devices to provide Differentiated Services, which is a traffic-type classifier and QoS system. They're needed to keep your FTP traffic from lagging your VOIP call. The only reason these wouldn't be used on backbones is if there's simply too much traffic to classify fast enough, but I don't think that's the case.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Differentiated_services

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