[aklug] regarding router/switch bandwidth

I'm not a networking expert, but I've noticed something over time at the
various home and work networks I've been around. A person would
intuitively imagine that, if there were x numbers of people
simultaneously wanting all the bandwidth on a network, that the
bandwidth would end up being roughly divided between those people.
However, what actually seems to happen is that the first people to start
using most of the bandwidth first are the ones who get the most access.

For example, at work: if my coworker beings downloading a set of huge
files, he gets almost all of the bandwidth until the downloads are
complete. But if I try to download something right after he starts, then
I only get a small trickle (a few bytes per second) until his downloads
are finished.

I was wondering if there was some inherent reason for sort of behavior
in the design of our whole TCP/IP system. Or is that just the way
cheaper routers and switches tend to work?

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