[2436] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Billing phillosophy
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (redmiston@gte.com)
Thu Feb 27 10:58:17 1992
Date: Thu, 27 Feb 92 10:57:01 -0500
To: com-priv@psi.com
From: redmiston@gte.com
All network charging functions can be expressed as:
Charges = f(traffic) + g(other non-traffic variables)
Note that this is different the cost of providing services. I am talking
about how a network operator charges customers to recover operating costs.
>From the network provider's point of view, the decision about charging for
a particular class of service is where to operate on the following curve:
% traffic based
100 X
|\
| \
| \
| \
| Y Solution space for
| \ Network charging functions
| \
| \
| \
0 |_________Z_
0 100
% Non-traffic based
When we started billing for CSNET services a decade ago, there was a lot of
sentiment for only non-traffic based charges (i.e., point "Z"). But soon
we began hearing from a lot of customers, particularly low-traffic ones,
who felt strongly about only paying for "their" useage, and not some
average or typical usage. Likewise, there was a precident for only traffic
based charges in the non-internet world (point X). Surely most mid level
networks have gone through the same issues.
The conclusion CSNET reached was that it is necessary to be able to operate
at any point on the curve above. Indeed, it was necessary to structure
classes of services that operate at different points (e.g., some at point
Z, others near X). I am convinced that this is a correct conclusion for
any commercial network service provider. There must be freedom to create
service classes which addresses customer's diverse needs.
The bottom line?
1) To decide to only allow charging funcitons which operate at "Z"
is foolhardy;.
2) Therefore, the network infrastructure must provide adequate
traffic accounting resources to allow diversity in charging algorithms.
Anybody want to add an account field to IP?
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Dick Edmiston Internet:redmiston@gte.com
GTE Laboratories VOICE: (617) 466-2906
40 Sylvan Road FAX: (617) 890-9320
Waltham, MA 02254 GTE Mail: R.EDMISTON
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