[2451] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Billing philosophy, World, and user studies
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Genevieve Engel)
Sat Feb 29 04:58:00 1992
Date: Sat, 29 Feb 92 01:56:32 PST
From: "Genevieve Engel" <GENOL%UCCMVSA.BITNET@lists.psi.com>
To: COM-PRIV@psi.com
> As far back as I can remember, over ten years certainly, periodic
> heated discussions erupt regarding usage vs flat-rate pricing.
>
> The politically oriented talk about the big picture, the technically
> oriented discuss what layer to put it in and what changes are needed
Well, not to be heated, but why DOES the World use usage-sensitive
pricing for the end user while Netcom doesn't?
Does anyone know of ways in which this changes end user behavior?
Staff at World didn't know of any studies of users fishing around
for network directories/guides vs. not fishing around, or users-on-
the-ticking-meter fishing around vs. not-on-the-ticking-meter
fishing around. (Not surprising - such studies probably don't exist
yet.)
Sooner or later usage-sensitive pricing of network services at any
level winds up getting passed on to the user some way or another
in the long run (through usage-sensitive costs, or through higher
flat rates, or through more taxes to support NSF...) but people I
know prefer a flat rate to a usage-sensitive rate when it comes
down to $15 a month vs. $2 an hour. But when they go for the flat
rate do they use the network differently than the hourly users do?
Anyone know?
Genevieve Engel > "Information wants to be free"
MELVYL System User Services > -- Stewart Brand
University of California >
gen$ol@uccmvsa.ucop.edu >
genol@uccmvsa.bitnet >
