Accounting, charging, and pricing of communication services-an Internet-based exemplified study of influences

Abstract

The most important approaches on Internet economics make various assumptions on pricing policies and services. This study introduces main reasonings for and against pricing as a method to reduce congestion of Internet services. These criteria encompass features of the economic model, the pricing mechanism, and the network model. Moreover necessary basics are outlined to handle general influences. Advantages and drawbacks of economics for communication services are discussed to reveal a structured picture of today's situation, which is driven by technological and economic factors at the same time. Based on a sketchy overview of related work a new volume-based approach for pricing communication services in the Internet is proposed and an implementation architecture is introduced.