NeTS: Small: Innovating Internet Access Pricing: From Theory to Deployment

2010年和2011年，有关互联网接入定价的头条新闻不绝于耳。从AT&amp；T和Verizon转向无线接入的基于使用的定价，到FCC披露国家宽带计划，从康卡斯特-Netflix/Level3关于双边定价的斗争到FCC 2010年12月关于定价创新的声明，互联网正在见证接入定价和网络技术之间相互作用的变革性时期的开始。这个项目的技术核心围绕四个基本问题组织：(1)收费多少？统一费率和基于使用量的定价之间的辩论以新的视角重新展开。(2)如何收费？收费应根据带宽消耗时间或网络拥塞情况而定？(3)向谁收费？内容/应用程序生产者何时才能找到激励措施来为消费者更高的数据速率或更高的带宽消耗付费？(4)应该收取什么费用？可以发明什么样的新服务类别，特别是在多平台共存的异类无线网络中？该项目的特点包括网络行业不同部门的广泛参与、原型和试验的实施以及数据的获取和传播。它将收集新鲜、大量的经验数据与严格的设计和原型实施结合起来。该项目从数据分析到优化算法，到概念验证演示和试验，最终对公共政策和互联网服务提供商的商业决策产生实际影响，从而闭合了网络定价研究的循环。智力优势：当我们磨砺和应用优化理论、微观经济学、博弈论和统计学的各种工具时，这些社会问题产生的挑战也要求开发新的方法，如多平台的供应链合同，内容提供商和互联网服务提供商(互联网服务提供商)的利益冲突的双边定价。此外，技术演变和经济政策之间的互动是相互的：新的使能技术，如Femtocell，对工程产品和定价结构之间的互动提出了新的问题。更广泛的影响：该提案是由政策制定者、网络行业、和宽带消费者：(1)谁将在未来十年支付3500亿美元的估计成本，以便在这个国家实现宽带服务的普遍覆盖？(2)互联网服务提供商能否利用定价机制作为一种实际的网络管理方法，并创建与网络中立兼容的新服务类别？(3)如何调节带宽需求的持续激增，以创造互联网服务提供商和消费者的双赢？此外，该项目为美国国内和世界各地的本科生课程开发、广泛的行业参与和影响以及非传统的社区拓展提供了独特的机会。

There has been no shortage of headline news on Internet access pricing in 2010 and 2011. From AT&T and Verizon shifting to usage-based pricing for wireless access to FCC's revealing the National Broadband Plan, and from Comcast-Netflix/Level3 battle on two-sided pricing to FCC's 2010 December statement on pricing innovations, the Internet is witnessing the start of a transformative period in the interplay between access pricing and the technology of networking. The technical core of this project is organized around four fundamental questions: (1) How much to charge? The debate between flat-rate and usage-based pricing renews with fresh perspectives. (2) How to charge? Should the price charged depend on the time of bandwidth consumption or congestion condition of the network? (3) Whom to charge? When will content/application producers find incentives to pay for higher data rate or heavier bandwidth consumption by consumers? (4) What to charge? What kind of new service classes can be invented, especially in heterogeneous wireless networks with multiple platforms co-existing? The unique features of this project include extensive participation from diverse sectors in the networking industry, implementation of prototypes and trials, and access to and dissemination of data. It combines the collection of fresh, large-volume of empirical data with rigorous design and prototype implementation. The project goes all the way from data analysis through optimization algorithms, to proof-of-concept demos and trials, eventually to practical impact on public policy and ISP business decisions, thus closing the loop in the study of network pricing.Intellectual Merits: While we sharpen and apply a variety of tools from optimization theory, microeconomics, game theory, and statistics, the challenges arising out of these social issues also demand the development of new methodologies, such as supply chain contracts for multi-platform, two-sided pricing with conflicting interests of content providers and Internet service providers (ISPs). Furthermore, the interactions between technology evolution and economic policies are mutual: new enabling technologies such as femtocell raises new questions on the interaction between engineering artifacts and pricing structures.Broader Impacts: The proposal is driven by timely and important questions faced by policy-makers, networking industry, and broadband consumers: (1) Who will pay for the estimated cost of $350B in the next decade to enable universal coverage of broadband services in this country? (2) Can pricing mechanisms be leveraged by the ISP as a practical approach to network management and new service class be created that is net-neutrality compatible? (3) How to regulate the nonstop surge of bandwidth demand to create win-win for both the ISPs and consumers? Furthermore, the project presents unique opportunities for undergraduate curriculum development, extensive industry participation and impact, and unconventional community outreach, both within US and across the world.