Metrics to Evaluate Internet Pricing Schemes

How to charge Internet usage, or Internet pricing, has been recognized not only as an important business concern, but also as a feasible solution to many managerial problems in network operations, such as resource allocation, congestion control, and quality of service guarantee. In this work, we propose eight metrics to measure the effectiveness of pricing schemes in various aspects related to the users, network operations, and the Internet service providers. A brief survey of commonly known schemes is presented with their evaluations according to the proposed metrics. In addition to being used for the evaluation of existing schemes, the metrics can also be served as design guidelines for future pricing approach