ABSTRACT
Before asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network services can be efficiently provided, the pricing issue should be carefully addressed. Developing a general optimal pricing mechanism for any given ATM network is a broad and interesting problem. The result not only depends on economic parameters, such as consumer demand, but also is affected by technical specifics, such as network topology and routing algorithms. This chapter focuses on pricing ATM network services on point-to-point links. It presents the ATM network service model. Based on that service model, the optimal pricing framework is formulated, the resulting pricing schedule is discussed, and the advantage of that schedule is demonstrated. ATM network services can be classified as either guaranteed or best-effort services. The chapter discusses welfare-maximizing pricing without a break-even constraint. Existing pricing schemata are not efficient for ATM networks because they fail to consider differences in all the parameters among multiple services.
