Pricing in computer networks: Reshaping the research agenda

As the internet makes the transition from research testbed to commercial enterprise, the topic of pricing in computer networks has suddenly attracted great attention. Much of the discussion in the network design community and the popular press centers on the usage-based versus flat pricing debate. The more academic literature has largely focused on devising optimal pricing policies; achieving optimal welfare requires charging marginal congestion costs for usage. We contend that the research agenda on pricing in computer networks should shift away from the optimality paradigm and focus more on structural and architectural issues.