A dynamic pricing scheme for e-content at multiple levels-of-service

Abstract

Businesses selling multimedia rich software or e-content are growing in the Internet. The e-content can be downloaded or streamed immediately after an on-line transaction. Since Internet connection speeds are variable, ranging from dial-up access speeds to broadband speeds, a content provider may provide content at different speeds or levels-of-service. Providers offering content at different service levels face two major challenges: (1) revenue maximization, and (2) resource provisioning. In this article, we discuss how these challenges are inter-related, and develop a formal model for pricing and resource provisioning in content delivery systems. We use simulations to study price and resource utilization dynamics in systems implementing our model. We present simulation results in a variety of scenarios that illustrate the scalability and robustness of our model.