Maximizing network profit by service-list control in multi-service-networks

The network service providers (NSP) of the future Internet Protocol (IP) network will provide network transport services with multiple quality of service (QoS) levels by using QoS technologies such as integrated services (IntServ) and differentiated services (DiffServ). We call this network the multi-service-network. It seems obvious that each class can be offered with a different price according to the network resources consumed. In the multi-service-network, the following factors are correlated: the service-list showing the prices and QoS details of all classes; users' behavior in terms of service choice; total required network resources; ISP profit. For example, when a user has some communication need, the price and QoS of each service influences the user's service selection. His choice impacts not only the network resources required to provide the service but also the profit of the NSP. We propose a framework for the multi-service-network that maximizes the profit of the NSP through the control of the service-list.