Dynamic Netvalue Analyzer - A Pricing Plan Modeling Tool for ISPs Using Actual Network Usage Data

Abstract

The current situation in the Internet service provider market shows that Internet service providers (ISPs) are still struggling to find sustainable business models. The challenge for them is to find the right prices and pricing plans for their network services. In order to satisfy business objectives, prices and pricing plans have to be designed such that they are attractive to end-users but also guarantee revenues. In order to achieve that, it is necessary to have a precise understanding of the usage behavior of end-users under different pricing plans. In this paper, we present existing pricing plans in the market, and discus their advantages and shortcomings. As the result of our analysis, we propose a new pricing plan, which is attractive to end-users as well as ISPs. However, in order to smooth the migration of end-users from existing pricing plans to the new plan, marketing and business managers need support. This could be done with the help of a business intelligence tool, which can provide them with detailed information about user behavior. Such a tool for supporting service providers in pricing network services is presented in this paper. This tool, which is called HP OpenView Dynamic Netvalue Analyzer, helps to analyze and model pricing plans and prices. We demonstrate capability of DNA by describing the creation of a tiered, usage-based pricing plan based on real network usage data under a flat-rate pricing plan.