Price Comparison of Internet Services by Software Agents

Abstract

The Internet develops toward an integrated services network by offering differentiated network services for all kinds of applications. This variety of services and the fact that different service providers will offer the same service at different prices overwhelms the user. It will become difficult for users to find the best service offer, meeting their specific requirements. In this paper1, we present a software agent system that supports the user in making service purchase decisions. After describing the environment, the architecture, and the implementation of the software agent system, we present a format for formulating pricing schemes. This format enables software agents to compare pricing schemes of different service providers.