Defense Data Network: Usage Sensitive Billing

摘要

The Defense Data Network(DDN) program plan approved by the Office of the Secretary of Defense(OSD) on 2 April 1982 and subsequent OSD policy guidance on DDN provides for the eventual recovery of applicable network costs by billing of subscribers based upon their utilization of network resources. This thesis will examine the present billing scheme utilized for recovery of DDN costs as well as an alternative usage sensitive billing scheme to satisfy the OSD mandate. The remainder of Chapter I provides a brief history of the origination of DDN and some background on the network helpful for understanding the information presented throughout this thesis. Chapter II discusses the present funding of DDN through the Communications Services Industrial Fund. Chapter III examines network costs and describes the inherent relationship between network design and network costs. The costing alternative is presented and discussed in Chapter IV. In Chapter V, usage sensitive billing is examined as utilized in commercial communications industry. Also discussed is the effect which user behavior may have on a usage sensitive billing scheme. Finally, conclusions are drawn in Chapter VI.