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Dial-Up Internet Access: A Two-Provider Cost Model

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Abstract

We present a cost model for splitting Internet dial-up traffic (which varies by time-of-day) between two large modem banks. One of the modem banks charges by the hour, the other charges for the peak number-in-system during the day. To study if the possible savings are enough to make the effort worthwhile, we formulate a clairvoyant (“perfect information”) Integer Program that is equivalent to a network flow problem. This leads us to use a ceiling policy. In the stochastic control case, we use a Modified Offered Load (MOL) approximation to explore the properties of the system, and develop a square-root-type rule to set the ceiling in the homogeneous case. We also use simulation to determine an optimal ceiling when we cannot route individual calls precisely. We propose approximations that may be computed for any call duration distribution, and compare their answers to exact differential-equation procedures for Exponential call durations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Industrial and Systems Eng., Lehigh Univ., 200 West Packer Ave., Bethlehem, PA, 18015

    Andrew M. Ross

  2. Industrial Eng. and Operations Research, 4135 Etcheverry Hall, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720-1777

    J. George Shanthikumar

Authors
  1. Andrew M. Ross
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  2. J. George Shanthikumar
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Correspondence to Andrew M. Ross.

Additional information

AMS subject classification: 60K25, 90B18, 68M20, 90B22, 60K30

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Ross, A.M., Shanthikumar, J.G. Dial-Up Internet Access: A Two-Provider Cost Model. Queueing Syst 51, 5–27 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11134-005-1671-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11134-005-1671-2

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