Abstract: A technique for regulation of packet switched network traffic through usage-sensitive pricing is disclosed. The network is partitioned into logical channels and a user incurs a cost for use of each of the logical channels. The logical channels differ primarily with respect to the cost to the user. Each user will select a channel that provides the subjectively optimal balance of cost and perceived quality of service, with the lowest cost channels presumably carrying the most traffic (and hence being more congested) and the highest cost channel accordingly carrying the least traffic (and hence being the least congested). Network traffic will accordingly be distributed between channels and each user will incur predictable charges without being precluded from seeking a higher quality of service when desired.

Abstract: Existing software proposals for electronic payments can be divided into "on-line" schemes which require participation of a trusted party (the bank) in every transaction and are secure against overspending, and "off-line" schemes which do not require a third party and guarantee only that overspending is detected when vendors submit their transaction records to the bank (usually at the end of the day). A new "hybrid" scheme is proposed which combines the advantages of both "on-line" and "off-line" electronic payment schemes. It allows for control of overspending at a cost of only a modest increase in communication compared to the off-line schemes. The protocol is based on probabilistic polling. During each transaction, with some small probability, the vendor forwards information about this transaction to the bank. This enables the bank to maintain an accurate approximation of a customer's spending.