Investigating Random Linear Coding from a Pricing Perspective

In this paper, we study the implications of using a form of network coding known as Random Linear Coding (RLC) for unicast communications from an economic perspective by investigating a simple scenario, in which several network nodes, the users, download files from the Internet via another network node, the sender, and the receivers as users pay a certain price to the sender for this service. The mean packet delay for a transmission scheme with RLC is analyzed and applied into an optimal pricing model to characterize the optimal admission rate, price and revenue. The simulation results show that RLC achieves better performance in terms of both mean packet delay and revenue compared to the basic retransmission scheme.