Network Equipment Technologies Inc has confirmed that software to automate usage billing for Infonet’s new Frame Relay service is in development still. Also, it says that Infonet is unsure how best to tariff its service – highlighting industry confusion over this issue. Infonet’s claims that it is waiting for the software before introducing usage billing, but according to a spokesman for Network Equipment, it depends on who you talk to, since Infonet is unsure which tariffing approach is best. Consequently, it looks as it Infonet is using the interim to test the water with flat rate charges. Network Equipment can, theoretically, provide usage billing for its Frame Relay switches already, but the software is being written to automate and simplify this process. It claims that this should be finished six to eight months after the first release of its upgraded IDNX nodes this summer, meaning that Infonet could introduce usage billing at the tail-end of the year. Infonet, on the other hand, predicted a longer period, and envisages usage billing in two to three years’ time. What remains to be seen is whether Infonet will jump in as soon as it can, or if it will hold off for longer – in which case, the flat rate tariff structure will certainly be seen as an experiment.
