摘要 |
A resource allocation platform for allocating resources between a provider and a plurality of users at a certain price differentiated for different users, the resources being time dependent resources such as communication data capacity, the platform comprising: an agent-based interaction mechanism for allowing said provider and said plurality of users to indicate their requirements and to translate the requirements into offers and bids, and a pricing engine for ascertaining a resource allocation price for the offers and bids. The pricing engine uses a learning mechanism for learning demand behavior of individual users so that it can translate their requirements into a price which is fair to them and fair to the provider. Thus, the time-consuming, and in the case of time-dependent products, product destroying, bargaining stage of resource allocation is avoided. Optionally, a "reverse auction" format may be provided, in which a variable amount of a resource is provided for a fixed price.
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