1.Introduction.- 2 Background.- 3.Definitions and Multi-Provider Problem Formalisation.- 4 The Network Provider Interworking Paradigm.- 5 Economic Principles for Agent-Based Negotiations.- 6 Alternative Approaches for Providers Coordination.- 7 Experimental Results.- 8 Discussion and Analysis.- 9 Conclusions and Future Work.- A Pricing in Communication Networks.- A.1 A Short Background on Pricing Networks.- A.1.1 Price Components.- A.1.2 Pricing in Multi-service and Multi-provider Networks.- A.1.3 Auction Based Model.- B Acronyms.

This book proposes a novel approach to improve multi-provider interactions based on the coordination of autonomous and self-motivated software entities acting on behalf of distinct operators. In addition, a novel way of addressing resource allocation and pricing in a compact framework is made possible by the use of powerful resource abstraction techniques.

The book is addressed to researchers in the area of agent technology, automated negotiation, distributed constraint satisfaction, and networking. Furthermore, it should be a valuable resource for both network and service providers