Customer premise equipment with access to free market based pricing for bandwidth on a communications network

摘要

A system and method for providing a user of communications services with free market based pricing may include providing for communications over one of multiple network paths serviced by multiple respective communications service providers via at least one communications network. One of the network paths over which to communicate based on current pricing from the multiple communications service providers may be selected and communications may be performed over the selected network path.

主权项

1. A customer premise equipment (CPE) for providing a customer of communications services with free market based pricing, said CPE comprising:
an input/output (I/O) unit configured to communicate over multiple network paths serviced by multiple respective communications service providers via at least one communications network; a memory; a processing unit in communication with said I/O unit and said memory, and configured to: receive current pricing from the multiple communications service providers via said I/O unit for communicating over the multiple respective network paths, wherein the current pricing reflects real-time changes to bandwidth usage over the multiple respective network paths, the current pricing increases for communications over the multiple respective network paths as bandwidth occupancy increases over the multiple respective network paths and decreases as bandwidth occupancy decreases over the multiple respective network paths, wherein current pricing is determined by dividing bandwidth occupancy by bandwidth capacity and multiplied by a network usage rate; and select a first network path of the network paths over which to communicate based on the current pricing; wherein the CPE is configured to switch from the first network path to a second network path of the network paths over which to communicate in response to a change in the current pricing exceeding a predetermined threshold differential in the current pricing for communication over the first network path and the second network path.