SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR UTILIZING ACCOUNT TIERS IN AN ELECTRONIC NETWORK

摘要

A system and method for utilizing account tiers in an electronic network includes a peer-to-peer network of client devices. The client devices are configured to perform content transfers for obtaining desired content items directly over the peer-to-peer network, or from a CDN server device. The client devices generate account-tier selections to choose from among the supported account tiers. A tier manager monitors, updates, and stores the tier selections from the client devices. The tier manager also calculates content prices that vary depending upon the particular selected account tier. The client devices then pay the appropriate designated content prices for accessing and utilizing desired content items.