Patent ID: 7889670

Claim:
A network access system, configured to be located at a premises of a subscriber of network services provided by a network service provider, and configured to be in operative communication with a primary network via an access network and at least one subscriber terminal via a local network, the system comprising: a network access point in communication with the subscriber terminal via the local network, the network access point comprising at least one processor and a set of software modules executable by the processor to perform one or more operations, the set of software modules embodied on one or more non-transitory computer readable media and comprising: a data storage module, configured to store network characteristic; data pertaining to an effective bandwidth to a subscriber terminal on the local network; an interface module, configured to receive a request for requested portion of the network characteristic data over the access network from a requesting, wherein the requesting party is a content provider that provides content for delivery to the subscriber terminal; an access module, configured to determine whether the requesting party has access rights to the requested portion of the network characteristic data; a query module, configured to execute a query against the network characteristic data when the requesting party has access rights to the requested portion of the network characteristic data, the query being generated as a function of the request and configured to retrieve results data relating to at least some of the requested portion of the network characteristic data; and a reporting module, configured to report the results data for communication over the access network to the requesting party.