Patent ID: 8254915

Claim:
A system for enabling subscribers of a communications carrier to communicate over wireless access points of other residential consumer subscribers of the communications carrier, said system comprising: a storage unit configured to store at least one database including information identifying residential consumer subscribers and associated subscriber subscription agreements provided by a communications carrier, a network of wireless access points associated with the residential consumer subscribers of the communications carrier, at least one of the subscription agreements enabling residential consumer subscribers to access wireless access points of other residential consumer subscribers of the communications carrier to communicate over a communications network; and a computing system in communication with said storage unit and the network of wireless access points of the residential consumer subscribers, said computing system configured to: receive a request signal from a wireless device of a user via a wireless access point of a residential consumer subscriber of the communications carrier to communicate over the communications network; query the at least one database stored in said storage unit to determine whether the user of the wireless device is a subscriber of the communications carrier and has a subscription agreement enabling the subscriber to communicate over the communications network via the network of wireless access points of other residential consumer subscribers; and enable the wireless device to access the wireless access point in response to determining that the user is a subscriber of the communications carrier and has a subscription agreement enabling the subscriber to communicate over the communications network via the network of wireless access points of other residential consumer subscribers.