Patent ID: 8805922

Claim:
A system for negotiating a network connection for the benefit of a user computer, comprising: a plurality of network access point computers which are fully automated and are configured to provide access to a computer network, the plurality of network access point computers each associated with a provider service outline; and a negotiation processor selecting a selected network access point from the plurality of network access point computers, the selecting being based on a negotiation between the user computer and the plurality of network access point computers using the provider service outlines and a requested service outline, the negotiation being conducted at the same time between the user computer and the plurality of network access point computers, the negotiation involving at least one counter-offer by the user computer, the counter-offer made in response to at least one provider service outline to obtain selected price or network metric in accordance with the requested service outline, the requested service outline being based on service metrics requested by the user computer and comprising one or more of preferred bandwidth, connection time, and network reliability; wherein the selected network access point enables the network connection when the selected network access point and the user computer agree on a payment amount for the network connection; and the plurality of network access point computers compete to provide network access to the user computer.