Patent ID: 8306882

Claim:
A differential billing method comprising: determining which of a plurality of access systems data traffic flows through between a subscriber and a service provider, wherein the service provider operates a plurality of servers through which traffic flows to and from access systems, including a first server through which traffic flows to and from a first access system, and a second server through which traffic flows to and from a second access system, and wherein determining which of a plurality of access systems data traffic flows through between a subscriber and a service provider comprises determining which server, of the plurality of servers, through which the data traffic flows; using an identity of the determined access system as a basis to determine a fee that the service provider should charge the subscriber, wherein using the identity of the determined access system as the basis to determine the fee that the service provider should charge the subscriber comprises a billing system processor applying a billing rate corresponding with the determined access system so as to determine the fee; and charging the determined fee to the subscriber.