Patent ID: 7830888

Claim:
A method of supporting data services over a network, the method comprising: receiving a request, in accordance with a first protocol specifying authorization and usage reporting, for authorization of a communication session from a policy server, wherein the policy server forwards the request, in accordance with a second protocol specifying policy deployment, in response to a message from a proxy server requesting authentication, authorization, and accounting, the proxy server initiating the communication session between clients in accordance with a third protocol specifying connection setup and teardown; selectively authorizing the request based on a Quality of Service (QoS) level associated with the communication session according to the first protocol; and transmitting an acknowledgement message to the policy server authorizing the communication at the QoS level based on the authorizing step, wherein the first protocol includes Open Settlement Policy (OSP), the second protocol includes Common Open Policy Service (COPS), and the third protocol includes Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).