Patent ID: 7552870

Claim:
A method of authorizing usage and trading of network resources, comprising: storing data in first type accounts, each said first type account representing an account of a corresponding network resource user, each said first type account having at least one balance; storing data in second type accounts, each said second type account representing an account of a corresponding network resource access gateway operator; wherein credit on at least one of said second type accounts acts as credit on at least one of said first type accounts; receiving a request from a requestor to authorize substantially immediate provision of network resources, said request containing sufficient information to identify a specific one of said first type accounts and a specific one of said second type accounts; responsive to said request, sending a reply to the requestor, authorizing or denying provision of said network resources at least partially dependent on one of said at least one balance of said identified first type account; and adjusting one of said at least one balance of said identified first type account and a balance of said identified second account by amounts dependent on said network resources used.