Patent ID: 6917628

Claim:
A method of providing network access across a DOCSIS 1.0 compliant cable network of a data-over-cable (DOC) network to at least two users competing for bandwidth, comprising the steps of: (a) determining for each user a respective first bandwidth allowance for a first future time interval; (b) generating a first set of cable modem configuration files, each of which limits bandwidth consumption by a cable modem (CM) of a respective user to that user's first bandwidth allowance; (c) sending the configuration files to a Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) Server of the DOC Network; (d) sending a command either to each user's CM or to a cable modem termination system (CMTS) to which each user's CM is connected to cause each CM to acquire its new respective configuration file of the first set for the first time interval; (e) determining for each user a respective second bandwidth allowance for a second future time interval, a second bandwidth allowance of at least one of the users differing from that user's first bandwidth allowance; and (f) for each user having a second bandwidth allowance different from that user's first bandwidth allowance, (i) generating a second cable modem configuration file which limits bandwidth consumption of that user's CM to a value representative of that user's second bandwidth allowance; (ii) sending the second configuration file for that user to the TFTP Server of the DOC Network; and (iii) sending a command either to that user's CM or to the CMTS to which that user's CM is connected to cause the CM to acquire the second configuration file for that user for the second time interval.