Patent ID: 7924734

Claim:
A method for configuring a network to provide communication between end user devices and a carrier network, the method comprising: receiving service attribute data associated with one or more network communication resources and traffic demand; based at least in part on the service attribute data, selecting one or more network communication resources available to provide communication between the end user devices and the carrier network, the network communication resources being selected from a group comprising network nodes, traffic demand nodes, aggregation points, relays, network transmission media, and communication ports; determining a plurality of costs corresponding to a plurality of different transmission modes that can be used to establish a communication channel between each of the one or more selected network communication resources and the carrier network; and analyzing the plurality of costs to render at least one transmission mode for use in establishing communication with the carrier network, wherein an optimal configuration for the network between the end user devices and the carrier network is defined at least in part using the one or more selected network communication resources, traffic demand nodes served by the carrier network, backhaul costs, profitability of the traffic demand nodes, and the rendered transmission mode(s).