Patent ID: 8126429

Claim:
A method, performed by an online access provider, for providing wireless online access to a multitude of secondary subscribers, the method comprising: for a secondary wireless unit used by a corresponding one of the multitude of secondary subscribers, which secondary wireless unit and corresponding secondary subscriber are located within a wireless access signal space, providing authentication of the secondary wireless unit, thereby authorizing one primary subscriber among multiple primary subscribers, which primary subscriber established the wireless access signal space using a corresponding primary wireless unit, to provide, to the corresponding secondary subscriber, online access by data packet transmission via a wireless communications link established between the corresponding primary wireless unit and the secondary wireless; and crediting, to the primary subscriber, a revenue amount, which revenue amount is credited by the online access provider to the primary subscriber in return for the primary subscriber providing online access in the wireless access signal space on behalf of the online access provider to at least one secondary subscriber of the multitude of secondary subscribers.