Patent ID: 8478272

Claim:
A configurable base station, comprising: a plurality of radio devices, each of which establish a wireless connection between the base station and a plurality of user devices, at least one of the plurality of radio devices configurable to establish the wireless connections using multiple frequencies or protocols; a network interface that sends data to a network and receives data from the network; at least one processor; and at least one executable software module that, when executed by the at least one processor, detects a connection request from a requesting one of the plurality of user devices, identifies a carrier associated with the requesting user device, determines whether the associated carrier has subscribed for coverage from the base station, and when it is determined that the associated carrier has subscribed for coverage from the base station, determines whether there is an available contracted one of the plurality of devices, when it is determined that there is an available contracted one of the plurality of radio devices, establishes a connection between the requesting user device and the available contracted radio device, and when it is determined that there is not an available contracted one of the plurality of radio devices, determines whether the associated carrier has overage coverage, and when it is determined that the associated carrier has overage coverage, reconfigures one of the plurality of radio devices to use a frequency or protocol which is different than it was using prior to reconfiguration and establishes a connection between the requesting user device and the reconfigured radio device.