Patent ID: 8893197

Claim:
A system for providing media content to a plurality of set-top boxes over a licensed spectrum and over an unlicensed spectrum, the system comprising: a first set-top box (“STB”) at a first customer premises, the first STB being one of a plurality of STBs at one or more customer premises, each of the plurality of STBs comprising a first transceiver configured to receive media content over the licensed spectrum and a second transceiver configured to send and receive media content over the unlicensed spectrum, the first STB configured to receive, at a first transceiver of the first STB, a first portion of media content over the licensed spectrum; a second STB of the plurality of STBs, the second STB configured to receive, at a first transceiver of the second STB, a second portion of the media content over the licensed spectrum, and configured to transmit, using a second transceiver of the second STB, the second portion of the media content to a second transceiver of the first STB over the unlicensed spectrum; and a remote terminal located at a service provider; wherein one of the first STB or the remote terminal is configured to: determine that additional bandwidth is required by the first STB to receive the media content; determine that two or more STBs of the plurality of STBs have available bandwidth; link the two or more STBs with the first STB, based on the determination that the two or more STBs of the plurality of STBs have available bandwidth; wherein the first STB is further configured to receive portions of the media content via the two or more STBs over the unlicensed spectrum; and wherein the one of the first STB or the remote terminal is further configured to, in response to a determination that transmission of the portions of the media content to the first STB over the unlicensed spectrum has been completed, release the available bandwidth of each of the two or more STBs.