Patent ID: 8630192

Claim:
A mobile end-user device, comprising: an access-network modem enabling the mobile end-user device to communicate with a network system over a wireless access network; a local-area-network modem enabling the mobile end-user device to communicate with one or more other mobile end-user devices over a local-area network, the one or more other mobile end-user devices including a particular mobile end-user device; one or more processors coupled to the access-network modem and to the local-area-network modem, the one or more processors capable of executing one or more instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: cause or at least assist the mobile end-user device to provide a forwarding service to the particular mobile end-user device, the forwarding service for forwarding traffic between the particular mobile end-user device and the network system; cause or at least assist the mobile end-user device to provide information associated with the forwarding service to the particular mobile end-user device, the information for at least assisting the particular mobile end-user device to control usage of the forwarding service by the particular mobile end-user device; and cause or at least assist the mobile end-user device to verify an aspect of the forwarding service used by at least a portion of the one or more other mobile end-user devices, the at least a portion of the one or more other mobile end-user devices comprising the particular mobile end-user device; and memory coupled to the one or more processors and configured to provide the one or more processors with the one or more instructions.