Patent ID: 8837293

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: an internet router configured to route internet traffic from an internet service provider to selected respective backbone providers in accordance with routing instructions; and a processor, coupled to the internet router, configured to: obtain fixed bandwidth from fixed bandwidth backbone providers; obtain usage-based bandwidth to handle bursts of internet traffic that exceed the fixed bandwidth from usage-based backbone providers; generate a fixed bandwidth routing instruction to route the internet traffic from the internet service provider to a selected fixed bandwidth backbone provider; generate a usage-based bandwidth routing instruction to route the internet traffic from the internet service provider to a selected usage-based bandwidth backbone provider on an as-needed basis if the internet traffic exceeds the fixed bandwidth; select a best of the usage-based bandwidth providers based at least on a financial cost of the usage-based bandwidth; and generate an overflow bandwidth routing instruction to route the internet traffic from the internet service provider to the best of the usage-based bandwidth backbone providers at the time a bandwidth overflow occurs.