Patent ID: 8179838

Claim:
At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with instructions which, when executed by a processor, performs a method including: receiving at a local broadband wireless router data traffic to be forwarded to a broadband network; acquiring over a wireless communications link current bandwidth utilization rates for one or more neighboring broadband wireless routers; based at least in part on the current bandwidth utilization rate of the local router and the current bandwidth utilization rate acquired from the one or more neighboring wireless routers, forwarding the data traffic to the broadband network over a broadband interface of the local router or forwarding the data traffic to a selected one of the neighboring routers over a wireless interface of the local router; registering the local router with its broadband service provider in order to participate in an uplink bandwidth sharing service; and querying the broadband service provider for a password needed to acquire the bandwidth utilization rate for each of the neighboring routers.