Patent ID: 8116298

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a plurality of digital subscriber line (XDSL) modems; a data line; and a controller coupled to the XDSL modems and the data line, the controller being operable to: maintain a plurality of sets of assignable network addresses, each one of the plurality of sets being associated with a selected one of a plurality of ISPs, each one of the plurality of sets being assignable only to subscribers of the selected one of the plurality of ISPs with which the set is associated, wherein each set of assignable network addresses comprises a plurality of subsets of network addresses for the selected one of the plurality of ISPs; receive a request for data service from a subscriber of a selected one of the plurality of ISPs; identify an availability guarantee value associated with the subscriber; couple the data line to a selected one of the XDSL modems to establish a subscriber session in response to the request, the selected one of the XDSL modems within a modem pool that includes a subset of modems within the XDSL modems, the selected one of the XDSL modems selected based on the availability guarantee value associated with the subscriber and a level of service value associated with the selected one of the XDSL modems; assign a network address to the subscriber session from at least one of the plurality of subsets of assignable network addresses that is associated with the selected one of the plurality of ISPs; remove the network address assigned to the subscriber session from the set of assignable network addresses when the network address is assigned; and return the network address assigned to the subscriber session to the set of assignable network addresses when the subscriber session is terminated.