Allocating access across a shared communications medium to user classes

A method of providing network access across a shared communications medium between at least four competing users, with at least a first pair of users being grouped within a first class and at least a second pair of different users being grouped within a second class, comprising the steps of:

• (a) determining class and user allowances of network access for a first time interval by allocating network access to each user class for a first future time interval and, for each user class, allocating network access to each user within the class for the first time interval,
• (b) providing network access to each user during the first time interval such that no user receives more network access than that user's allowance and no class receives more collective network access than that class' network allowance;
• (c) determining class and user allowances of network access for a second time interval by allocating network access to each user class for a second future time interval succeeding the first time interval and, for each user class, allocating network access to each user for the second time interval, the allocated network access for the second time interval for at least one user differing from that user's allocated network access for the first time interval;
• and
• (d) providing network access to each user during the second time interval such that no user receives more network access than that user's allowance and no class receives more collective network access than that class' allowance;
• (e) wherein said step of determining class and user allowances of network access for a first time interval by allocating network access includes,
• (i) monitoring network access usage by each user,
• (ii) forecasting collective network access usage by each user class during a future time interval based on said step of monitoring network access usage by each user, and
• (iii) prioritizing the user classes for the allocating of the network access.