Verifiable service policy implementation for intermediate networking devices

#With the advent of mass market digital communications and content distribution, many access networks such as wireless networks, cable networks and DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) networks are pressed for user capacity, with, for example, EVDO (Evolution-Data Optimized), HSPA (High Speed Packet Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access), and Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) wireless networks increasingly becoming user capacity constrained. Although wireless network capacity will increase with new higher capacity wireless radio access technologies, such as MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output), and with more frequency spectrum being deployed in the future, these capacity gains are likely to be less than what is required to meet growing digital networking demand.

#Similarly, although wire line access networks, such as cable and DSL, can have higher average capacity per user, wire line user service consumption habits are trending toward very high bandwidth applications that can quickly consume the available capacity and degrade overall network service experience. Because some components of service provider costs go up with increasing bandwidth, this trend will also negatively impact service provider profits.

#Various embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

#FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified (e.g., “flattened”) network architecture in accordance with some embodiments.

#FIG. 2 illustrates another simplified (e.g., “flattened”) network architecture including an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) relationship in accordance with some embodiments.

#The invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as a process; an apparatus; a system; a composition of matter; a computer program product embodied on a computer readable storage medium; and/or a processor, such as a processor configured to execute instructions stored on and/or provided by a memory coupled to the processor. In this specification, these implementations, or any other form that the invention may take, may be referred to as techniques. In general, the order of the steps of disclosed processes may be altered within the scope of the invention. Unless stated otherwise, a component such as a processor or a memory described as being configured to perform a task may be implemented as a general component that is temporarily configured to perform the task at a given time or a specific component that is manufactured to perform the task. As used herein, the term ‘processor’ refers to one or more devices, circuits, and/or processing cores configured to process data, such as computer program instructions.

#A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the invention is provided below along with accompanying figures that illustrate the principles of the invention. The invention is described in connection with such embodiments, but the invention is not limited to any embodiment. The scope of the invention is limited only by the claims and the invention encompasses numerous alternatives, modifications and equivalents. Numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. These details are provided for the purpose of example and the invention may be practiced according to the claims without some or all of these specific details. For the purpose of clarity, technical material that is known in the technical fields related to the invention has not been described in detail so that the invention is not unnecessarily obscured.

#With the development and increasing proliferation of mass market digital communications and content distribution, communication network capacity gains are being outpaced by growing digital networking demand. For example, some industry experts project average wireless device usage of four devices per subscriber, with a mixture of general purpose devices like smart phones and computers along with special purpose devices like music players, electronic readers, connected (e.g., networked) cameras and connected gaming devices. In addition, wire line user service consumption habits are trending toward very high bandwidth applications that can quickly consume the available capacity and degrade overall network service experience if not efficiently managed. Because some components of service provider costs go up with increasing bandwidth, this trend will also negatively impact service provider profits.