Claims
- 1. A core engine for enabling bandwidth-trading among a plurality of entities, the core engine comprising:
a seller interface a buyer interface; a database; a processing unit which, in response to executing the steps of a program module, is operative to:
receive data representing a particular bandwidth-commodity, the data identifying a bandwidth capacity, a first end point and a second end point, and being received from a bandwidth selling entity by means of the seller interface; store the data representing the particular bandwidth-commodity into the database; receive a bandwidth purchase request, the bandwidth purchase request identifying a desired bandwidth capacity between said first end point and said second end point, and being received from a bandwidth buying entity by means of the buyer interface; and if the bandwidth capacity of the bandwidth-commodity is sufficient to meet the desired bandwidth capacity of the bandwidth purchase request, execute a trade in which the ownership of the desired bandwidth capacity between said first end point and said second end point will be transferred to the bandwidth buying entity.
- 2. A core engine for enabling bandwidth-trading among a plurality of entities, the core engine comprising:
a seller interface a buyer interface; a database; a processing unit which, in response to executing the steps of a program module, is operative to:
receive data representing a plurality of bandwidth-commodities, for each of the plurality of bandwidth-commodities, the data identifying a bandwidth capacity, two of a plurality of end points, a period of time, and being received from one or more bandwidth selling entities by means of the seller interface; store the data representing the plurality of bandwidth-commodities into the database; receive a bandwidth purchase request, the bandwidth purchase request identifying a desired bandwidth capacity between a first end point and a second end point for a desired time period and being received from a bandwidth buying entity by means of the buyer interface; search the database to identify a compatible bandwidth-commodity of the plurality of bandwidth-commodities that meets the desired bandwidth capacity between the first end point and the second end point for the desired time period; and upon identifying a compatible bandwidth-commodity, execute a trade in which the ownership of the compatible bandwidth-commodity is transferred to the bandwidth buying entity.
- 3. The system of claim 2, further comprising a provisioning interface and prior to the commencement of the desired time period, the processing unit is further operative to send provisioning information via the provisioning interface to the facilities associated with the compatible bandwidth-commodity, the provisioning information being effective, when received by the facilities, to instruct the facilities to connect the first end point and the second end point in accordance with the compatible bandwidth-commodity.
- 4. The system of claim 3, further comprising a monitoring interface and during the desired time period, the processing unit is further operative to monitor the connection between the first end point and the second end point.
- 5. The system of claim 2, wherein the data representing a plurality of bandwidth-commodities includes pricing information for each of the plurality of bandwidth-commodities, the bandwidth purchase request includes a desired price, the processing unit being operative to search the database to identify a compatible bandwidth-commodity by further identifying a compatible bandwidth-commodity that satisfies the desired price requirements.
- 6. The system of claim 5, further comprising a billing interface and, prior to executing the trade the processing unit is operative to receive billing information from the bandwidth buying entity by means of the buying interface and, the processing unit is operative to execute the trade by sending the billing information over the billing interface to a billing entity.
- 7. The system of claim 2, further comprising a inventory interface and the processing unit being further operative to store the data representing a plurality of bandwidth-commodities within a storage device accessible through the inventory interface.
- 8. The system of claim 2, further comprising a data manager and the processing unit being further operative to maintain a database of information pertaining to bandwidth-commodities that have been traded, are available for trading, and the dates at which a bandwidth-commodity will become available for trading.
- 9. The system of claim 2, further comprising a feedback capability and the processing unit being further operative to provide feedback information via the buyer interface and the seller interface, the feedback information pertaining to status information regarding the trade.
- 10. A system for enabling bandwidth-trading among a plurality of entities, the system comprising:
a resource entity interface; a trading entity interface; a database; a processing unit which, in response to executing the steps of a program module, is operative to:
receive data representing a plurality of bandwidth-commodities, the data being received from one or more bandwidth resource entities by means of the resource entity interface; store the data representing the plurality of bandwidth-commodities into the database; receive a bandwidth purchase request from a trading entity by means of the trading entity interface; and search the database to identify a compatible bandwidth-commodity of the plurality of bandwidth-commodities that satisfies the bandwidth purchase request.
- 11. The system of claim 10, further comprising a buyer entity interface and, wherein upon identifying a compatible bandwidth-commodity, the processing unit is further operative to execute a trade in which the ownership of the compatible bandwidth-commodity is transferred to the buying entity.
- 12. The system of claim 10, wherein the trading entities interact with one or more buying entities and formulate the bandwidth purchase request based on needs of the buying entities and wherein upon identifying a compatible bandwidth-commodity, the processing unit is further operative to execute a trade in which the ownership of the compatible bandwidth-commodity is transferred to the buying entity.
- 13. The system of claim 10, wherein the data representing a plurality of bandwidth-commodities identifies a bandwidth capacity, two of a plurality of end points, and a period of time for each bandwidth-commodity of the plurality of bandwidth-commodities.
- 14. The system of claim 10, further comprising an enabling entity interface, and wherein an enabling entity is able to access the data representing a plurality of bandwidth-commodities via the enabling entity interface and is operative to create a neutral pooling point of bandwidth-commodities from various resource entities.
- 15. The system of claim 10, further comprising an enabling entity interface, and wherein an enabling entity is able to access the data representing a plurality of bandwidth-commodities commodities via the enabling entity interface and directly from a resource entity, and is operative to create a neutral pooling point of bandwidth-commodities from various resource entities.
- 16. The system of claim 14, wherein the enabling entity maintains information regarding the source of the bandwidth-commodity.
- 17. The system of claim 14, wherein the enabling entity maintains information regarding the buyer of a particular bandwidth-commodity.
- 18. The system of claim 14, wherein the enabling entity maintains information regarding connection information necessary to utilize a particular bandwidth-commodity.
- 19. The system of claim 14, wherein the enabling entity maintains information regarding a schedule for activating and deactivating the bandwidth-commodity.
- 20. The system of claim 10, wherein the bandwidth purchase request identifies a desired bandwidth capacity between a first end point and a second end point for a desired time period.
- 21. The system of claim 10, wherein the bandwidth purchase request identifies a desired bandwidth capacity between a first end point and a second end point.
- 22. A system for enabling commodity-trading among a plurality of entities, the system comprising:
a resource entity interface; an enabling entity interface; a trading entity interface; a database; a processing unit which, in response to executing the steps of a program module, is operative to:
receive data representing a plurality of commodities, the data being received from one or more resource entities by means of the resource entity interface; share the data representing the plurality of commodities with an enabling entity by means of the enabling entity interface; receive a purchase request from a trading entity by means of the trading entity interface; and provide the purchase request to an enabling entity by means of the enabling entity interface; and each enabling entity being operative interface with one or more resource entities and the processing unit to accumulate information regarding the commodities and to serve as a neutral pooling point for the commodities; and in response to receiving a purchase request, being operative to determine if a commodity is available to satisfy the purchase request.
- 23. A method for trading bandwidth as a commodity, the method comprising the steps of:
receiving data representing a plurality of bandwidth-commodities from one or more resource entities; receiving a request for a bandwidth-commodity trade from a buying entity; if the request is for a commodity purchase, searching the data representing the plurality of bandwidth-commodities to identify a particular bandwidth-commodity that satisfies the purchase and initiate the execution of the purchase; and if the request is for a commodity sale, searching the data representing the plurality of bandwidth-commodities to identify if there is a need for the commodity and initiate the execution of the sale.
- 24. The method of claim 23, wherein if the request is for a commodity purchase, further comprising the step of initiating the provisioning of a connection for the bandwidth-commodity.
- 25. The method of claim 24, further comprising the step of monitoring the connection to identify performance monitoring.
- 26. The method of claim 24, wherein after the connection is established, further comprising the step of notifying the resource entity and the buying entity that the connection has been established.
- 27. The method of claim 24, wherein the request for a bandwidth-commodity trade from a buying entity may be received through a trading entity.
- 28. The method of claim 27, wherein after the connection is established, further comprising the step of notifying the resource entity, the buying entity and the trading entity that the connection has been established.
- 29. The method of claim 28, wherein a billing entity is used to perform the monetary transfer to cover the bandwidth-commodity trade, further comprising the step of notifying the billing entity of the commodity purchase and the parties involved.
- 30. The method of claim 29, wherein after the connection is established, further comprising the step of notifying the resource entity, the buying entity, the trading entity and the billing entity that the connection has been established.
- 31. The method of claim 23, wherein if the request is for a commodity purchase, further comprising the step of obtaining the information necessary to provision a connection for the bandwidth and passing this information to an enabling entity for provisioning at a later date.
- 32. The method of claim 23, wherein if the request if for a commodity purchase, further comprising the step of obtaining the information necessary to provision a connection for the bandwidth and passing this information to a trading entity for provisioning at a later date.
- 33. A core engine for enabling bandwidth-trading among a plurality of entities, the core engine comprising:
a seller interface a buyer interface; a database; a processing unit which, in response to executing the steps of a program module, is operative to:
receive data representing a particular bandwidth-commodity, the data identifying a bandwidth capacity, a first end point and a second end point, and being received from a bandwidth selling entity by means of the seller interface; store the data representing the particular bandwidth-commodity into the database; receive a bandwidth sell request, the bandwidth sell request identifying a bandwidth capacity between two end points and being received from a bandwidth buying entity by means of the buyer interface; and execute a trade and update the database.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is related to U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/214,144, entitled “A BUSINESS MODEL FOR PERFORMING BANDWIDTH TRADING”, filed on Jun. 26, 2000 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, entitled “A BUSINESS MODEL FOR PERFORMING BANDWIDTH TRADING” filed on Nov. ______, 2000. This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/214,096 filed on Jun. 26, 2000.
Provisional Applications (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60214144 |
Jun 2000 |
US |
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60214096 |
Jun 2000 |
US |