METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING SETTLEMENT OF INTERCONNECTED PACKET-SWITCHED NETWORKS

摘要

An approach for supporting settlement of network usage associated with multiple network service providers is disclosed. A settlement system (301) includes a processor that determines a settlement agreement among the network service providers. The settlement agreement specifies rate information associated with traffic exchange among the corresponding networks of the network service providers. A traffic monitor (307) measures source traffic statistics, which is stored in a settlement database (309). Additionally, the settlement database (309) stores the settlement agreement. The processor computes settlement information based upon the stored traffic statistics; the settlement information includes usage cost differential information for reconciliation of network usage among the various networks.