In the field of communications, the need for high-speed transmission of data including video and audio has continued to increase. Moreover, there has been an increase in the selection of services by which users can connect to a network, such as the Internet. Specifically, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) may allow for connectivity to the Internet through lower-speed connections at different rates, such as 56 kilobits/second, by employing a Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) line. Other choices for connection, which are at higher speeds, into a network can include Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) service (both using a POTS line), and cable modem service over a Radio Frequency (RF) cable line.
Additionally, there is an increasing demand by the ISPs to allow for modifications in the connection rates for a given type of service. In particular, the market to provide certain services, including DSL, is very competitive. Accordingly, the low-speed connections are deeply discounted. Additionally, there are less users of the higher-speed connections due to the costs. Therefore, ISPs need an approach to offering variable services, wherein a subscriber can typically pay for low-speed connection service, while occasionally upgrading their connection when a higher bandwidth may be needed and/or advantageous.
Accordingly, this enables the ISPs as well as the users of the ISPs flexibility with regard to bandwidth usage and costs associated therewith. To help illustrate, a given user may want to connect to the Internet at a slower connection speed when the user is only traversing pages of different web sites, in comparison to when the user may be involved in a video conference and/or downloading a large amount of data wherein a higher connection speed is needed and/or more advantageous.
Disadvantageously, current approaches to allow for modifications to a subscriber connection (such as modifications to the connection rate or policing values for the connection) to a network require that the subscriber connection be broken, wherein a new connection is re-established that applies these modifications. Accordingly, subscribers experience service interruptions when a modification is made to the current connection. Moreover, administrators working for the ISPs can be required to manage the updates to these subscriber accounts and/or connections.