A modified end user network access point includes a switching module and a controller to track usage of the end user network access point by wirelessly connected end user devices. The tracked usage information is transmitted from the end user network access point to a remotely coupled data center. The data center collects usage information from a plurality of different end user network access points. The collected usage information is in turn transmitted from the data center to a network carrier. The network carrier uses the received usage information to bill users for accessing the end user network access points and using any services provided by the end user network access points. An owner of each end user network access point is compensated by the network carrier each instance that an end user device utilizes the end user network access point to access the network carrier's communications network.

In various embodiments, a method is described that includes receiving mobile device usage data directly from each of a plurality of mobile devices associated with a particular enterprise, aggregating the usage data from each of the plurality of mobile devices at a central database, and generating one or more mobile device usage reports based on the aggregated usage data.

A communication system includes: an information transmission section that performs information transmission via a communication network; a communication relaying section that relays a communication between a mobile communication terminal and the communication network; and a fee determination section that determines a communication fee for communication via a communication network or a monetary amount of reward for the information transmission, based on a first communication volume related to the information transmission, or on a ratio of the first communication volume to a second communication volume related to the communication relaying.

Presented are methods and systems to universally assess composite utility consumption (1) in which a plurality of real-time and batch sensor readings such as from multiple disparate utility sensor data inputs (3) may be acquired and stored such as into a local device (2) or a central data warehouse (6). A composite utility estimated cost generator (9) can generate missing or uncorrelated data and a collected composite utility data information correlator (11) can correlate the data so it can be applied to determine some type of composite utility cost information. For real-time calculation, a disparate utility rate information accessor (8) can obtain multiple items of disparate rate information and this can use with correlated data to create a composite utility consumption and spend so a user can manage and control utility usage for a home, building, facility, plant, specific equipment, or the like. Cost information, such as a rate of spend or spend amount(s) to date or for a period may be presented to user in a variety of visualizations and reporting formats including specific time usage and spend information, specific time range usage and spend, and time-of-use billing information for specific real-time data points. The visualization and reporting may be used to answer a plurality of usage questions along with specific characterizations of utility spend across time of day domains and specific equipment usage domains thus affording more effective utility cost management.

An augmented reality-based lighting design method includes displaying, by an augmented reality device, a real-time image of a target physical area on a display screen. The method further includes displaying, by the augmented reality device, a lighting fixture 3-D model on the display screen in response to a user input, where the lighting fixture 3-D model is overlaid on the real-time image of the target physical area. The method also includes displaying, by the augmented reality device, a lighting pattern on the display screen overlaid on the real-time image of the target physical area, wherein the lighting pattern is generated based on at least photometric data associated with the lighting fixture 3-D model.