US Patent 9325597 Bandwidth upgrade recommendation

A determination of a minimum data transfer rate needed to effectively perform a data transfer activity is provided. If the minimum data transfer rate needed to effectively perform the activity is greater than the amount of bandwidth available according to an associated subscription tier, a notification may be provided to a subscriber that a bandwidth adjustment is available and may be desirable for a better quality experience of the data transfer activity. The notification may be in the form of a text message, an email, a pop-up window, or a user interface control, and may include a selectable functionality, which when selected, may send a request to adjust the amount of bandwidth available to the subscriber.