The present invention is directed to a intranet for providing on-demand
Internet access to subscribers which includes a service node and a
plurality of subscriber terminals coupled to the service node by
corresponding xDSL lines. In turn, the service node includes a switch
coupled to the xDSL lines, a gateway coupled to the Internet, a router
which couples the switch to the gateway and a bandwidth measurement
server coupled to the gateway. The bandwidth measurement server
determines upload and/or download data transfer rates between the service
node and requesting ones of said the subscriber terminals coupled
thereto.