| CPC H04L 47/783 (2013.01) [H04L 45/76 (2022.05)] | 20 Claims |

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1. A method comprising:
collecting, by a processing system including at least one processor, performance data for a communications network from a plurality of sensors distributed throughout the communications network;
calculating, by the processing system, based on the performance data, an estimated value of a lower limit of an available bandwidth in the communications network and an estimated value of an upper limit of the available bandwidth in the communications network;
receiving, by the processing system, a query from a network attached entity that is separate from the processing system for the available bandwidth in the communications network, the available bandwidth having a bandwidth range; and
providing, by the processing system, a response to the query to the network attached entity via an access network of the communications network, wherein the response contains the estimated value of the lower limit and the estimated value of the upper limit to allow the network attached entity to select, based on the estimated value of the lower limit and the estimated value of the upper limit, an optimal bandwidth usage setting for a data transfer.
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