Abstract: A method of servicing data access requests from users connected to a distributed service network comprises determining the user, the communications client used to connect to the network and the data stream conversions required for the user to communicate between the communications client and one or more accessed services. The method provides that the data access is provided independent of the connection point and the data communications client.

Abstract: To transmit a stream of data packets over a physical channel, virtual channels for each data type (e.g. video, graphics, text) are created and mapped onto the physical channel based on a priority assigned to each virtual channel. Each virtual channel is also assigned a quality of services (QoS). A channel controller is allocated to each virtual channel. These channel controllers are connected to a dispatcher which receives the stream of data packets and distributes the data packets to the channel controllers based on the virtual channel to which the channel controllers are allocated. Should a channel controller encounter degradation in a transmission which reduces QoS below the specified values, a QoS parameter is adjusted. If this action does not achieve the specified QoS, the channel warns the dispatcher. The dispatcher, upon receipt of the warning, may, depending on the data type, reduce that channel controller's specified QoS or another channel's QoS.