1. A method of operation in a router that is part of a wide area network, the method comprising: filtering inbound data packets received on an input port of the router to identify data packets that correspond to a selected group of addresses relative to data packets that are not within the selected group of addresses; and providing priority routing for the data packets in the selected group of addresses, including performing a look-up into a routing table applicable to the selected group of addresses to identify one or more transmission paths that meet a minimum transmission requirement relative to other available transmission paths, and routing the data packets to at least one cooperating service provider using one of the identified one or more transmission paths.