Lucent Technologies Inc.

Allen M Rush

Donald Edward Crowe

Harold Shrage Fluss

D Reagan Rice

Joseph J Najda

An asynchronous transfer mode network, in accordance with the present invention, includes a plurality of remote terminals remotely disposed relative to a central office. The remote terminals are connected by a ring with two paths. The ring transfers signals thereon in opposite directions relative to each path. The central office feeds duplicate signals on each path. Each remote terminal includes a first multiplexer for routing signals transferred on the ring to and from an asynchronous feeder multiplexer. The asynchronous feeder multiplexer is adapted to route components of downstream signals on a first path of the ring to a destination and to replace the components of the signals on the first path with copies of components of signals running in an opposite direction on a second path of the ring such that at any location in the network both paths provide all signals.

Reverse statistical multiplexing to achieve efficient digital packing with link protection

A multi-services access system, such as a multi-services digital loop carrier (DLC) system for a telecommunications network, has a packet-mode card, such as a digital subscriber line (DSL) card, configured to receive data packets corresponding to one or more data signals and derived-voice packets from a single packet-mode customer premises equipment (CPE) unit, wherein the packet-mode card determines whether each received packet is a data packet or a derived-voice packet. The access system also has a packet interface configured to receive the data packets from the packet-mode card and to transmit the data packets to a packet-switched network for packet-based switching. In addition, the access system has a derived-signal server configured to receive the derived-voice packets from the packet-mode card and to convert the derived-voice packets into a digital voice stream, as well as a controller and a circuit interface configured to receive the digital voice stream from the derived-signal server and to transmit the digital voice stream to a circuit-switched network for circuit-based switching. Since the access system is able to assign resources dynamically to packet-mode CPE units (as opposed to prior-art DLC systems, which have resources pre-assigned), the system of the present invention is able to utilize system resources more efficiently. Moreover, since the system has an internal derived-signal server, there is no need to transmit derived voice signals outside of the system for conversion.

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Millburn, NJ, United States of America

Allen M Rush