Alcatel

Bell Atlantic Network Services, Inc.

Kenneth DePaul

Eric Albin Voit

Bruce W Kostreski

Lance S Liptak

Josh Bailey

One embodiment of the disclosures made herein is a Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM) adapted for facilitating DSLAM-hosted information storage functionality. In accordance with such embodiment, the DSLAM includes a storage apparatus and a storage management apparatus. The storage management apparatus is adapted for enabling data storage functionality to be facilitated between a subscriber data processing system and the storage apparatus. Such data storage functionality includes preparing a subscriber storage space account designating at least a portion of available storage space of the storage apparatus as a mapped network drive on the subscriber data processing system; receiving a storage space access request from a data processing system accessible by a subscriber; creating a cross-connection between the storage apparatus and a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) circuit serving the subscriber in response to verifying the storage space access request; and creating at least one of a virtual connection (VC) and a tunnel between a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) circuit serving a subscriber and a subscriber data processing system.

DSLAM-hosted information storage functionality

A control node, such as a services control point, of an intelligent telephone network interfaces to a wireless broadband network for signaling communications with broadband terminals. In normal operation, the terminals present video or other broadband information carried on the wireless network, typically via an associated television set. During processing of a telephone call, a central office switching system of the telephone network will recognize a predetermined event in call processing which triggers a query to the control node. Ultimately, the control node will return an instruction to the switching system to continue call processing. However, as part of its own processing, the control node sends a message through the broadband network to the broadband terminal of the subscriber to which the telephone call relates. If operational, the terminal may display call related information contained in the message, e.g. Caller ID information for an incoming call. The display may also prompt the user to input information. If so, the set-top terminal will transmit the subscriber input information upstream through the wireless broadband network to the control node. In such a case, the control node formulates its instruction to the central office switching system to control further processing of the telephone call, at least in part, based on the subscriber input information. The call processing of the present invention applies to both incoming and outgoing calls.

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Wake Forest, NC, United States of America

Kenneth DePaul