Verizon Communications Inc.

Bell Atlantic Network Services, Inc.

Verizon Services Corporation

Raymond Ian Millet

Robert D Farris

Dale Lee Bartholomew

Faye M Smith

R Andrew Poole

David Harold Cave

John M Carman

Lin H Kerns

Kyle Vincent Evans

N Sharon Embrey

Stephen J Flaherty

Denny L Hylton

Richard G Backus

Charles H Stier

David D Hunter

John Andrew Herhei

Nolan Marcus Forness

A communications network, for example forming a local exchange carrier telephone network, utilizes three layers of fiber optic rings. The point of demarcation between customer premises media and network media comprises an intelligent soft network interface device or 'soft NID'. First layer rings carry telephone and data communications between the soft NIDs and remote terminals. Several remote terminals in an area communicate via one of the next higher level rings to a host digital terminal. The host digital terminals communicate with each other via a backbone optical fiber ring, and a media gateway controller on this ring provides high level service logic. The remote terminals and preferably the host digital terminals are service switching points (SSPs), for intelligent services provided by the network. Local legacy switches connect to remote terminals, whereas a router on the backbone provides communications to other networks, including legacy long distance networks.

Multi-layer ring architecture for fiber-to-the-home telco carrier network

For communications interface across the line of demarcation between the customer premises media and a link of a public digital broadband communication network, a network interface device is 'soft' in that it is adaptable to different service applications and readily programmable from both the network-side and the customer-side. A network-side interface provides a communications connection to a broadband network link at an edge of the digital broadband network. A customer-side interface provides communications connection to one or more media in the customer premises, for example, to telephone and LAN wiring within the premises. The soft network interface device also includes a data processing system, for controlling at least some of the communications through the interfaces. The data processing system is capable of being programmed with network service provisioning data from the public network as well as with user programming received from the customer premises.

Soft network interface device for digital broadband local carrier networks

A number of proposals have been developed to provide data communications over two-wire copper circuits at rates equivalent to a number of combined ISDN B-channels. For example, for an ISDN rate digital subscriber line (IDSL), the circuit between the network termination at the customer premises and the channel bank carries data on two combined B-channels. An IDSL circuit cannot carry voice communications. Some such services carry the lower rate signaling D-channel only on the subscriber line circuit. Normal ISDN services carry voice services on one of the two B-channels, limiting data communications to the other B-channel. Normal ISDN services do carry the lower rate D-channel through the network, but this channel is used only for call set-up signaling, low speed data communications and the like. The invention uses two or more B-channels on the DSL circuit for data communications and transports voice telephone communications on the low speed signaling D-channel. The bearer (B) channels typically connect to a high speed data network, such as SMDS, for services such as Internet access. The voice communications on the D-channel utilize in-band call set-up signaling and appropriate CODECs for digital communications compressed to the low D-channel rate. The channel bank includes a multiplexer/demultiplexer to combine four active D-channels voice communications into one DS0 for transport to a switch module, for example, in an end office telephone switch.

D-channel voice communications

A digital network delivers multiplexed channels to a customer premises. Each multiplexed channel contains a digitally multiplexed data stream including digitized broadband information relating to a number of programs. At the customer premise, a shared processing system includes several channel selectors and program selectors. Each channel selector selects one of the multiplexed channels, and each program selector selects digitized broadband information relating to a selected program from a selected channel. A multiplexer combines the selected digitized broadband information from the program selectors into a transport stream. A transmitter system, for example comprising a digital modulator, a spread spectrum modulator and a broadcast antenna, provides a wireless broadcast of the digital transport stream throughout the customer premise and possibly one or more near by premises. Terminal devices within range of the broadcast receive the wireless broadcast and process selected digitized broadband information from the transport stream to present information relating to a selected program, e.g. on an associated television set.

Wireless on-premises video distribution using digital multiplexing

Growing community of inventors

Bowie, MD, United States of America

Raymond Ian Millet