Wide area fiber and tv cable fast packet cell network

Abstract

53 byte length ATM compliant cells are transmitted over a digital optical fiber path to interconnect with a coaxial feeder cable TV system to support two-way digital services at a plurality of sites connected to the TV cable system. At the point of interconnection between the fiber optic path and the cable TV feeder subsystem, digital signals are converted to a UHF rf carrier frequency above the cutoff pass-band of the analog signal feeder amplifier carrying TV broadcast signals. This rf carrier conveys a high data rate digitally modulated signal limited to sections of feeder cable between the cable TV broadcast channel amplifiers. In-house access to this UHF carrier signal is via the normal TV cable tap and drop cable to a SIU, located near the subscriber's TV set. The feeder cable and the passive taps used in cable TV practice have a higher cutoff frequency than the feeder amplifiers themselves. This allows passage of an UHF signal over the feeder cable. Low pass filters at the feeder amplifiers prevent this UHF signal from being shorted out by the in-cable amplifiers. Each SIU so connected sends and receives the UHF carrier signal, which conveys the ATM type cells. Each cell's payload contains the local address of the source and destination of that cell. Each SIU decodes each cell's address and accepts only those cells that are for itself. The SIUs speak to and receive signals from an FTU located at the TV cable headend or at a fiber connection node. The common channel conveying the ATM cells alternatively sends and receives cells in a ping-pong fashion.