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Channel quality management in a cable telephony system

  • US 5,862,451 A
  • Filed: 01/22/1996
  • Issued: 01/19/1999
  • Est. Priority Date: 01/22/1996
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A method for managing channels in a communications system in which communications units are connected to each other by a cable distribution network, wherein signals are sent between communications units in the cable distribution network using a plurality of channels, each of the plurality of channels being assigned a portion of a frequency spectrum, the method comprising:

  • sending data transmissions between a first communications unit and a second communications unit via a first channel in the plurality of channels, wherein the data transmissions from the second communications unit to the first communications unit are uplink data transmissions and data transmissions from the first communications unit to the second communications unit are downlink data transmissions;

    measuring quality metrics for a busy channel, the quality metrics including downlink quality metrics and uplink quality metrics for the busy channel;

    measuring quality metrics for an idle channel in the plurality of channels;

    identifying and tallying the number of occurrences of quality defects in the busy channel and the idle channel using the measured quality metrics; and

    managing the sending of data transmissions between the first communications unit and the second communications unit in response to identifying and tallying the number of occurrences of quality defects.

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