System and method for a multi-host subscriber loop
First Claim
1. A subscriber loop, comprising:
- a predetermined number of central office terminals coupled to a local exchange, a particular one of the central office terminals being coupled to each of the other central office terminals; and
a single network facility coupled to the particular one of the central office terminals to provide communications to and from subscribers, the single network facility supporting concentrated subscriber traffic, control information, and associated signaling onto one message structure and transmitting messages having the message structure to and from the particular one of the central office terminals, the particular one of the central office terminals operable to pass on messages according to their destination to the other central office terminals.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A multi-host subscriber loop (10, 70) includes N central office terminals (22-26, 78) coupled to a local exchange (20, 76), where one of the N central office terminals (22, 110) is directly coupled to all other central office terminals (24-26, 112-114). M remote terminals (40-46, 100-104) are coupled to a plurality of telephone service subscribers. A single network facility (16, 76) is coupled between the M remote terminals and N central office terminals. The single network facility concentrates subscriber traffic, control information and associated signaling onto one message structure (60, 140). Messages in this message structure are transmitted between the remote terminals and central office terminals. The message structure includes a plurality of time slots, a first predetermined number of the time slots being allocated to N control channels, at least one time slot being allocated to associated signaling, and remaining time slots being allocated to subscriber traffic.
21 Citations
41 Claims
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1. A subscriber loop, comprising:
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a predetermined number of central office terminals coupled to a local exchange, a particular one of the central office terminals being coupled to each of the other central office terminals; and
a single network facility coupled to the particular one of the central office terminals to provide communications to and from subscribers, the single network facility supporting concentrated subscriber traffic, control information, and associated signaling onto one message structure and transmitting messages having the message structure to and from the particular one of the central office terminals, the particular one of the central office terminals operable to pass on messages according to their destination to the other central office terminals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
at least one additional central office terminal establishing an additional subscriber loop, the additional central office terminal and the particular one of the plurality of central office terminals coupled by an optical ring configuration.
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11. A multi-host subscriber loop, comprising:
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a plurality of remote terminals coupled to a plurality of telephone service subscribers, a particular one of the remote terminals being coupled to each of the other remote terminals;
a single network facility coupled to the particular one of the remote terminals, the single network facility concentrating subscriber traffic, control information and associated signaling onto one message structure and transmitting messages having the message structure to and from the particular one of the remote terminals, the message structure including a plurality of time slots, a first predetermined number of time slots being allocated to a plurality of control channels, at least one time slot being allocated to associated signaling, and remaining time slots being allocated to subscriber traffic, the particular one of the remote terminals operable to pass on messages according to their destination to the other remote terminals. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of transmitting subscriber traffic, control, and associated signaling between a plurality of central office terminals at a local exchange and a plurality of remote terminals at a subscriber location, comprising:
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generating a frame structure having a plurality of time slots; and
allocating a predetermined number of the plurality of time slots to transmit subscriber traffic, control, and signaling of the plurality of remote terminals such that each remote terminal has a plurality of time slots allocated thereto;
partitioning the frame structure into a desired number of portions corresponding to a same desired number of remote terminals, each portion of the frame structure serving a particular one of the desired number of remote terminals, each portion of the frame structure having a first number of time slots for carrying subscriber traffic of a second number of subscribers supported by a particular remote terminal, the first number of time slots being less than the second number of subscribers. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A central office terminal, comprising:
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a first interface operable to receive information from and send information to a plurality of remote terminals over a transport medium, the plurality of remote terminals each providing a communication capability for a plurality of subscribers;
an extraction unit operable to extract and identify information for processing, the first interface operable to send information identified by the extraction unit as being received from a first one of the plurality of remote terminals to a processor in the central office terminal;
a second interface operable to send information identified by the extraction unit as being received from a second one of the plurality of remote terminals for processing by a second central office terminal, the second interface operable to receive information from the second central office terminal, the second interface operable to pass information received from the second central office terminal to the first interface for transfer over the transport medium to the second one of the plurality of remote terminals, wherein the first interface is associated with the first one of the plurality of remote terminals and the second interface is associated with the second one of the plurality of remote terminals. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
a third interface operable to send information identified by the extraction unit as being received from a third one of the plurality of remote terminals for processing by a third central office terminal, the third interface operable to pass information received by the third central office terminal to the first interface for transfer over the transport medium to the third one of the plurality of remote terminals, wherein the second and third central office terminals have access to the transport medium only through the first interface.
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34. The central office terminal of claim 33, wherein the first interface receives information associated with the first, second, and third remote terminals, the extractor unit being operable to extract information associated with the second remote terminal and the third remote terminal to allow the second interface to pass the information associated with the second remote terminal to the second central office terminal and to allow the third interface to pass the information associated with the third remote terminal to the third central office terminal.
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35. The central office terminal of claim 32, wherein the transport medium is a wireless communication link.
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36. The central office terminal of claim 32, further comprising:
a local exchange interface operable to process information identified by the extraction unit for transfer to a local exchange carrier.
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37. The central office terminal of claim 36, wherein the local exchange interface is operable to receive information from the local exchange carrier, the local exchange interface operable to pass on the information received from the local exchange carrier to the first interface for transfer over the transport medium.
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38. The central office terminal of claim 37, wherein the local exchange interface is operable to pass on information received from the local exchange carrier to the second interface for transfer to the second central office terminal.
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39. The central office terminal of claim 32, wherein the first interface is operable to generate a message structure for transfer over the transport medium, the message structure including concentrated subscriber traffic, control information, and associated signaling allocated in a plurality of time slots.
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40. The central office terminal of claim 39, wherein the message structure is partitioned into a desired number of portions corresponding to a number of remote terminals serviced by the transport medium.
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41. A central office terminal, comprising:
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a first interface operable to receive information from and send information to a transport medium;
an extraction unit operable to extract and identify information for processing;
a second interface operable to send information identified by the extraction unit for processing by a second central office terminal, the second interface operable to receive information from the second central office terminal, the second interface operable to pass information received from the second central office terminal to the first interface for transfer over the transport medium, wherein the first interface is operable to generate a message structure for transfer over the transport medium, the message structure including concentrated subscriber traffic, control information, and associated signaling allocated in a plurality of time slots, wherein each portion of the message structure has a first number of time slots for carrying subscriber traffic of a second number of subscribers associated with the corresponding remote terminal, the first number of time slots being less than the second number of subscribers.
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Specification