Importance

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Abstract

Broadband connections of end users to the Internet are becoming more and more common today, and the most common types of these fast connections are ADSL and Cable modems. These connections are typically still very slow compared to the speeds that are expected in the next few years and typically also highly asymmetric and allow typically 750-2000 Kbit per second (most typically 1500 Kbit) for the downlink and typically for example 96 Kbit or 128 Kbit per second for the uplink (although standard ADSL can in principle support up to 8 Mbit per second download speed and up to 800 Kbit per second upload speed), based on the assumption that most users download much more data than they upload. However, for many users these limitations are highly undesirable, and these are for example home users or small businesses or organizations who want to use the connection also for example for VOIP (voice over IP) communications and/or Video-over IP communications and/or conferences and/or for example running web servers and/or for example various p2p applications, and in fact the low uplink also many times slows down the downlink due to the overhead needed for dealing with relatively small packets, so that any additional uplink by the user can severely limit the real downlink that can be achieved below the downlink bandwidth which the user is paying for. Actually ADSL is beginning to be replaced in some places by VDSL where the distance to the nearest street switchboard is about 1.2 Kilometers or less, which in principle allows up to 52 Mbit per second Download speed and up to 16 Mbit per Second Upload speed. However, these modems are expensive and are only slowly entering the market and only in a few countries. On the other hand there is no need to upgrade typical cable modems for enabling faster speeds, such as for example 20 Mbit downlink and 2 Mbit uplink, as is offered for example in France, when the ISPs start offering such speeds--since the typical common cable modem is already capable of such speeds. The present invention enables an improved Ethernet-over-coax solution which enables using one or a few very high speed modems, each for multiple users or apartments, preferably in combination with very cheap and very fast home networks (offering preferably at least up to 100 Mbit per second for each computer, preferably at full duplex), preferably based on the Cable TV coax cables, so that multiple computers can share the same internet connection for example in the same apartment and/or communicate between themselves. This preferably includes using a different frequency for the Ethernet-over coax channel for each computer in the apartment. Also shown are for example improved home networks using the second set of normally unused 2 phone wires and for example some improvement in HPNA networks, such as for example using HPNA also to connect between the street switchboard and the home or office instead of having to use also for example an ADSL or VDSL modem.

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First Claim