Importance

Loading Importance Indicators...

Abstract

A system for distributing multimedia information from a central office to a plurality of customer's premises each interconnected to the central office with a dedicated optical fiber includes a switch for transmitting a plurality of optical bands from the central office to each of the subscriber premises. The switch, being located in the central office and controlled by selection signals provided to or by the central office, selects a subset of first signals, either electrical or optical, and blocks others of the signals that are not contained within the subset so that the customer receives only the signals subscribed to by the customer. Each customer's premises has a receiver, coupled to the corresponding dedicated fiber, to detect the subset desired by the customer. Moreover, the system is arranged to transmit customer-specific signals in a downstream direction to the receiver, with each receiver being arranged to propagate upstream signals which are the counterparts to the customer-specific signals.

Loading the Abstract Image...

First Claim