Importance

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Abstract

Protection switching method and apparatus in which a service (e.g. a call) which needs to be moved to a different communication channel can be moved without having to move other services being carried on the same channel. In a particular coaxial cable-based telephony system embodiment, a plurality of frequency division multiplexed communication channels are each sub-multiplexed (with DMT for example) to carry a plurality of sub-channels. Each larger channel is controlled by a different modem at the head end, and all channels are combined onto a single cable. If the quality of one of the sub-multiplexed channels in a first one of the larger channels degrades sufficiently, and no other sub-multiplexed channels within the same first channel of sufficient quality are available to carry the service, then that service is moved to a different second channel controlled by a different modem. Other services being carried in the first channel are not moved to other channels unless they, too, are experiencing unacceptable quality degradation.

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First Claim