Patent ID: 6295554
Filing Date: 2001-09-25
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
A method of providing a program interface to a cable modem with telephony return in a computer comprising a user level, an operating system level comprising a standard interface for communicating with the RF interface and the PSTN interface, and a driver level for communicating hardware that implements the RF interface and the PSTN interface, comprising the steps of:providing a protocol driver for connecting an application to a network and a standard modem service for connecting the protocol driver to a public-switched telephone network (PSTN) interface;configuring a PSTN-connected modem driver using the standard modem;providing a cable modem driver for communicating with a radio frequency interface for receiving downstream data from a high frequency coaxial cable (HFC) and for receiving upstream data from the application; andproviding an inner protocol driver at the driver level for receiving upstream data from the cable modem driver and for sending the upstream data to the PSTN-connected modem driver.