Patent ID: 6498667
Filing Date: 2002-12-24
Classification: H04Q

Abstract:
A method of communication between a central terminal and plural remote terminals over a passive optical network having a downstream portion and an upstream portion, the method comprising:transmitting downstream data from the central terminal to the plural remote terminals in successive downstream frames over the downstream network portion, the downstream data including downstream packet data; transmitting upstream data from the plural remote terminals to the central terminal in respective upstream timeslois over the upstream network portion, the upstream timeslots forming successive upstream frames, the upstream data including upstream packet data; wherein the downstream data further includes downstream ATM cell data; and wherein each downstream frame comprises a first number of downstream subframes, each downstream subframe comprising a second number of downstream timeslots, each downstream timeslot having one of a plurality of downstream formats including a downstream packet format for carrying downstream packet data and a downstream cell format for carrying downstream ATM cell data.