Methods and apparatus to provide services over integrated broadband communication systems

Methods and apparatus to provide services over integrated broadband communication systems include an example method to manage access to a communication link to a customer premises. Such an example method comprises determining a data rate for the communication link, determining whether the customer premises utilizes a predetermined service, identifying the communication link as disabled when the customer premises does not utilize the predetermined service and the data rate is below a first rate, and identifying the communication link as enabled for the predetermined service and disabled for at least one other service when the customer premises utilizes the predetermined service and the data rate is below the first rate and above a second rate.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates generally to integrated broadband communication systems and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus to provide services over integrated broadband communication systems.

BACKGROUND

In today's competitive environment, telecommunication service providers endeavor to integrate services onto a single broadband communication link. For example, many service providers strive to be a subscriber's sole source of the “triple play services” of television (e.g., internet protocol television (IPTV)), telephone (e.g., voice over internet protocol (VoIP)) and Internet (e.g., data and email services). Digital subscriber line (DSL) and other broadband access technologies enable the triple play services to be integrated onto a single communication link between a customer premises and the service provider's network. Conventional broadband access techniques are designed to guaranty a minimum bandwidth or data rate over the communication link to the customer premises to ensure delivery of all of the services to which the customer premises has subscribed. If this minimum bandwidth or data rate cannot be guaranteed, for example, due to weather conditions, equipment outages, etc., then the conventional broadband access techniques completely disable the communication link to avoid providing services that do not meet the obligations of the subscriber's subscription agreement until the minimum bandwidth/data rate can be achieved.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example methods and apparatus to provide link access management in a broadband communication system providing integrated services are disclosed herein. In an example implementation of an integrated broadband communication system, multiple services are provided by a service provider over a communication link to a customer premises. Example services may include, but are not limited to, any or all of the “triple play services” of television service, internet service and telephone service. The multiple services are “integrated” in the sense that they are provided by the same service provider and share the available bandwidth of the communication link. As such, the communication link in the example integrated broadband communication system is configured to support a data rate that is nominally the aggregate of the required minimum data rates for the individual services (referred to herein as an “aggregated data rate”). In some example broadband communication systems, a maximum and minimum acceptable aggregated data rate may be established for the communication link, wherein the minimum acceptable aggregated data rate is defined as the data rate required to simultaneously deliver all services to which the customer premises has subscribed.

Various phenomena may cause the communication link to be unable to support the minimum acceptable aggregated data rate. Such phenomena may include, but are not limited to, weather outages, equipment outages, network maintenance outages, unexpected service interruptions, etc. Example methods and apparatus disclosed herein provide link access management for the communication link by monitoring the data rate available over the communication link to determine whether the link is able to support the complete set of services provided to the customer premises. If the monitored data rate falls below the minimum acceptable aggregated data rate, some example link access management methods and/or apparatus disclosed herein determine whether the link should be disabled or remain enabled for a limited set of predetermined priority services (which is less than the complete set of services to which the subscriber has subscribed and may include one or more services). Additionally or alternatively, some example link access management methods and/or apparatus disclosed herein determine whether any or all of the limited set of priority services require one or more modifications to be made available within the reduced (sub-aggregated) bandwidth of the degraded communication link. Example modifications may include, but are not limited to, compressing the data associated with the affected service to fit within the reduced bandwidth, lowering the quality of the affected service, utilizing different codecs to provide the affected service, etc.

In some example link access management methods and/or apparatus disclosed herein, bandwidth and/or service indications are provided to the customer premises to indicate the bandwidth and/or services available over the communication link at the current time. The service indications may also indicate whether one or more services have been modified to be made available within a reduced bandwidth associated with a degraded communication link. Additionally or alternatively, some example link access management methods and/or apparatus disclosed herein may provide emergency notifications to the service provider and/or the customer premises when the communication link becomes degraded or, in other words, the data rate available over the communication link falls below the minimum acceptable aggregate data rate. Such emergency notifications may include, but are not limited to, sending outage notifications to the service provider, causing phones to ring at the customer premises with a special ringtone, causing a pre-recorded message to be played at the customer premises via a telephone, television, computer, etc.

The example link access management methods and/or apparatus disclosed herein may be more fully understood in the context of the example integrated broadband communication system100depicted inFIGS. 1 and 2. A block diagram of the example integrated broadband communication system100is shown inFIG. 1. The example integrated broadband communication system100may be implemented by a service provider using any type of broadband communication system, such as, for example, an internet protocol television (IPTV) system (e.g., such as AT&T's Project Lightwave), a digital subscriber line (DSL) communication system (e.g., such as a DSL system implemented using asymmetric DSL (ADSL), very high data rate DSL (VDSL), etc.), a cable television communication system, a satellite communication system, a microwave communication system, etc.

The example integrated broadband communication system100includes a central office105to provide services to a plurality of customer premises110,115,120via a plurality of respective communication links125,130,135. The service provider uses the central office105to aggregate services, such as, for example, one or more video services140, one or more internet services145and one or more telephone services150. As such, the integrated broadband communication system100of the illustrated example is configured to provide the “triple play services” of telephone service (e.g., PSTN and/or VoIP service), video service (e.g., IPTV service) and internet service to one or more of the customer premises110,115,120. For example, the customer premises110may subscribe to all of the triple play services provided by the service provider (e.g., voice service, video service and internet service), whereas the customer premises115may subscribe to only video service and internet service, and/or the customer premises120may subscribe to only telephone service. Of course, any other combination of any other voice and/or data service can be provided to any customer premises depending on the service provider's capabilities and/or business plan.

The communication links125,130,135may be configured to support any communication protocol/standard, such as, but not limited to, IPTV, DSL, a fiber-optic communication standard, a cable television communication standard, etc. The communication links125,130,135may be implemented using any appropriate physical media, such as, for example, fiber-optic cables, coaxial cables, twisted wire pairs, microwave links, satellite links, radio frequency (RF) wireless links, etc. For example, the communication link125between the central office105and the customer premises110may be implemented via a fiber-optic link155from the central office105to a node interface160and then a copper link165from the node interface160to the customer premises110. Such a configuration is known as a fiber to the node (FTTN) implementation. In such an implementation, the node interface160may be co-located with the customer premises110and allow fiber-optic cable to be used for most of the communication link125between the central office105and the customer premises110while simplifying installation by using the existing twisted pair wiring within the customer premises110. Alternatively, the node interface160may be located in a neighborhood area and serve a plurality of customer premises110. As another example, the communication link135between the central office105and the customer premises120may be implemented entirely via a fiber-optic cable. Such a configuration is known as a fiber to the premises (FTTP) implementation. The example link access management methods and apparatus disclosed herein are compatible with FTTN and/or FTTP implementations.

A more detailed block diagram of the example integrated broadband communication system100is shown inFIG. 2in which like components inFIGS. 1 and 2are labeled with the same reference numerals. The block diagram ofFIG. 2further illustrates the connections between the central office105and the sources of services140,145,150provided by the example integrated broadband communication system100. For example, the central office105includes internally, and/or interfaces externally, with a plurality of switches and/or routers205,210,215to communicate with the sources of the services140,145,150. The central office105also uses the plurality of switches and/or routers205,210,215to aggregate the services140,145,150for distribution within the example integrated broadband communication system100. For example, the switches and/or routers205,210,215could be implemented by any type of switches and/or routers, such as, for example, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switches, frame relay switches, internet protocol (IP) switches, Ethernet routers, etc., and could be located in the central office105and/or at remote network locations.

In the illustrated example, the central office105communicates via the switches and/or routers205to a video head office220to obtain access to the video service140. For example, the video head office220may include one or more video servers storing video content for distribution within the example integrated broadband communication system100. Additionally, the central office105communicates via the switches and/or routers210to an internet service provider225to obtain access to the internet service145. The internet service provider225may be the service provider of the example integrated broadband communication system100, an affiliate or subsidiary of the service provider, a third-party internet service provider, etc.

To provide telephone service in the context of the offered triple play services, the example integrated broadband communication system100ofFIG. 2is configured to support voice over internet protocol (VoIP) telephone service. Thus, the central office105communicates via the switches and/or routers215to a voice gateway230. The voice gateway230provides an interface between the standard public switched telephone (PSTN) service150and the VoIP telephone service offered within the example integrated broadband communication system100.

The block diagram ofFIG. 2also illustrates the implementation of the example communication link125between the example central office105and the example customer premises110as well as the various services provided by the communication link125to the customer premises110. For example, the central office105of the illustrated example includes an access node235to aggregate the services to be provided by the example integrated broadband communication system100and to implement the service provider termination of the communication link125. The communication link125of the illustrated example is implemented via a FTTN configuration and, as such, the fiber-optic link155is used to implement the communication link125between the central office105and the node interface160. A copper link165is then used to complete the communication link125between the node interface160and the customer premises110. In the illustrated example, a DSL access technology, (e.g., such as VDSL or VDSL2) is used over the copper link165(or, more generally, the copper loop) to implement the communication link125. As such, the node interface160includes a DSL access multiplexer (DSLAM)240to multiplex multiple DSL lines onto the fiber-optic link155which serves as a backbone link between the node interface160and the central office105. For example, the DSLAM240may be used to route individual DSL links over individual copper links165to a plurality of customer premises110served by the node interface160. Additionally or alternatively, the DSLAM240may be used to multiplex, or “bond,” a plurality of DSL links to create a single logical DSL link over the copper link165to the single customer premises110. DSL link bonding is discussed in greater detail below in the context ofFIG. 3. Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the DSLAM240could be located in the node interface160, as shown, or at the central office105, or at any other appropriate location in the example integrated broadband communication system100.

At the customer premises110of the illustrated example, the communication link125is terminated at a routing gateway245that couples the communication link125to various customer premises equipment. In the illustrated example, the routing gateway245is coupled to a set-top box250that is further coupled to a television255to provide television service (e.g., IPTV) to the customer premises110. The set-top box250and the television255may be implemented using any known set-top box and television technology. Also, the set-top box250may be separate from, or integrated in, the television255. The routing gateway245of the illustrated example is further coupled to a computer260to provide internet service (e.g., including mail, web browsing, etc.) to the customer premises110. The computer260may be implemented using any known computer technology, such as, for example, a desktop computer, a notebook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an internet interface to the television255and/or a separate television, etc. Additionally, the routing gateway245of the illustrated example is coupled to the telephone265to provide telephone service to the customer premises110. For example, the telephone265may be a VoIP telephone capable of directly coupling to the communication link125, a standard plain old telephone service (POTS) telephone coupled to the communication link125via a VoIP interface included in the routing gateway245, etc.

Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the routing gateway245may be implemented using any gateway and/or routing technology. The routing gateway245may be integrated with the set-top box250, or the routing gateway245and the set-top box250may be separate devices. Additionally or alternatively, the routing gateway245may also include wired and/or wireless internet router functionality to allow a plurality of internet-capable devices to share the internet services provided by the communication link125.

As discussed above, the DSLAM240may support DSL link bonding in which a plurality of DSL links are combined to create a single logical DSL link over the copper link165to the single customer premises110. As such, the bandwidth of each individual DSL link is combined via DSL bonding to create a higher available bandwidth over the communication link125. To more fully understand DSL bonding in the context of the example integrated broadband communication system100, an example DSL bonding configuration300is shown inFIG. 3. The example DSL bonding configuration300includes the DSLAM240ofFIG. 2which is configured to multiplex DSL cable links165,305and310corresponding to three separate customer premises (not shown) onto the single fiber-optic backbone line155. The example DSL bonding configuration300also includes the cable link165between the DSLAM240and the routing gateway245as shown inFIG. 2. However, in the illustrated example ofFIG. 3, the cable link165is implemented by bonding two physical DSL links315,320into a single logical bonded DSL link325. The resulting bonded DSL link325is treated as a single connection between the DSLAM240and the routing gateway245, but with the increased bandwidth associated with combining the two physical DSL links315,320.

The higher bandwidth of the bonded DSL link325results in a higher available bandwidth over the communication link125from the central office105to the customer premises110. The higher bandwidth allows the example integrated broadband communication network100to supply premium services as part of the triple play services provided to the customer premises110. For example, such premium services could include the ability to support more standard and/or high-definition televisions255, the ability to provide higher-speed internet access, etc. However, in the case of link degradation or failure in conventional systems, the bonded DSL link325is treated as a single link and may be considered failed and be disabled even if only one of the physical DSL links315,320suffers the degradation or failure. As such, in conventional implementations, bonded configurations typically have lower link reliability than non-bonded configurations.

To ensure sufficient bandwidth to support the integrated services (e.g., the triple play services) provided by the central office105to the customer premises110in the example integrated broadband communication system100, the DSLAM240defines a loop profile that includes a maximum and minimum acceptable aggregated data rate over the communication link125. The minimum acceptable rate is defined as the data rate required to deliver all of the services to which the subscriber has subscribed. The difference between the maximum and minimum acceptable aggregated data rate is typically a few Mbps. The DSLAM240and the routing gateway245negotiate an actual data rate for the communication link125based on present line conditions. For example, the DSLAM240and the routing gateway245may negotiate an actual data rate for the communication link125at power-on, at predetermined intervals of time, upon the occurrence of one or more predefined events, etc.

Various phenomena may cause the communication link to be unable to support the minimum acceptable aggregated data rate. Such phenomena may include, but are not limited to, weather outages, equipment outages, network maintenance outages, unexpected service interruptions, etc. For example, weather may have a negative impact on the quality of the local copper loop (e.g., the performance of the copper link165implementing the communication link125). Typically, weather phenomena do not sever the local copper loop, but cause the local loop's performance to become severely degraded. Large weather disturbances may result in degraded performance for a significant period of time. Other factors that may lead to the degradation of the local loop including equipment wear, age, lack of maintenance, network events, etc.

In conventional implementations, the DSLAM240is not allowed to accept a negotiated data rate below the minimum acceptable aggregated data rate threshold as a way to guaranty delivery of all services to which the customer premises110has subscribed. If the negotiated data rate is below this aggregated threshold, the DSLAM240disables the communication link125in its entirety because there is insufficient bandwidth to support all services to which the customer premises110has subscribed. Such an implementation is not ideal, however, especially in the case of the DSL bonding configuration300ofFIG. 3discussed above, given the increased unreliability of bonded configurations. Furthermore, even though the negotiated data rate is below the minimum acceptable aggregated data rate required to support all subscribed services, the available data rate may still be sufficient to support one or more priority services. Examples of such priority services include: (1) emergency (e.g., 911) outgoing telephone calls to local police, fire, ambulance, etc., via the communication link125, (2) alarm monitoring and notification at the customer premises via the communication link125, and/or (3) medical reporting devices configured to report data to a medical facility via the communication link125for monitoring and possible medicine allocation. Of course, other services could be considered priority services depending on the particular application and loss of any or all of the priority services could be dangerous or even disastrous for the customer premises110.

The following table illustrates example bandwidths (data rates) to support various services to be provided by the example integrated broadband communication system100.

As can be seen from the preceding table, there is a significant difference between the bandwidth (data rate) used for the priority VoIP telephone service and the bandwidth (data rate) used for the other services. Therefore, only a very small percentage of the minimum acceptable aggregated data rate is employed to support the priority services over the communication link125. For example, the minimum acceptable aggregated bandwidth used to supply the triple-play services of high speed internet service, VoIP telephone service and IPTV video service could be, for instance, approximately 20 Mbps. According to the preceding table, a single VoIP telephone line requires only 125 kbps. Thus, the effective percentage of the overall minimum acceptable bandwidth required for the VoIP telephone line is approximately 0.6% ((125 kbps/20 Mbps)*100%). Unless the local copper loop is completely severed, it is highly improbable that enough bandwidth cannot be salvaged to provide this priority service even under severely unfavorable conditions.

With the preceding in mind, an example link access management configuration400for use in the example integrated broadband communication system100ofFIGS. 1-2is shown inFIG. 4. The example link access management configuration400utilizes various link access modules implemented in the DSLAM240and routing gateway245to manage access to the communication link125. In particular, the link access management configuration400enables the communication link125to provide priority services even if the negotiated (available) data rate falls below the minimum acceptable aggregated data rate required to provide all services to which the customer premises110has subscribed.

To support the link access management methods and apparatus disclosed herein, the example routing gateway245includes the following link access modules: a rate monitor405, a link manager410, a policy manager415, a bandwidth indicator420and an emergency notifier425. To also support the link access management methods and apparatus disclosed herein, the example DSLAM240includes the following link access modules: a link manager430and an emergency notifier435. In some example implementation, the DSLAM240may also include a rate monitor440and a policy manager445. Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that any or all of the rate monitor405, the link manager410, the policy manager415, the bandwidth indicator420and/or the emergency notifier425may be integrated into one or more link access modules for inclusion in the example routing gateway245. Persons of ordinary skill in the art will also appreciate that any or all of the link manager430, the emergency notifier435, the rate monitor440and/or the policy manager445may be integrated into one or more link access modules for inclusion in the example DSLAM240.

In the example ofFIG. 4, the rate monitor405included in the routing gateway245monitors the data rate available over the communication link125. The rate monitor405may be implemented using any known technique or techniques for performing rate monitoring, such as, but not limited to, determining the number of received data packets received over the communication link125during a predetermined time interval, reading control and/or configuration information transmitted over the communication link125, etc. Additionally, the rate monitor405may also monitor the communication link125for the presence of a heartbeat signal indicating that the communication link125is operational. The heartbeat signal may include, but is not limited to, a known data packet or information signal transmitted at predetermined time intervals, a signal transmitted continuously at a predetermined frequency, etc.

The link manager410included in the routing gateway245of the illustrated example receives the monitored data rate for the communication link125from the rate monitor405. The link manager410also receives configuration information from the policy manager415specifying whether the customer premises110associated with the routing gateway245subscribes to one or more predetermined priority services. The configuration information received from the policy manager415may also specify the bandwidth (data rate) required to provide the one or more priority services and/or modified forms of the one or more priority services.

For example, the configuration information provided by the policy manager415may specify that VoIP service is a priority service and indicate whether the customer premises110subscribes to the VoIP telephone service. Additionally, the configuration information may specify that the VoIP telephone service requires a first priority bandwidth/data rate (e.g., such as 0.5 Mbps) to operate in an unmodified form and a second priority bandwidth/data rate (e.g., such as 0.2 Mbps) to operate in a modified form. The unmodified form of the VoIP telephone service may correspond to allowing both incoming and outgoing phone calls with standard G.711 audio companding. The modified form of the VoIP telephone service may correspond to (a) allowing both incoming and outgoing phone calls but recompressed with G.729 audio companding, (b) allowing only emergency (e.g., 911) outgoing phone calls (e.g., calls from the customer premises) that are recompressed with G.729 audio companding, etc. Examples of other services that may be identified as priority services by the policy manager415include alarm monitoring and notification services, medical reporting/health monitoring services, etc. These priority bandwidths required for each of these additional example priority services may be the same as or different from the VoIP service discussed above.

Additionally or alternatively, the policy manager415provides configuration information to the link manager410specifying whether one or more priority services need to be provided to the customer premises110regardless of whether the routing gateway245subscribes to such services. For example, governmental regulatory schemes may require that service providers offer specified lifeline access to all customer premises110. In such examples, the policy manager415may specify that the required lifeline access is a priority service for the customer premises110. Furthermore, the configuration information provided by the policy manager415to the link manager410may include one or more priority bandwidths needed to provide the required lifeline access.

The link manager410included in the example routing gateway245ofFIG. 4uses the information provided by the rate monitor405and the policy manager415to negotiate with the example DSLAM240for access to the communication link125. For example, the link manager410included in the example routing gateway245may negotiate with the link manager430included the example DSLAM240over a link management communication path445to determine an actual data rate for the communication link125. The actual date rate negotiated by the link managers410and430may be based on (a) the available data rate determined by the rate monitor405, (b) whether or not the customer premises110subscribes to any priority services as specified by the policy manager415and (c) the corresponding bandwidth/data rate requirements if the customer premises110subscribes to one or more priority services. As an example, if the available data rate over the communication link125is greater than the minimum acceptable aggregated data rate (e.g., such as 20 Mbps) for all services subscribed to by the customer premises110, then the actual data rate for the communication link125may be negotiated as a value between the minimum acceptable aggregated data rate and the maximum acceptable aggregated data rate. If, however, the available data rate is less than the minimum acceptable aggregated data rate and the customer premises110does not subscribe to any predetermined priority services, the link managers410and430may negotiate to disable the communication link125entirely

However, if the available data rate is less than the minimum acceptable aggregated data rate and the customer premises110subscribes to one or more predetermined priority services, the link managers410and430may negotiate multiple tiers of service to, thereby, keep the communication link125enabled for at least the priority services and at an actual data rate below the minimum acceptable aggregated data rate. For example, if a priority service subscribed to by the customer premises110is a VoIP telephone service and the available data rate is not less than a first priority data rate (e.g., such as 0.5 Mbps), the negotiated data rate may be a value sufficient to support both incoming and outgoing unmodified VoIP phone calls. If, however the available data rate is less than the first priority data rate (e.g., such as 0.5 Mbps) but not less than a second priority data rate (e.g., such as 0.2 Mbps), the negotiated data rate may be a value sufficient to support both incoming and outgoing VoIP phone calls, but with the calls recompressed to fit within the reduced available bandwidth. However, if the available data rate is less than the second priority data rate (e.g., such as 0.2 Mbps), the negotiated data rate may be a value sufficient to support only outgoing emergency (e.g., 911) VoIP phone calls that are recompressed to fit within the reduced available bandwidth.

Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the communication link125itself may be used as the link management communication path445between the link manager410included in the example routing gateway245and the link manager430included in the example DSLAM240. Additionally or alternatively, a communication link other the communication link125may be used to implement the link management communication path445. For example, the link management communication path445could be implemented via a standard (e.g., PSTN) telephone link, a wireless link, a separate DSL link, etc.

The example routing gateway245ofFIG. 4also includes the bandwidth indicator420to provide one or more bandwidth indications that indicate the bandwidth and/or access status of the communication link125. The bandwidth indicator420provides the one or more bandwidth indications via a bandwidth indicator output450. The bandwidth indicator output450may be implemented by the communication link125in which the bandwidth indicator420outputs the one or more bandwidth indications as specially formatted messages to be transmitted over the communication link125to one or more devices for presentation in the customer premises110. Additionally or alternatively, the bandwidth indicator output450may be implemented by a separate connection to couple the example routing gateway245to one or more devices for presentation in the customer premises110. In either configuration, the bandwidth indicator output450may be configured to couple to, for example, the set-top box250and/or the television255ofFIG. 2to display the one or more bandwidth indications in the customer premises.

Any type of bandwidth indication may be output by the bandwidth indicator420. For example, the bandwidth indicator420may output a bandwidth indication corresponding to the total available upstream bandwidth of the communication link125. Additionally or alternatively, the bandwidth indicator420may output a bandwidth indication corresponding to the total available downstream bandwidth of the communication link125. Furthermore, the bandwidth indicator420may output bandwidth indications that cause a chart to be displayed indicating the availability of the services subscribed to by the customer premises110. For example, if the customer premises110subscribes to the “triple play services” then the chart generated by the bandwidth indicator420may included entries for video, VoIP and internet services, and may associate a green state indicator with a particular service if the service is enabled or may associate a red state indicator with a particular service if the service is disabled. Additionally, if the VoIP service is a predetermined priority service as discussed above, bandwidth indicator420may associate a green state indicator with the VoIP service if both incoming and outgoing calls are enabled, a yellow state indicator if only outgoing emergency (e.g., 911) calls are enabled, or a red state indicator if no VoIP service is available (e.g., such as when the communication link125is disabled because no heartbeat signal is detected by the rate monitor405).

The example routing gateway245ofFIG. 4also includes the emergency notifier425to provide one or more emergency notifications to the customer premises110corresponding to one or more predetermined emergency conditions. The predetermined emergency conditions may correspond to, for example, a loss of heartbeat signal over the communication link125, a drop in the VoIP service level below the green state (e.g., if only outgoing calls are enabled due to a reduction in available bandwidth), any service being disabled due to inadequate available bandwidth over the communication link125, etc.

The emergency notifier425provides the one or more emergency notification via an emergency notification output455. The emergency notification output455may be implemented by the communication link125in which the emergency notifier425outputs the one or more emergency notifications as one or more specially formatted messages to be transmitted over the communication link125to one or more devices for presentation in the customer premises110. Additionally or alternatively, the emergency notification output455may be implemented by a separate connection to couple the example routing gateway245to one or more devices for presentation in the customer premises110. In either configuration, the emergency notification output455may be configured to couple to, for example, the set-top box250and/or the television255ofFIG. 2to display the one or more emergency notification as alert messages viewable by persons in the customer premises110. Additionally or alternatively, the emergency notification output455may be configured to couple to one or more telephones in the customer premises such that the emergency notifier425is able to ring the one or more telephones and play a prerecorded alert message to persons in the customer premises110.

The emergency notifier425of the illustrated example includes an emergency configuration input460to allow a person in the customer premises to select whether or not the emergency notifier425should provide a notification via the emergency notification output455when service has been restored and, thus, the emergency condition is no longer present. The emergency configuration input460may be implemented by the communication link125in which the emergency notifier425receives one or more emergency configurations as one or more specially formatted messages over the communication link125. Additionally or alternatively, the emergency configuration input460may be implemented by a separate connection to couple the example routing gateway245to one or more input devices in the customer premises110. In either configuration, the emergency configuration input460may be configured to couple to, for example, the set-top box250and/or the television255ofFIG. 2to receive emergency configuration information input via, for example, a remote control device used to control the set-top box250and/or the television255. Additionally or alternatively, emergency configuration input460may be configured to couple to one or more telephones in the customer premises such that the emergency configuration information may be entered by a person via one or more touch-tone commands.

To support emergency notifications on the network side, the example DSLAM240ofFIG. 4also includes the emergency notifier435. When configured for use with the DSLAM240, the emergency notifier435sends emergency notifications via an emergency notification output465to the service provider of the example integrated broadband communication system100. The emergency notifications provided by the emergency notifier435may be generated in response to one or more predetermined emergency conditions associated with the communication link125. Example predetermined emergency conditions include a loss of heartbeat signal over the communication link125, negotiating an actual data rate for the communication link125that is less than the minimum acceptable, for example data rate, etc.

In the example ofFIG. 4, the DSLAM240also includes the rate monitor440and the policy manager445. As a result, the DSLAM240is capable of providing centralized link access management in contrast to the distributed link access management performed by the example routing gateway245discussed previously. The functionality of the rate monitor440and the policy manager445when included in the example DSLAM240is substantially the same as the functionality of the rate monitor405and policy manager415included in the example routing gateway245. For example, the rate monitor440is configured to monitor the available data rate of the communication link125in a manner substantially similar to the operation of the rate monitor405discussed above. The policy manager445, in turn, determines whether the customer premises110served by the communication link125subscribes to any priority services and, if so, the policy manager445specifies the parameters of those priority services. The functionality of the policy manager445is substantially similar to the functionality of the policy manager415. As such, the rate monitor440and policy manager445are not discussed further herein and the interested reader is referred to the description of the rate monitor405and policy manager415provided above for further discussion concerning the functionality of these elements.

Flowcharts representative of example machine readable instructions that may be executed to implement the example DSLAM240ofFIGS. 2-4, the example routing gateway245ofFIGS. 2-4, and/or the example rate monitor405, the example link manager410, the example policy manager415, the example bandwidth indicator420, the example emergency notifier425, the example link manager430, the example emergency notifier435, the example rate monitor440and/or the example policy manager445ofFIG. 4are shown inFIGS. 5,6A-6B, and7-9. In these examples, the machine readable instructions represented by one or more of the flowcharts may comprise one or more programs for execution by: (a) a processor, such as the processor1012shown in the example computer1000discussed below in connection withFIG. 10, (b) a controller, and/or (c) any other suitable device. The one or more programs may be embodied in software stored on a tangible medium such as, for example, a flash memory, a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, a hard drive, a DVD, or a memory associated with the processor1012, but persons of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that the entire program or programs and/or portions thereof could alternatively be executed by a device other than the processor1012and/or embodied in firmware or dedicated hardware in a well-known manner (e.g., implemented by an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), a field programmable logic device (FPLD), discrete logic, etc.). For example, any or all of the example DSLAM240, the example routing gateway245, the example rate monitor405, the example link manager410, the example policy manager415, the example bandwidth indicator420, the example emergency notifier425, the example link manager430, the example emergency notifier435, the example rate monitor440and/or the example policy manager445could be implemented by any combination of software, hardware, and/or firmware. Also, some or all of the machine readable instructions represented by the flowcharts ofFIGS. 5,6A-6B, and7-9may be implemented manually. Further, although the example machine readable instructions are described with reference to the flowcharts illustrated inFIGS. 5,6A-6B, and7-9, persons of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that many other techniques for implementing the example methods and apparatus described herein may alternatively be used. For example, with reference to the flowcharts illustrated inFIGS. 5,6A-6B, and7-9, the order of execution of the blocks may be changed, and/or some of the blocks described may be changed, eliminated, combined and/or subdivided into multiple blocks.

Example machine readable instructions500that may be executed to implement the example routing gateway245ofFIG. 4are shown inFIG. 5. The example machine readable instructions500may be executed at predetermined intervals, based on an occurrence of a predetermined event, etc., or any combination thereof. For example, the machine readable instructions500may be executed upon start-up of the routing gateway245, whenever a service is activated or deactivated at the customer premises110, at predetermined intervals, such as hourly, daily, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the example machine readable instructions may be executed upon the occurrence of trigger generated remotely, for example, at the central office105, DSLAM240, etc. and/or locally by, for example, a user input to the routing gateway245.

The machine readable instructions500begin execution at block510at which the policy manager415included in the example routing gateway245determines the service provisioning associated with the routing gateway245and/or the customer premises110in which the routing gateway245is located. Specifically, the routing gateway245determines whether the customer service provisioning includes subscription(s) to one or more predetermined priority services. If the customer premises110does subscribe to one or more predetermined priority services, at block510the policy manager415may also determine configuration information associated with the one or more priority services. Such configuration information may include, for example, the bandwidth (data rate) required to provide the one or more priority services and/or modified forms of the one or more priority services, allowed modifications to the one or more priority services, etc. Control then proceeds to block520at which rate monitor405included in the example routing gateway245monitors the data rate available over the communication link125. At block520, the rate monitor405may also monitor the communication link125for the presence of a heartbeat signal indicating that the communication link125is operational.

Next, control proceeds to block530at which the link manager410included in the example routing gateway245uses the customer provisioning information determined at block510and the available data rate of the communication link125determined at block520to negotiate for access to the communication link125. Such negotiation includes specifying an actual data rate to be used for transmitting data over the communication link125. The actual date rate negotiated by the link manager410may be based on (a) the available data rate determined at block510, (b) whether or not the customer premises110subscribes to any priority services as determined at block520and (c) the corresponding bandwidth/data rate requirements if the customer premises110subscribes to one or more priority services. At block530, negotiation for access to the communication link125may also include specifying whether tiered service support is necessary (as opposed to a conventional all or nothing decision criteria to determine whether to enable or disable the communication link125) and, if tiered service is required, specifying the service modification parameters associated with each supported tier of service. Example machine readable instructions that may be used to implement the processing at block510and530are illustrated inFIGS. 6A and 6B, respectively, and discussed in greater detail below.

After processing at block530completes, control proceeds to block540at which the bandwidth indicator420included in the example routing gateway245generates one or more bandwidth indications that indicate the bandwidth of and/or status of services provided by the communication link125. The bandwidth indications may include the total available downstream and/or upstream bandwidth available on the communication link125. The bandwidth indications may also include service status indications corresponding to a service being enabled, enabled with modification, partially enabled, disabled, etc. For example, a service that is enabled or enabled with modification(s) may correspond to a green state, a partially enabled service may correspond to a yellow state and a disabled service may correspond to a red state. Example machine readable instructions that may be used to implement the processing at block540are illustrated inFIG. 7and discussed in greater detail below.

Next, control proceeds to block550at which emergency notifier425included in the example routing gateway245generates one or more emergency notifications corresponding to one or more predetermined emergency conditions. The predetermined emergency conditions may correspond to, for example, a loss of heartbeat signal over the communication link125, a drop in the service level below the green state (e.g., if only VoIP outgoing calls are enabled due to a reduction in available bandwidth), any service being disabled due to inadequate available bandwidth over the communication link125, etc. Example machine readable instructions that may be used to implement the processing at block550are illustrated inFIG. 8and discussed in greater detail below. To enable the example routing gateway245to continue performing link management, after processing at block550completes, control returns to block520and blocks subsequent thereto unless a power-down signal is detected at block560. The power-down signal may correspond to an indication that a power and/or reset button on the example routing gateway245was depressed, and/or the service provisioning at the customer premises110was modified, etc. If a power-down signal is detected (block560), execution of the example machine readable instructions500then ends.

Example machine readable instructions510that may be used to implement the processing at block510ofFIG. 5are shown inFIG. 6A. Additionally or alternatively, the machine readable instructions510may be used to implement the link manager410and/or the policy manager415ofFIG. 4. The example machine readable instructions510begin execution at block605at which the policy manager415included in the example routing gateway245determines the service provisioning associated with the routing gateway245and/or the customer premises110in which the routing gateway245is located. In particular, at block605the policy manager415determines whether VoIP telephone service, a priority service in the illustrated example, is utilized by the routing gateway245and, thus, the customer premises110. Of course, in other example implementations, other service may be considered to be priority services, such as, for example, alarm monitoring and notification services, medical reporting/health monitoring services, etc. Additionally, at block605in the illustrated example, the policy manager415may determine the bandwidth/data rate requirements for the utilized VoIP service and any modified forms of the VoIP service supported by the routing gateway245. For example, at block605the policy manager415may retrieve one or more subscriber records associated with the customer premises110and/or a particular customer located at the customer premises110. The policy manager415may then determine whether the subscriber record indicates whether the customer premises110and/or the customer at the customer premises110subscribes to one or more predetermined priority services. The one or more subscriber records may be located locally in the example routing gateway245and/or remotely in, for example, the central office105and/or any other appropriate network element.

Next, control proceeds to block610at which the policy manager415and/or the link manager410included in the example routing gateway245determines whether the VoIP telephone service is utilized by the routing gateway245and/or associated customer premises110based on the provisioning information determined at block605. If VoIP telephone service is not utilized by the routing gateway245and, thus, the associated customer premises110(block610), control proceeds to block615at which the policy manager415and/or the link manager410determines that support for tiered services is not required over the communication link125. Control then proceeds to block520. However, if VoIP telephone service is utilized by the routing gateway245and, thus, the associated customer premises110(block610), control proceeds to block635at which the policy manager415and/or the link manager410determines that support for tiered services is required over the communication link125. Control then proceeds to block640at which the policy manager415and/or the link manager410obtains the bandwidth/data rate requirements for the utilized VoIP service and any modified forms of the VoIP service supported by the routing gateway245as determined at block605.

For example, at blocks635-640the link manager410may receive information from the policy manager415that a first tier of VoIP service supporting incoming and outgoing unmodified VoIP phone calls may be supported when the data rate is not less than a first priority data rate (e.g., such as 0.5 Mbps). Additionally or alternatively, at blocks635-640the link manager410may receive information from the policy manager415that a second tier of VoIP service supporting incoming and outgoing modified (e.g., recompressed) VoIP phone calls may be supported when the data rate is not less than a second priority data rate (e.g., such as 0.2 Mbps). Additionally or alternatively, at blocks635-30the link manager410may receive information from the policy manager415that a third tier of VoIP service supporting only outgoing emergency (e.g., 911) modified (e.g., recompressed) VoIP phone calls may be supported when the data rate is less than the second priority data rate (e.g., such as 0.2 Mbps). Execution of the example machine readable instructions then end and, for example, control then returns to block520ofFIG. 5.

Example machine readable instructions530that may be used to implement the processing at block530ofFIG. 5are shown inFIG. 6B. Additionally or alternatively, the machine readable instructions530may be used to implement the link manager410and/or the policy manager415ofFIG. 4. The example machine readable instructions530begin execution at block635after, for example, the rate monitoring at block520ofFIG. 5completes and the link manager410is called to perform link management. At block635, the link manager410examines the available data rate for the communication link125as measured by, for example, the rate monitor405at block520ofFIG. 5. If the available data rate is not less than a minimum threshold (e.g., the minimum acceptable aggregated data rate) required to support the combined services to which the routing gateway245and/or customer premises110have subscribed (block635), control proceeds to block640. At block640, the link manager410signals to, for example, the DSLAM240or another appropriate network element that the communication link125should be enabled for all network services to which the routing gateway245and/or customer premises110have subscribed. Additionally, at block640the link manager may negotiate an actual data rate for the communication link125that is at least equal to the minimum threshold (e.g., the minimum acceptable aggregated data rate) to thereby support the combined services. Execution of the example machine readable instructions530then ends and, for example, control proceeds to block540ofFIG. 5.

If, however, the available data rate is less than the minimum threshold (e.g., the minimum acceptable aggregated data rate) required to support the combined services to which the routing gateway245and/or customer premises110have subscribed (block635), control proceeds to block645. At block645the link manager410determines whether support for tiered services is required over the communication link125based on, for example, the processing at block615or block635ofFIG. 6A. If the link manager410determines that support for tiered services is not required over the communication link125(block645), control proceeds to block650at which the link manager410signals to, for example, the DSLAM240or another appropriate network element that the communication link125should be disabled because the link is unable to guaranty the minimum acceptable aggregated data rate required to support the combined services to which the routing gateway245and/or customer premises110have subscribed. Execution of the example machine readable instructions530then ends and, for example, control proceeds to block540ofFIG. 5.

However, if the link manager410determines that support for tiered services is required over the communication link125(block645), control proceeds to block655. At block655the link manager410determines whether the available data rate measured by, for example, the rate monitor405at block520is less than an upper threshold required to provide incoming and outgoing VoIP phone service. For example, this upper threshold may correspond to the first priority data rate discussed above that is required to support incoming and outgoing unmodified VoIP phone calls. If the available data rate is not less than the upper threshold required to provide incoming and outgoing VoIP phone service (block655), control proceeds to block660at which the link manager410signals to, for example, the DSLAM240or another appropriate network element that the communication link125should be enabled for unmodified incoming and outgoing VoIP calls and disabled for all other network services to which the routing gateway245and/or customer premises110have subscribed. Additionally, at block660the link manager may negotiate an actual data rate for the communication link125that is at least equal to the upper threshold required to provide incoming and outgoing VoIP phone service (e.g., an actual data rate at least equal to the first priority data rate). Execution of the example machine readable instructions530then ends and, for example, control proceeds to block540ofFIG. 5.

If, however, the available data rate is less than the upper threshold required to provide incoming and outgoing VoIP phone service (block655), control proceeds to block665at which the link manager410determines whether the available data rate measured by, for example, the rate monitor405at block520is less than a lower threshold required to provide incoming and outgoing VoIP phone service. For example, this lower threshold may correspond to the second priority data rate discussed above that is required to support incoming and outgoing modified VoIP phone calls. If the available data rate is not less than the lower threshold required to provide incoming and outgoing VoIP phone service (block665), control proceeds to block670at which the link manager410signals to, for example, the DSLAM240or another appropriate network element that the communication link125should be enabled for modified incoming and outgoing VoIP calls and disabled for all other network services to which the routing gateway245and/or customer premises110have subscribed. Additionally, at block670the link manager may signal to, for example, the DSLAM240or another appropriate network element that the modifications should include re-compressing incoming and outgoing calls from standard G.711 audio companding to G.729 audio companding. Furthermore, at block670the link manager may negotiate an actual data rate for the communication link125that is at least equal to the lower threshold required to provide incoming and outgoing VoIP phone service (e.g., an actual data rate at least equal to the second priority data rate). Execution of the example machine readable instructions530then ends and, for example, control proceeds to block540ofFIG. 5.

However, if the available data rate is less than the lower threshold required to provide incoming and outgoing VoIP phone service (block665), control proceeds to block675at which the link manager410signals to, for example, the DSLAM240or another appropriate network element that the communication link125should be enabled for modified emergency (e.g., 911) outgoing VoIP calls and disabled for incoming VoIP calls and all other network services to which the routing gateway245and/or customer premises110have subscribed. Additionally, at block670the link manager may signal to, for example, the DSLAM240or another appropriate network element that the modifications should include re-compressing the outgoing emergency (e.g., 911) calls from standard G.711 audio companding to G.729 audio companding. Furthermore, at block670the link manager may negotiate an actual data rate for the communication link125sufficient to provide only outgoing emergency (e.g., 911) VoIP service. It should be understood that the modified outgoing emergency (e.g., 911) calls may still permit bi-directional voice communication. Execution of the example machine readable instructions530then ends and, for example, control proceeds to block540ofFIG. 5.

Example machine readable instructions540that may be used to implement the processing at block540ofFIG. 5are shown inFIG. 7. Additionally or alternatively, the machine readable instructions540may be used to implement the bandwidth indicator420ofFIG. 4. The example machine readable instructions540ofFIG. 7begin execution at block705at which the bandwidth indicator420outputs a bandwidth indication corresponding to the total available downstream bandwidth of the communication link125for display via, for example, the set-top box250and/or the television255ofFIG. 2. Then, at block710the bandwidth indicator420outputs a bandwidth indication corresponding to the total available upstream bandwidth of the communication link125for display via, for example, the set-top box250and/or the television255. The downstream and/or upstream bandwidth may be displayed at blocks705and710, respectively, in the form of a number, a displayed bar chart, a displayed color, etc.

Next, control proceeds to block715at which the bandwidth indicator420determines whether all network services (e.g., such as the triple play services of video, VoIP and internet) to which the routing gateway245and/or customer premises110have subscribed are enabled over the communication link125. If all network services are enabled (block715), control proceeds to block720at which the bandwidth indicator420may output bandwidth indications that cause a chart to be displayed via the set-top box250and/or the television255indicating that all network services are available. For example, if the routing gateway245and/or customer premises110have subscribed to the triple play services of video/television service, VoIP service and internet service, at block720the chart generated by the bandwidth indications from the bandwidth indicator420may included entries for video, VoIP and internet services, and may associate a green state symbol for each of the video, VoIP and internet services to indicate that all the services are available. Execution of the example machine readable instructions540then ends.

However, if all network services are not enabled (block715), control proceeds to block725at which the bandwidth indicator420determines whether the communication link125has been disabled and/or whether there is zero upstream bandwidth available over the communication link125(e.g., as measured by the rate monitor405). If the communication link125has been disabled and/or there is zero upstream bandwidth available (block725), control proceeds to block730at which the bandwidth indicator420may output bandwidth indications that cause a chart to be displayed via the set-top box250and/or the television255indicating that no network services are available. For example, if the routing gateway245and/or customer premises110have subscribed to the triple play services of video/television service, VoIP service and internet service, at block730the chart generated by the bandwidth indications from the bandwidth indicator420may included entries for video, VoIP and internet services, and may associate a red state symbol for each of the video, VoIP and internet services to indicate that all the services are unavailable. Execution of the example machine readable instructions540then ends.

If, however, the communication link125has not been disabled and there is upstream bandwidth available (block725), control proceeds to block735which the bandwidth indicator420determines whether incoming and outgoing VoIP phone service (either unmodified or modified as discussed above) is supported over the communication link125. If incoming and outgoing VoIP phone service is supported over the communication link125(block735), control proceeds to block740at which the bandwidth indicator420may output bandwidth indications that cause a chart to be displayed via the set-top box250and/or the television255indicating that only incoming and outgoing VoIP service is available and no other network services are available. For example, if the routing gateway245and/or customer premises110have subscribed to the triple play services of video/television service, VoIP service and internet service, at block740the chart generated by the bandwidth indications from the bandwidth indicator420may included entries for video, VoIP and internet services, and may associate a green state symbol for the VoIP service and red state symbols for each of the video and internet services. Execution of the example machine readable instructions540then ends.

If, however, incoming and outgoing VoIP phone service is not supported over the communication link125(block735), control proceeds to block745at which the bandwidth indicator420may output bandwidth indications that cause a chart to be displayed via the set-top box250and/or the television255indicating that only outgoing emergency (e.g., 911) VoIP service is available and no other network services are available. For example, if the routing gateway245and/or customer premises110have subscribed to the triple play services of video/television service, VoIP service and internet service, at block745the chart generated by the bandwidth indications from the bandwidth indicator420may included entries for video, VoIP and internet services, and may associate a yellow state symbol for the VoIP service and red state symbols for each of the video and internet services. Execution of the example machine readable instructions540then ends.

Example machine readable instructions550that may be used to implement the processing at block550ofFIG. 5are shown inFIG. 8. Additionally or alternatively, the machine readable instructions550may be used to implement the emergency notifier425ofFIG. 4. The example machine readable instructions550ofFIG. 8begin execution at block805at which the emergency notifier425examines the state of the VoIP service available over the communication link125. Then, at block810the emergency notifier425determines whether full (e.g., incoming and outgoing) VoIP service is available over the communication link125. If full (e.g., incoming and outgoing) VoIP service is available (block810), control proceeds to block815at which the emergency notifier425determines that no emergency notification is necessary. Execution of the example machine readable instructions550then ends. However, if full (e.g., incoming and outgoing) VoIP service is not available over the communication link125(block810), control proceeds to block820.

At block820the emergency notifier425sends an emergency notification to the service provider of the example integrated broadband communication system100. The emergency notification notifies the service provider of a degradation of the priority VoIP service and may be sent over the communication link125itself and/or another communication link provided for emergency notifications (e.g., such as a backup PSTN phone link, a wireless link, a separate DSL link, etc.). Next, control proceeds to block825at which the emergency notifier425causes one or more telephones in the customer premises110to ring to gain the attention of persons residing therein. Then, at block830, the emergency notifier425plays a prerecorded alert message to the person(s) answering the one or more phones rang in block825. The alert message may be a recording notifying the person(s) answering the one or more phones that phone service is temporarily interrupted and, depending on the type of interruption, that only outgoing emergency (e.g., 911) calls are possible or that no outgoing or incoming calls are possible at the present time. Additionally or alternatively, at block830the emergency notifier425may cause similar visible and/or audible alert messages to be presented by the set-top box250and/or the television255ofFIG. 2.

Next, control proceeds to block835at which the emergency notifier425prompts one or more persons in the customer premises110to request to be notified when VoIP service is restored. For example, at the conclusion of the emergency alert message(s) presented at block830, the emergency notifier425may prompt the person(s) to enter a touch-tone command, enter a remote control command, etc. to request that the emergency notifier425(or, more generally from a customer's perspective, the example integrated broadband communication system100) notify the person(s) when VoIP phone service has been restored. Then, at block840the emergency notifier425determines whether notification of service restoration was requested. If service restoration notification was not requested (block840), execution of the example machine readable instructions550then ends. However, if service restoration notification was requested (block840), control proceeds to block845.

At block845, the emergency notifier425waits until VoIP service is restored. Once service is restored (block845), control proceeds to block850at which the emergency notifier425causes one or more telephones in the customer premises110to ring to gain the attention of persons residing therein. Then, at block855, the emergency notifier425plays a prerecorded alert message to the person(s) answering the one or more phones that rang in block850. The alert message may be a recording notifying the person(s) answering the one or more phones that phone service has been restored and that both outgoing and incoming calls are possible at the present time. Additionally or alternatively, at block855the emergency notifier425may cause similar visible and/or audible alert messages to be presented by the set-top box250and/or the television255. Execution of the example machine readable instructions855then ends.

Example machine readable instructions900that may be executed to implement the example DSLAM240ofFIG. 4are shown inFIG. 9. The example machine readable instructions900may be executed at predetermined intervals, based on an occurrence of a predetermined event, etc., or any combination thereof. For example, the machine readable instructions900may be continuously executed upon start-up of the DSLAM240, start-up of any routing gateway245coupled with the DSLAM240, whenever a service is activated or deactivated at a customer premises110served by the DSLAM240, at predetermined intervals, such as hourly, daily, etc.

The machine readable instructions900begin execution at block905at which the link manager430and/or rate monitor440included in the example DSLAM240monitor the communication link125for the presence of a heartbeat signal. The heartbeat signal may include, but is not limited to, a known data packet or information signal transmitted at predetermined time intervals, a signal transmitted continuously at a predetermined frequency, etc. Control then proceeds to block910at which the link manager430determines whether the heartbeat signal is present on the communication link125based on the monitoring at block905. If the heartbeat signal is not present (block910), control proceeds to block915at which the emergency notifier435included in the example DSLAM240sends an emergency notification to the service provider of the example integrated broadband communication system100. The emergency notification notifies the service provider that the communication link125has been disrupted so arrangements can be made to, for example, repair operation of the communication link125. Control then proceeds to block920at which the link manager430included in the example DSLAM240disables the communication link125. The communication link125may remain disabled until, for example, the service provider issues a notification to the DSLAM240that the communication link125has been repaired. Execution of the example machine readable instructions900then ends.

If, however, the heartbeat signal is present on the communication link125(block910), control proceeds to block925at which the link manager430processes service control messages received from the link manager410included in the example routing gateway245. Such service control messages may include, but are not limited to, indications to enable one or more services, indications to disable one or more services, indications to modify one or more services, data rate negotiation messages, etc. Control proceeds to block930at which the link manager430determines whether any received control message indicates that the communication link125should be disabled, for example, due to insufficient bandwidth monitored by the routing gateway245, a lack of heartbeat signal at the routing gateway245, etc. If any received control message indicates that the communication link125should be disabled (block930), control proceeds to block920at which the link manager430included in the example DSLAM240disables the communication link125. Execution of the example machine readable instructions900then ends.

However, if no received control message indicates that the communication link125should be disabled (block930), control proceeds to block935at which the link manager430determines whether any received control message indicates that only unmodified incoming and outgoing VoIP phone service should be enabled over the communication link125. If any received control message indicates that only unmodified incoming and outgoing VoIP phone service should be enabled (block935), control proceeds to block940at which the link manager430enables only unmodified incoming and outgoing VoIP phone service for the communication link125and disables all other network services to which the corresponding routing gateway245and/or customer premises110have subscribed. Execution of the example machine readable instructions900then ends.

If, however, no received control message indicates that only unmodified outgoing and incoming VoIP phone service should be enabled (block935), control proceeds to block945at which the link manager430determines whether any received control message indicates that only recompressed (or, more generally, modified) incoming and outgoing VoIP phone service should be enabled over the communication link125. If any received control message indicates that only recompressed incoming and outgoing VoIP phone service should be enabled (block945), control proceeds to block950at which the link manager430enables only recompressed incoming and outgoing VoIP phone service for the communication link125and disables all other network services to which the corresponding routing gateway245and/or customer premises110have subscribed. Additionally, at block950the link manager430may specify the recompression parameters, such as recompressing from standard G.711 audio companding to G.729 audio companding. Execution of the example machine readable instructions900then ends.

However, if no received control message indicates that only recompressed outgoing and incoming VoIP phone service should be enabled (block945), control proceeds to block955at which the link manager430determines whether any received control message indicates that only recompressed (or, more generally, modified) outgoing emergency (e.g., 911) VoIP phone service should be enabled over the communication link125. If no received control message indicates that only recompressed outgoing emergency (e.g., 911) VoIP phone service should be enabled (block955), execution of the example machine readable instructions900then ends. If, however, any received control message indicates that only recompressed outgoing emergency (e.g., 911) VoIP phone service should be enabled (block955), control proceeds to block960at which the link manager430enables only recompressed outgoing emergency (e.g., 911) VoIP phone service for the communication link125and disables all other network services, including incoming VoIP service, to which the corresponding routing gateway245and/or customer premises110have subscribed. Additionally, at block960the link manager430may specify the recompression parameters, such as recompressing from standard G.711 audio companding to G.729 audio companding. Execution of the example machine readable instructions900then ends

FIG. 10is a block diagram of an example computer1000capable of implementing the apparatus and methods disclosed herein. The computer1000can be, for example, a server, a personal computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an internet appliance, a DVD player, a CD player, a digital video recorder, a personal video recorder, a set top box, or any other type of computing device. Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that any or all of the example DSLAM240ofFIGS. 2-4, the example routing gateway245ofFIGS. 2-4, and/or the example rate monitor405, the example link manager410, the example policy manager415, the example bandwidth indicator420, the example emergency notifier425, the example link manager430, the example emergency notifier435, the example rate monitor440and/or the example policy manager445ofFIG. 4may be implemented in and/or implemented by the example computer1000.

The system1000of the instant example includes a processor1012such as a general purpose programmable processor. The processor1012includes a local memory1014, and executes coded instructions1016present in the local memory1014and/or in another memory device. The processor1012may execute, among other things, the machine readable instructions represented inFIGS. 5,6A-6B, and7-9. The processor1012may be any type of processing unit, such as one or more microprocessors from the Intel® Centrino® family of microprocessors, the Intel® Pentium® family of microprocessors, the Intel® Itanium® family of microprocessors, and/or the Intel XScale® family of processors. Of course, other processors from other families are also appropriate.

The processor1012is in communication with a main memory including a volatile memory1018and a non-volatile memory1020via a bus1022. The volatile memory1018may be implemented by Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS Dynamic Random Access Memory (RDRAM) and/or any other type of random access memory device. The non-volatile memory1020may be implemented by flash memory and/or any other desired type of memory device. Access to the main memory1018,1020is typically controlled by a memory controller (not shown) in a conventional manner.

The computer1000also includes a conventional interface circuit1024. The interface circuit1024may be implemented by any type of well known interface standard, such as an Ethernet interface, a universal serial bus (USB), and/or a third generation input/output (3GIO) interface.

One or more input devices1026are connected to the interface circuit1024. The input device(s)1026permit a user to enter data and commands into the processor1012. The input device(s) can be implemented by, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen, a track-pad, a trackball, an isopoint and/or a voice recognition system.

One or more output devices1028are also connected to the interface circuit1024. The output devices1028can be implemented, for example, by display devices (e.g., a liquid crystal display, a cathode ray tube display (CRT)), by a printer and/or by speakers. The interface circuit1024, thus, typically includes a graphics driver card.

The interface circuit1024also includes a communication device such as a modem or network interface card to facilitate exchange of data with external computers via a network (e.g., an Ethernet connection, a digital subscriber line (DSL), a telephone line, coaxial cable, a cellular telephone system, etc.).

The computer1000also includes one or more mass storage devices1030for storing software and data. Examples of such mass storage devices1030include floppy disk drives, hard drive disks, compact disk drives and digital versatile disk (DVD) drives.

At least some of the above described example methods and/or apparatus are implemented by one or more software and/or firmware programs running on a computer processor. However, dedicated hardware implementations including, but not limited to, application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays and other hardware devices can likewise be constructed to implement some or all of the example methods and/or apparatus described herein, either in whole or in part. Furthermore, alternative software implementations including, but not limited to, distributed processing or component/object distributed processing, parallel processing, or virtual machine processing can also be constructed to implement the example methods and/or apparatus described herein.

It should also be noted that the example software and/or firmware implementations described herein are optionally stored on a tangible storage medium, such as: a magnetic medium (e.g., a magnetic disk or tape); a magneto-optical or optical medium such as an optical disk; or a solid state medium such as a memory card or other package that houses one or more read-only (non-volatile) memories, random access memories, or other re-writable (volatile) memories; or a signal containing computer instructions. A digital file attached to e-mail or other information archive or set of archives is considered a distribution medium equivalent to a tangible storage medium. Accordingly, the example software and/or firmware described herein can be stored on a tangible storage medium or distribution medium such as those described above or successor storage media.

To the extent the above specification describes example components and functions with reference to particular standards and protocols, it is understood that the scope of this patent is not limited to such standards and protocols. For instance, each of the standards for internet and other packet switched network transmission (e.g., Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)/Internet Protocol (IP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP)/IP, HyperText Markup Language (HTML), HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP)) represent examples of the current state of the art. Such standards are periodically superseded by faster or more efficient equivalents having the same general functionality. Accordingly, replacement standards and protocols having the same functions are equivalents which are contemplated by this patent and are intended to be included within the scope of the accompanying claims.

Additionally, although this patent discloses example systems including software or firmware executed on hardware, it should be noted that such systems are merely illustrative and should not be considered as limiting. For example, it is contemplated that any or all of these hardware and software components could be embodied exclusively in hardware, exclusively in software, exclusively in firmware or in some combination of hardware, firmware and/or software. Accordingly, while the above specification described example systems, methods and articles of manufacture, persons of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that the examples are not the only way to implement such systems, methods and articles of manufacture. Therefore, although certain example methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture have been described herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is not limited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope of the appended claims either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents.