Abstract:
Methods and apparatus are disclosed to self-configure a flexible residential gateway providing access to an external communications network, and providing communications with an in home network. An example flexible residential gateway may include at least one voice over Internet protocol (IP) (VoIP) processor, at least one VoIP coupler connecting VoIP signals between at least one VoIP processor and at least one telephone line. In such an arrangement, the VoIP coupler may be configurably capable to disconnect a battery feed voltage and ring voltages from a telephone line. The gateway may further include a switch controller capable of disconnecting the battery feed voltage and the ring voltages from at least one telephone line if POTS signals are detected on at least one telephone line.

Description:
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE  
       [0001]     This disclosure relates generally to flexible residential gateways, and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus to self-configure a flexible residential gateway to substantially reduce interference between voice over Internet protocol (IP) (VoIP) signals and plain old telephone service (POTS) signals.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     Not long ago, the only communication service in a residence was plain old telephone service (POTS). A residence typically had a single telephone connected within the residence via a single piece of twisted pair telephone line to a network interface demarcation (NID) point outside the residence. With such a configuration there were essentially no opportunities for interfering signals and/or incorrect cross connection of telephone lines. As time progressed, more phones were added to residences using a variety of wiring topologies, e.g., star, home run, daisy chain, etc. The combinations present in residences today are nearly endless, and many homeowners are not fully aware of how the telephone wiring in their home is connected. As time further progressed, advanced homeowners began installing and configuring computer networks to allow multiple computers inside their residence to share files, printers, etc. These home networks were typically installed by knowledgeable, advanced users or paid installers, and utilized a set of wiring parallel to the telephone wiring so that the chances of improper cross connection with existing telephone lines remained minimal.  
         [0003]     In recent years, there has been a proliferation of interconnected devices and communication networks within residences—many installed by homeowners with minimal knowledge of the workings of such devices and the communications networks and protocols they utilize. Many homeowners now have access to the public Internet via full-time dedicated broadband connections. For example,  FIG. 1  shows a prior art in home network (IHN)  100  including a residential gateway (RG)  105  for receiving and transmitting xDSL (“x” variety of Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) signals carried across a telephone line  110  that simultaneously carries their POTS. The various xDSL standards define a family of broadband communication technologies carried across a standard telephone line between a telephone operator&#39;s central office and a residence or business. Some forms of xDSL, e.g., Asymmetric DSL (ADSL), support simultaneous POTS on the same telephone line. To process the XDSL signals, the RG  105  includes an xDSL processor  115  capable of receiving and transmitting xDSL signals from and to an external network  120  over the telephone line  110 . The external network  120  provides access to the public Internet via xDSL, and access to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) via POTS or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) carried in Internet protocol (IP) packets over the xDSL connection.  
         [0004]     The xDSL processor  115  is typically connected to the telephone line  110  via the inner pair of wires of a first RJ11 connector  125 . As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the first RJ11 connector (like all RJ11 connectors) supports the connection of two pairs of wires (i.e., two telephone lines)—an inner pair and an outer pair, shown next to each other in the figure. In subsequent figures, if only one pair of wires is connected to an RJ11 connector only half of the corresponding RJ11 symbol is shown, for example a second RJ11 connector  126 . The telephone line  110  simultaneously carries POTS and is further connected via additional telephone lines  110   a - b  to a plurality of telephones  130 ,  131 ,  132  using any number of wiring topologies, e.g., star, home-run, daisy chain, etc. To keep transients associated with POTS (e.g., ring voltages, ring trip transients, etc.) and XDSL from interfering, the IHN  100  further includes a plurality of in-line filters (ILF)  135 ,  136 ,  137 . The ILF  135 ,  136 ,  137  provide a low-pass filter (LPF) response between the telephone lines  110   a - b  and the telephones  130 ,  131 ,  132  to keep POTS transients from causing interference with higher frequency xDSL signals, and vice versa. The xDSL processor  115  typically includes a high-pass filter (not shown) to further limit interference between POTS transients and xDSL signals. Example implementations of the XDSL processor  115  and the ILF  135 ,  136 ,  137  are well known to persons of ordinary skill in the art and, in the interest of brevity, will not be discussed further.  
         [0005]     The RG  105  includes a router/switch/bridge  140  to connect user data transported using IP packets by the xDSL signals with a VoIP processor  145  or an Ethernet transceiver  150 . The VoIP processor  145  is capable of communicating voice band data (VBD) signals with a second plurality of telephones  133 ,  134  via an additional telephone line  111 . The VoIP processor  145  comprises an analog terminal adapter (ATA) and a pulse coded modulation (PCM) coder-decoder (codec). The ATA transforms digital VBD samples received in IP packets from the external network  120  into PCM encoded digital samples. The PCM encoded samples are converted to analog signals by the PCM codec. Likewise, the PCM codec converts analog signals into PCM encoded digital samples, and the ATA transforms the digital samples into IP packets for transport across the telephone line using xDSL signals to the external network  120 . The analog signals to and from the PCM codec are connected to a subscriber line interface circuit (SLIC)  147 . The SLIC  147  implements, among other things, a 4-wire to 2-wire hybrid function between the two analog signals (transmit and receive) associated with the PCM codec (i.e., a 4-wire signal) and a 2-wire signal (bi-directional) required for the telephone line  111 . The SLIC  147  is connected to the second telephone line  111  via either the inner or outer pair of the second RJ 11  connector  126 . Alternatively, the SLIC  147  may be connected to the outer pair of the RJ11 connector  125 . To provide battery feed voltage and to allow the VoIP processor  145  to ring one or more of the telephones  133 ,  134 , the RG  105  includes a battery/ring generator  155 . The battery/ring generator  155  supplies a −48 volts (V) direct current (DC) battery feed voltage for use by the telephones  133 ,  134  and also supplies alternating current (AC) ring voltages that may be superimposed on top of the battery feed voltage to ring the telephones  133 ,  134 .  
         [0006]     The Ethernet transceiver  150  is capable of communicating Ethernet signals (e.g., IEEE 802.3, IEEE 802.3u, IEEE 802.3z, IEEE 802.3ae, etc.) with one or more computers  160  via a computer cable  112  (e.g., unshielded twisted pair (UTP) Category 5 (Cat 5)  cabling). The Ethernet transceiver  150  is connected to the computer cable  112  via an RJ45 connector  127 . The example IHN  100  further includes another telephone line  113  providing POTS to a third plurality of telephones  165 ,  166 .  
         [0007]     Example implementations of the router/switch/bridge  140 , the VoIP processor  145  (including ATA and PCM codec), the SLIC  147 , the Ethernet transceiver  150 , the computer line  112 , the battery/ring generator  155 , and the computer  160  are well known to persons of ordinary skill in the art and, thus, will not be discussed further.  
         [0008]      FIG. 2  shows the example IHN  100  of  FIG. 1  in which the user has incorrectly or inadvertently connected the telephone line  111  to the telephone line  110   a  via a telephone line  214 . The telephone line  214  creates a condition in which both the RG  105  and the external network  120  (i.e., the PSTN  120 ) are providing battery feed voltage to the telephone lines  110 ,  110   a - b ,  111 ,  214 . Depending upon relative polarities of batteries of the RG  105  and the PSTN  120 , the telephone lines  110 ,  110   a - b ,  111 ,  214  may experience a net battery feed voltage of −96V or 0V. The former represents a dangerous condition due to excess voltage present on the telephone lines  110 ,  110   a - b ,  111 ,  214 . The latter represents a condition in which no battery feed voltage is present and, thus, one or more of the telephones  130 - 134  may not operate correctly. The incorrect/inadvertent connection  214  may further create interference between a sealing current provided by the PSTN  120  and the battery feed voltage provided by the RG  105 .  
         [0009]      FIG. 3  shows the example IHN  100  of  FIG. 1  further supporting Home PhoneLine Networking Alliance (HomePNA) communications within the IHN  100 . HomePNA is a high-speed, reliable local area network (LAN) technology that uses the existing telephone wires in a residence, and allows several computers to share a single Internet connection. To support HomePNA communications, the RG  105  further includes a HomePNA processor  305  to communicate HomePNA signals with, for example, a computer  310  and a HomePNA enabled phone  315 . The HomePNA signals are carried across a telephone line  320 , that the HomePNA processor  305  is connected to via either an inner or an outer pair of wires of an RJ11 connector  322 . Example implementations of the HomePNA processor  305  are well known to persons of ordinary skill in the art, and will not be discussed further.  
         [0010]     In the example of  FIG. 3 , the telephone line  320  is connected to the telephone line  110   a  via a telephone line  325 . The telephone line  325  may have been connected purposefully by a user so that HomePNA devices attached to the telephone line  110   a - b  can communicate with the HomePNA processor  305 , or so that ordinary telephones attached to the telephone line  320  can communicate with the PSTN  120 . The connection  325  may also have been made unintentionally by the user. However, because HomePNA signals and VDSL signals may spectrally overlap (depending upon the version of the HomePNA standard being implemented by the HomePNA processor  305 ), the connection  325  may cause HomePNA signals to interfere with any VDSL signals present on the first telephone line  110 . Such interference may cause one or both of the xDSL processor  115  or the HomePNA processor  305  to be unable to communicate properly with attached devices.  
         [0011]      FIG. 4  shows an example prior art IHN  400  including a residential gateway (RG)  402  for receiving and transmitting signals carried across a cable  410  from an external network (not shown). To communicate with the external network, the RG  105  includes a transceiver  405  to transmit and receive signals received over the cable  410  (e.g., coaxial cable or UTP Cat5 cable). The signals may be Ethernet signals (e.g., IEEE 802.3, IEEE 802.3u, IEEE 802.3z, IEEE 802.3ae, etc.), xDSL signals over coaxial cable, or multimedia over cable association (MOCA) signals. In the example of  FIG. 4 , because there are no xDSL signals present on the telephone line  110 , there is no need for in line filters, and there is no potential interference between HomePNA signals and VDSL signals. Example implementations of the transceiver  405  for Ethernet, xDSL over coaxial cable, and/or MOCA are well known to persons of ordinary skill in the art, and, thus, will not be discussed further.  
         [0012]      FIG. 5  shows a table illustrating the combinations of signals in the example in home networks of  FIGS. 1-4  may cause interference when the signals are on the same wire/cable/telephone line. Each entry in the table contains a value of NA, OK, or BAD. An entry of NA (i.e., not applicable) is used if there is no possibility of interference because the two signals are carried on two types of wire/cable/telephone line that can not be physically connected to each other (using the standard and appropriate connectors designed for each wire/cable/telephone line). For example, WAN Ethernet is carried over UTP Cat5 cable with an RJ45 connector and xDSL over coaxial cable is carried over coaxial cable with an F-connector. In  FIG. 5 , an entry of NA is also used when the two signals types could not possibly be present at the same time, for example, a residence would not simultaneously be subscribing to ADSL and VDSL service over the same telephone line. An entry of OK is used if the signals are carried over the same type of wire/cable/telephone line, but the two signals would not interfere (e.g., they do not spectrally overlap), for example, ADSL uses frequencies above 35 kiloHertz (kHz) and POTS uses frequencies below 4 kHz, and, therefore, these two signals can coexist on the same telephone line without fear of interference. Finally, an entry of BAD in  FIG. 5  indicates signals that would interfere. For example, VDSL uses frequencies between 100 kHz and 12 MegaHertz (MHz) and HomePNA version 2 uses frequencies between 4 MHz and 10 MHz. A new HomePNA standard (i.e., version 3) was developed with spectral masks to limit interference between VDSL and HomePNA version 3 signals.  
         [0013]     As will be readily appreciated by those having ordinary skill in the art, it is desirable to provide as much functionality as possible while minimizing or eliminating the possibility of interference. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]      FIG. 1  is a diagram of an example prior art in home network including a residential gateway communicating with an external network using xDSL signals.  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  shows the in home network of  FIG. 1  in which a misconnection of wiring has occurred.  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  is the in home network of  FIG. 1  further including HomePNA.  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  is a diagram of an example prior art in home network including a residential gateway communicating with an external network using signals carried across coaxial cable or using Ethernet signals.  
         [0018]      FIG. 5  is a table illustrating which communication signals can coexist without interference on the same cable.  
         [0019]      FIG. 6  is a block diagram illustration of a disclosed example flexible residential gateway.  
         [0020]      FIG. 7  is an example illustration of one side of the example flexible residential gateway of  FIG. 6 .  
         [0021]      FIG. 8  is a table illustrating combinations of switch positions to enable each of the WAN services associated with the WAN interface connectors.  
         [0022]      FIG. 9  is a block diagram illustration of a disclosed example manner of implementing the VoIP coupler of  FIG. 6 .  
         [0023]      FIG. 10  is a flow chart illustrating a disclosed example process for implementing the switch control logic of  FIG. 6 .  
         [0024]      FIG. 11  is a block diagram illustration of an example processor platform that may execute the example process of  FIG. 10  to implement the switch controller of  FIG. 6 .  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0025]      FIG. 6  shows a block diagram illustration of a disclosed example flexible residential gateway (FRG)  600  that could be substituted for the RG  105  or the RG  402  in the example in home networks of  FIGS. 1-4 . The example FRG  600  supports a plurality of broadband wide area network (WAN) services in a single unit, for example: dedicated Ethernet via an Ethernet transceiver  405   a , a connector  601   a , and a UTP Cat5 cable  410   a ; MOCA via a MOCA transceiver  405   b , a “F” connector  601   b , and a coaxial cable  410   b ; xDSL via the xDSL processor  115 , the RJ11 connector  125 , and the telephone line  110 ; etc. The FRG  600 , as described below, operates to minimize connection errors between components. Including a plurality of broadband WAN services in a single device provides a number of advantages, e.g., it reduces the number of residential gateway devices that vendors, manufacturers, fulfillment vendors, and service providers require to deliver broadband WAN services and products to customers. It also allows customers to use the same FRG  600  even if they change broadband WAN services or providers.  
         [0026]     The FRG  600  provides a balanced-unbalanced (BALUN) adapter  603  between the “F” connector  601   b  and the xDSL processor  115  to transform a balanced xDSL signal present on the 75 ohm coaxial cable  410   b  to a 100 ohm unbalanced signal  604  suitable for the xDSL processor  115 . This configuration allows the FRG  600  to implement xDSL over coaxial cable  410   b  in the same unit that implements xDSL over the telephone line  110 .  
         [0027]     The example FRG  600  further supports a plurality of IHN services in a single unit, for example: VoIP services via a plurality of VoIP processors  145   a - b , a plurality of RJ11 connectors  125 ,  126   a - b , and a plurality of telephone lines  110 ,  111   a - e ; local area network (LAN) communications via the Ethernet transceiver  150  (not shown), a plurality of RJ 45  connectors  127   a - b , and a plurality of cables  112   a - b ; HomePNA communications via the HomePNA processor  305 , a plurality of connectors  125 ,  126   a - b ,  322 , and a plurality of telephone lines  110   a - e ,  320 ; wireless communications (e.g., IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11 g , Bluetooth, etc.) via a wireless processor  605  and a wireless antenna  606 ; universal serial bus (USB) communications via a USB processor (not shown), and a plurality of USB connectors  610   a - b . Supporting such a large number of IHN communications, services and connections in a single device maximizes the distribution of IP packets across as many technologies within the home as possible. However, as discussed earlier, providing such a vast array of IHN services, connections, communication signals and communication networks in a single device increases the potential for the homeowner to incorrectly or inadvertently cross-connect telephone lines creating signal conditions that are either hazardous or cause communication services to cease working properly. To substantially minimize hazardous conditions or interfering signals, the illustrated FRG  600  provides self-configuration capabilities that are discussed in detail below.  
         [0028]     For clarity,  FIG. 6  does not illustrate a multitude of less significant data and control signals between various portions of the example FRG  600  of  FIG. 6 . Only illustrated in  FIG. 6  are the significant data signals and connections. The requirements, connections, implementations and usages of such control and less significant data signals are well known by those of ordinary skill in the art, and, in the interest of brevity, are not discussed further.  
         [0029]     The plurality of VoIP processors  145   a - b  supports a plurality of VoIP services (e.g., line  1 , line  2 , etc.). In the illustrated example, there are two VoIP processors, wherein line  1  is connected to the inner pair of wires (i.e., a first telephone line) associated with each of the RJ11 connectors  125 ,  126   a - b ; and line  2  is connected to the outer pair of wires (i.e., a second telephone line) associated with each of the RJ11 connectors  125 ,  126   a - b.    
         [0030]     It should be readily appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the number of VoIP processors  145   a - b , and the combinations of connections of the VoIP processors  145   a - b  to inner and/or outer pairs of wires associated with one or more RJ11 connectors may differ from that shown in  FIG. 6 . The example diagram of  FIG. 6  is only illustrative of one possible combination. Alternative combinations (including fewer or additional capabilities) could be readily chosen based upon desired functionality of the FRG  600 , market requirements, customer requirements, etc.  
         [0031]     It should be further readily appreciated by those or ordinary skill in the art that the illustrated FRG  600  may be expanded via one or more of the RJ45 connectors  112   a - b . An expansion device could contain, among other things, one or more additional VoIP processors, a HomePNA processor, VoIP couplers, and RJ11 connectors connected in a fashion similar to that illustrated in  FIG. 6 .  
         [0032]     As described above, supporting a multitude of broadband WAN services and IHN services and connection options in a single device creates multiple and new opportunities for the user to inappropriately misconnect telephone lines  110   a - e ,  320  thereby causing one or more broadband WAN services or IHN services to cease operating properly. The disclosed example of  FIG. 6  maximizes the flexibility of the FRG  600  (e.g., distribute IP packets and services on as many IHN services and connections as possible) while substantially minimizing the interference between signals and substantially eliminating hazardous voltage conditions. To this end, the FRG  600  includes a configuration switch  615 , a switch controller  620 , a HomePNA switch  625 , and a plurality of switches  630 ,  635 ,  640   a - d . The switches  630 ,  635 ,  640   a - d  are controlled by a plurality of switch control signals  645 , wherein one of the switch control signals  645  is associated with each of the switches  630 ,  635 ,  640   a - d . The connections of the switch control signals  645  to each of the switches  630 ,  635 ,  640   a - d  are not shown in  FIG. 6 , but persons of ordinary skill in the art will readily understand how these connections are implemented, and how the switch control signals  645  may be used to control the switches  630 ,  635 ,  640   a - d.    
         [0033]     In one example, the configuration switch  615  is a three (3) position switch that allows the user to select which of the broadband WAN services are enabled and operating in the FRG  600 .  FIG. 7  illustrates an example side  700  (not shown to scale) of the FRG  600 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , the configuration switch  615  can be selectively positioned beneath one of the broadband WAN service connectors, thereby selecting which broadband WAN services is to be active and operating in the FRG  600 . The HomePNA switch  625  is a two (2) position switch that allows the user to enable or disable HomePNA signals for the FRG  600 . As will be discussed below in conjunction with  FIG. 10 , even if the user selects (using the HomePNA switch  625 ) that HomePNA signals are enabled, the switch controller  625  may disable HomePNA signals on one or more of the telephone lines  111   a - e  to avoid interference with VDSL signals that may be present on one or more the telephone lines  111   a - e.    
         [0034]     In a second example, the user can override the broadband WAN service selection made using the configuration switch  615  via a graphical user interface (GUI) accessible via one of the USB connectors  610   a - b , or one of the Ethernet connectors  112   a - b . Further, the selection of the broadband WAN service can be accomplished via a remote configuration/management interface via one of the USB connector  610   a - b  or one the Ethernet connectors  112   a - b . The use and implementation of a GUI for configuration of electronic devices and/or remote configuration/management interfaces are well known to persons of ordinary skill in the art, and, thus, will not be discussed further.  
         [0035]     The switches  630 ,  635  are controlled by the switch controller  620  to select and enable the broadband WAN services selected by the user using the configuration switch  615  (or alternatively a GUI or remote configuration/management interface). The table of  FIG. 8  illustrates combinations of switch  630 ,  635  positions corresponding to each of the broadband WAN services. For example, to enable xDSL on the connector  125 , the switch controller  620  sets switch  635  to position  1  and switch  630  to position  1 .  
         [0036]     In a further example, instead of using a configuration switch  615 , a GUI, or a remote configuration/management interface, selection of a broadband WAN service is implemented automatically by the FRG  600 . To allow the FRG  600  to automatically select a broadband WAN service, the FRG  600  further includes an Ethernet sensor (not shown) and one or more xDSL sensors (not shown). The Ethernet sensor is capable of detecting the presence of Ethernet signals on the computer cable  410   a , and is implemented as part of the Ethernet transceiver  405   a , or, alternatively, is implemented separately from the Ethernet transceiver  405   a . Example methods to detect Ethernet signals may use one of a variety of techniques well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. For example, the Ethernet sensor can use a filter to select a frequency signal band of interest, a signal strength meter to measure the signal strength in the frequency signal band of interest, and a comparator to compare the signals strength in the frequency signal band of interest, wherein the band of interest and the threshold are chosen so that reliable detection of Ethernet signals occurs.  
         [0037]     To detect the presence of xDSL signals on the telephone line  110  or the coaxial cable  410   b , the xDSL sensor may use one of a variety of techniques well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. For example, the xDSL sensor can use a filter to select a frequency signal band of interest, a signal strength meter to measure the signal strength in the frequency signal band of interest, and a comparator to compare the signal strength in the frequency signal band of interest to a programmable threshold, wherein the band of interest and the threshold are chosen so that reliable detect of xDSL signals occurs. To support a variety of xDSL signals (e.g., ADSL, VDSL, etc.) the xDSL sensor could be extended in any well known manner, for example, to measure signal strength in multiple bands of interest, to measure signal strength in multiple bands of interest and only require sufficient signal strength in one or more of the bands of interest. The xDSL sensor is implemented by the xDSL processor  115 , or, alternatively, is implemented separately from the xDSL processor  115 .  
         [0038]     In the further example, where automatic selection of a broadband WAN service is implemented, the switch controller  620  uses outputs of the Ethernet sensor and the xDSL sensor to determine which broadband WAN service to select and enable. For example, the switch controller  620  repeatedly sets switch  635  to position  1  and records a first output of the xDSL sensor, sets switch  635  to position  2  and records a second output of the xDSL sensor, and then records an output of the Ethernet sensor until one of the sensor outputs indicates that a corresponding signal is present on one of the computer cable  410   a , the coaxial cable  410   b , or the telephone line  110 . Having thus selected a broadband WAN service, the switch controller  620  sets the position of switches  630 ,  635  as discussed above in conjunction with  FIG. 8 . Further, the switch controller  620  may continue monitoring the Ethernet or xDSL sensor output corresponding to the selected broadband WAN service to verify that the selected broadband WAN service remains present. If the selected broadband WAN service is no longer present, the switch controller  620  may wait a period of time to determine if a temporary service interruption has occurred before repeating the above automatic selection process. In this way, the FRG  600  may both automatically select and re-select a broadband WAN service.  
         [0039]     The switches  640   a - d  are controlled by the switch controller  620  to enable or disable HomePNA signals associated with one or more of the telephone lines  111   a - e ,  320 . In the illustrated example of  FIG. 6 , the switch controller  620  may selectively disable HomePNA signals for individual telephone lines  111   a - e ,  320 . Alternatively, the switches  640   a - d  are not implemented and the switch controller  620  enables/disables the HomePNA processor  305 ; or a single switch is used to disable HomePNA signals for all telephone lines  111   a - e ,  320 .  
         [0040]     The FRG  600  further includes a plurality of VoIP couplers  650   a - f , wherein a VoIP coupler  650   a - f  is associated with each of the telephone lines  110 ,  111   a - e . As described in detail below in conjunction with  FIG. 9 , the VoIP coupler  650   a - f  includes, among other things, a battery switch (controlled by the switch controller  620 ) to disconnect battery feed voltage and ring voltages, a VDSL sensor, and a POTS sensor.  
         [0041]      FIG. 9  shows a block diagram of an example manner of implementing the VoIP couplers  650   a - f  of  FIG. 6 . To properly couple and separate VBD signals, HomePNA signals and xDSL signals, the VoIP coupler  650   a - f  includes the subscriber line interface circuit (SLIC)  147 , the battery/ring generator  155 , a battery switch  910 , and a diplexer  907 . The battery switch  910  is controlled by one of a plurality of battery control signals  655 , wherein each of the battery control signals  655  is associated the battery switch  910  for one of the VoIP couplers  650   a - f . The connection of the battery control signals  655  between the switch controller  620  and the VoIP couplers  650   a - f  are not shown in  FIG. 6 , but persons of ordinary skill in the art will readily understand how these connections are implemented, and how the battery control signals  655  may be used to control the battery switches.  
         [0042]     The SLIC  147  implements a 4-wire to 2-wire hybrid function between 4-wire VBD signals and 2-wire signals required for the telephone line  110 , 111   a - e . Alternatively, the VBD signals may be routed within the FRG  600  as 2-wire signals and a 4-wire to 2-wire hybrid implemented in each of the VoIP processors  145   a - b.    
         [0043]     The 2-wire signals are coupled to the telephone line  110 ,  111   a - e  via the diplexer  907 . The diplexer  907  consists of a low pass filter (not shown) and a high pass filter (not shown) operating in parallel, thereby allowing the diplexer to separate signals present on the telephone line  110 ,  111   a - e  into a first signal  908  containing the low frequency portions and a second signal  909  containing the high frequency portions of the signals present on the telephone line  110 ,  111   a - e . Simultaneously, the diplexer  907  combines high and low frequency signals  908 ,  909  into a combined signal suitable for the telephone line  110 ,  111   a - e . The battery switch  910  allows the VoIP coupler  650   a - f  to selectively provide or disable battery feed voltage and ring voltages. The battery switch  910  is controlled by the switch controller  620  via one of the plurality of battery control signals  655 .  
         [0044]     To detect the presence of VDSL signals the VoIP coupler  650   a - f  includes a VDSL sensor  915 . Similarly, to detect the presence of battery feed voltage or sealing current provided by the PSTN  120 , the VoIP coupler  650   a - f  further includes a POTS sensor  920 . To detect the presence of VDSL signals, the VDSL sensor  915  may use one of a variety of techniques well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. For example, the VDSL sensor  915  can use a filter to select a frequency signal band of interest, a signal strength meter to measure the signal strength in the frequency signal band of interest, and a comparator to compare the signal strength in the frequency signal band of interest to a programmable threshold, wherein the band of interest and the threshold are chosen so that reliable detection of VDSL signals occurs. The VDSL sensor  915  could be extended in any well known manner, for example, to measure signal strength in multiple bands of interest, to measure signal strength in multiple bands of interest and only require sufficient signal strength in one or more of the bands of interest.  
         [0045]     Likewise, to detect the presence of battery feed voltage or sealing current, the POTS sensor  920  may use one of a variety of techniques well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. For example, the POTS sensor  920  may use a low-pass filter to substantially eliminate AC voltages, a strength meter to measure the resulting DC voltage, and a comparator to compare the DC voltage to a plurality of thresholds. The thresholds could be used to determine if the DC voltage is near 0V, 48V, or −96V. As discussed earlier, if the battery switch  910  is set to enable the battery/ring generator  155  output signals onto the telephone line  110 ,  111   a - e  and the PSTN  120  is not providing battery feed voltage on the same telephone line, then the measured DC voltage should be approximately −48V. If the POTS sensor measures approximately 0V or −96V, then the switch controller  620  knows that the PSTN  120  is providing battery feed voltage and/or sealing current and the battery switch  910  must be set to disconnect the battery/ring generator  155  output signal from the telephone line  110 ,  111   a - e.    
         [0046]     Sealing current may not be continuously provided by the PSTN  120 , and, therefore, the POTS sensor  920  must be capable to detect the presence of sealing current that is only present a portion of the time. Further, the switch controller  620  must be capable of recognizing the periodic or aperiodic detection of sealing current on a telephone line  110 ,  111   a - e  (as detected by the POTS sensor  920 ) and set the battery switch  910  to disconnect the battery/ring generator  155  output signal from the telephone line  110 ,  111   a - e . For example, the POTS sensor  920  implements a “sticky” POTS sensor output  660  that continues indicating POTS present if POTS has been detected at one or more times until the switch controller resets the POTS sensor output  660 .  
         [0047]     The VDSL sensors  915  and the POTS sensors  920  of the VoIP couplers  650   a - f  provide a plurality of VDSL sensor outputs  665  and a plurality of POTS sensor outputs  660  used by the switch controller  620  of  FIG. 6  to control the switches  640   a - d  of  FIG. 6  and the battery switches  910 . There is one VDSL sensor output  665  and one POTS sensor output  660  associated with each of the VoIP couplers  650   a - f . The connection of the VDSL sensor outputs  665  and the POTS sensor outputs  660  between the VoIP couplers  650   a - f  and the switch controller  620  are not shown in  FIG. 6 , but persons of ordinary skill in the art will readily understand how these connections are implemented.  
         [0048]     It should be readily appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that a suitable 4-wire to 2-wire hybrid functionality is required in appropriate locations for the HomePNA and the xDSL signals. However, for clarity, they are not shown in  FIGS. 6 and 9 . These hybrids can be implemented in a variety of well known locations in the FRG  600  using any number of well known prior art techniques. For example, implement a suitable xDSL hybrid in each VoIP coupler  650   a - f  associated with each VDSL sensor  915  and implement an additional suitable XDSL hybrid in the xDSL processor  115 ; implement a suitable HomePNA hybrid in each VoIP coupler  650   a - f  associated with the HomePNA signals or a implement a single suitable HomePNA hybrid in the HomePNA processor  305 ; implement a hybrid suitable for both HomePNA signals and xDSL signals in each VoIP coupler  650   a - f ; etc. Depending upon where hybrids are implemented, the HomePNA and xDSL signals will be routed within the FRG  600  as either 2-wire or 4-wire signals.  
         [0049]     In the illustrated example of  FIG. 6 , only VoIP coupler  650   a  implements the VDSL sensor  915  and the switch controller  620  uses only a single VDSL sensor output  665  to determine if VDSL signals that interfere with HomePNA signals are present. It should be readily appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that alternatively each of the VoIP couplers  650   a - f  could implement a VDSL sensor  915 ; no VoIP coupler  650   a - f  implements a VDSL sensor  915  and the switch controller  620  uses a detection signal provided by the xDSL processor  115  to determine if VDSL signals are present; a single VDSL sensor  915  is implemented in one VoIP coupler  650   a - f  (or elsewhere in the FRG  600 ) that may be selectively configured by the switch controller  620  to receive the high frequency signal  909  from one of the VoIP couplers  650   a - f  at a time; etc. Further, the xDSL sensor (discussed above in connection with automatic selection of a broadband WAN service) and the VDSL sensor  915  may both be implemented by the XDSL processor  115 .  
         [0050]      FIG. 10  illustrates a flowchart representative of an example process  1000  that may be carried out by the FRG  600  of  FIG. 6 . In particular, the process  1000  may be implemented using the example switch controller  620  of  FIG. 6 . The process  1000  may be implemented using machine readable instructions that are executed by a processor, a controller, or any other suitable processing device. For example, the process  1000  may be embodied in coded instructions stored on a tangible medium such as a flash memory, or random-access memory (RAM) associated with a processor  1110  shown in an example processor platform  1100  discussed below in conjunction with  FIG. 11 . Alternatively, the process  1000  may be implemented using an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), programmable logic device (PLD), field programmable logic device (FPLD), discrete logic, etc. Also, some portions of the process  1000  may be implemented manually or as combinations of any of the foregoing techniques. Further, although the example process  1000  is described with reference to the flowchart of  FIG. 10 , persons of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that many other methods of implementing the example switch controller  620  of  FIG. 6  may be used. For example, the order of execution of the blocks may be changed, and/or some of the blocks described may be changed, eliminated, or combined.  
         [0051]     The process of  FIG. 10  begins with the switch controller  620  reading the position of the configuration switch (block  1005 ). If the configuration switch  615  is in the WAN Ethernet position (block  1010 ), then the switch controller  620  sets switch  630  to position  2  (block  1020 ). Otherwise the switch controller  620  sets switch  630  to position  1  (block  1015 ). If the configuration switch  615  is in the coaxial cable position (block  1025 ), then the switch controller  620  sets switch  635  to position  2  (block  1035 ). Otherwise the switch controller  620  sets switch  635  to position  1  (block  1040 ).  
         [0052]     The switch controller  620  reads the position of the HomePNA switch  625  (block  1045  or  1047 ). If HomePNA is disabled (as indicted by position of HomePNA switch  625 ) (block  1045 ), the switch controller  620  sets the switches  640   a - d  to position  1  to disable HomePNA signals for the telephone lines  111   a - e  (block  1060 ).  
         [0053]     Next, the switch controller  620  reads the output of the VDSL sensor  915  associated with the VoIP coupler  650   a  (block  1050 ). If VDSL signals are not present (as indicated by the VDSL sensor output  655 ), then the switch controller sets switches  640   a - d  to position  2  to enable HomePNA signals for the telephone lines  111   a - e  (block  1065 ). Otherwise, the switch controller queries the HomePNA processor  305  for the version of HomePNA signals implemented by the HomePNA processor  305  (block  1055 ). If the HomePNA signals are being used that would interfere with VDSL signals (e.g., HomePNA version 2) the switch controller  620  sets the switches  640   a - d  to position  1  to disable HomePNA signals (block  1060 ). Otherwise, the switch controller  620  sets the switches  640   a - d  to position  2  to enable HomePNA signals (block  1065 ).  
         [0054]     The switch controller then reads the POTS sensor  920  associated with a VoIP coupler  650   a - f  (block  1070 ). If the associated POTS sensor output  660  indicates that POTS signals (e.g., battery feed voltage or sealing current) are present, the switch controller  620  sets the battery switch  910  to position  2  to disable battery feed voltage for the telephone line corresponding to the VoIP coupler  650   a - f  (block  1075 ). Otherwise, the switch controller  620  sets the battery switch  910  to position  1  to enable battery feed voltage for the telephone line corresponding to the VoIP coupler  650   a - f  (block  1077 ). Next, the switch controller  620  determines if more telephone lines remain (block  1080 ). If more telephone lines remain, the process  1000  returns to block  1070  to process the next telephone line. Otherwise, switch controller  620  then stops executing the process  1000 .  
         [0055]     Alternatively, the switch controller  620  waits for a configurable amount of time to elapse, returns to block  1005 , and repeats the configuration process. In this fashion, the FRG  600  can self reconfigure if signal conditions on one or more of the telephone lines  110   a - e  change or the user changes the configuration switch  615 .  
         [0056]      FIG. 11  is a block diagram of an example processor platform  1100  capable of implementing the example process  1000  of  FIG. 10 . For example, the processor platform  1100  can be implemented by one or more general purpose microprocessors, microcontrollers, etc.  
         [0057]     The processor platform  1100  of the instant example includes the processor  1110  that is a general purpose programmable processor. The processor  1110  executes coded instructions present in main memory of the processor  1110 . The processor  1110  may implement, among other things, the switch controller  620 .  
         [0058]     The processor  1110  is in communication with the main memory including a read only memory (ROM)  1120  and a random access memory (RAM)  1125  via a bus  1105 . The RAM  1125  may be implemented by Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), and/or any other type of random access memory device. The ROM  1120  may be implemented by flash memory and/or any other desired type of memory device. Access to the memory space  1120 ,  1125  is typically controlled by a memory controller (not shown) in a conventional manner.  
         [0059]     The processor platform  1100  also includes a conventional interface circuit  1130 . The interface circuit  1130  may be implemented by any type of well known interface standard, such as an external memory interface, serial port, general purpose input/output, etc.  
         [0060]     One or more input devices  1135  are connected to the interface circuit  1130 . The input device(s)  1135  (e.g., VDSL sensors  915 , POTS sensors  920 .) may be used to provide the processor  1110  information on what signals are present on one or more of the telephone lines  110 ,  111   a - e.    
         [0061]     One or more output devices  1140  are also connected to the interface circuit  1130 . The output devices  1140  (e.g., switches  630 ,  635 ,  640   a - d , 655 ) may be used by the processor  1110  to control which broadband WAN service is enabled, and whether battery feed voltage is provided on one or more of the telephone lines  110 ,  111   a - e.    
         [0062]     From the foregoing, persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the above disclosed methods and apparatus may be realized within a single device or across two cooperating devices, and could be implemented by software, hardware, and/or firmware to implement the improved wireless receiver disclosed herein.  
         [0063]     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.