Patent Publication Number: US-RE43163-E

Title: High-speed network of independently linked nodes

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a Continuation-In-Part of and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/134,294, filed on May 14, 1999 and entitled Neighborhood Area Network. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. The Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to computer communications networks. More specifically, the present invention relates to computer high-speed networks linking geographically related users and to manners of implementing and operating such networks. 
     2. The Relevant Technology 
     Computer technology is breaking barriers to interpersonal communications at an amazing rate. Already, it is possible to communicate almost instantaneously with anyone in the world that has a computer and a telephone line. Computer networks, such as the Internet, link individuals and various types of organizations in world-wide digital communication. The Internet has almost unlimited promise for communications advances, but is limited by an overburdened and somewhat unsuited transmission medium. 
     In addition to the Internet, businesses, educational institutions, government agencies, and other similarly related entities also communicate over much smaller-scale networks, such as local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs). These small-scale networks, particularly LANS, operate at much higher speeds than the Internet, but are expensive to operate at large scales. Thus, a large gap exists, between the scope of coverage and speed of operation of the global, but relatively slow, Internet and the faster but more limited LANs and WANs. It would be advantageous to close this gap with larger-scale networks that operate at speeds close to that of LANS. 
     Several barriers exist to filling the gap between current limited coverage networks and the Internet. One such barrier is the “last mile” dilemma. That is, the Internet runs at very high speeds over its backbone, but slows down considerably over its localized connections. Generally, the Internet relies upon standard telecommunications industry lines and switching equipment for this last mile. This infrastructure is designed for telephone communications, and is not well adapted to the packetized communications of digital networks. A dilemma lies, however, in replacing the telephone infrastructure with transmission mediums more suited to digital communications. It is currently considered prohibitively expensive to connect high speed communications lines down to the individual users of the Internet. 
     This fact, together with the general congestion of the Internet in general leads to a substantial slow down of Internet communications. It also limits the deployment of intermediate types of networks. A further barrier to the implementation of networks of varying scopes and to the new introduction of new paradigms for network communication comes in the form of financing. Such developments using current technology would be prohibitively expensive. Who is going to pay for this infrastructure? 
     Accordingly, a need exists for an intermediate sized network to close the gap between the world-wide Internet and current relatively small scale networks. Preferably, such an intermediate sized network operates at speeds similar to those of LANS, coverage both in geographical area and diversify of user type. Additionally any solution to this problem should also address financing of installation and should overcome the last mile dilemma. New technologies for achieving such a new paradigm in computer networking are similarly needed. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In order to overcome many or all of the above-discussed problems, the present invention comprises methods, apparatus, and systems for implementing Large-scale high speed computer network. The network may connect an entire neighborhood or city in networked communications, and accordingly, will be referred to herein as a Neighborhood Area Network (NAN). The NAN of the present invention is a network conducted on a unique scale with a unique clientele and is implemented in a manner that transcends traditional network boundaries and protocols. The NAN is not equivalent to a wide area network WAN, in part because it is essentially routerless. That is, while a plurality of NAN, may be interconnected through the use of routers, each individual NAN is preferably constructed without the use of internal routers. The NAN is unique from local area networks (LANs) as well. One reason is that, due to its many novel features, it can be of a size and scope previously unobtainable by conventional LANs. 
     The NAN is further unique because it is intended to cover and serve a selected geographical area and to blanket that geographical area, rather than functioning to serve a specific government, business, educational, or similarly related entity. Accordingly, the subscribers and users of the NAN may be substantially non-related in any traditional business manner. Furthermore, funding for the NAN, rather than being provided by a business-type entity or subsidized by a governmental organization, may be funded at least in part by an independent third party, such as a utility company and may be funded in total or in part by subscribers. 
     The NAN is also comparatively inexpensive to install, making the placement of a NAN in every neighborhood a real possibility. The NAN of the present invention is capable of eliminating the message traffic burden from the Internet, thereby speeding up the Internet, as it is adapted to be operated completely independent of the currently highly burdened telecommunications infrastructure (although Internet service may be provided over the NAN). 
     In one embodiment, the NAN is comprised of an optic fiber ring serving as the outer backbone of the NAN. The ring is preferably populated with one or more fiber boxes, each containing circuitry including switches, repeaters, gateways, etc. The fiber boxes in one embodiment connect the backbone to a central office or headquarters data center in which a server is preferably located. One or more gateways are preferably provided within the backbone for access by Internet Service Providers (ISPs). An inner backbone comprised of scalable 10 to 100 megabit coaxial cable preferably branches from the fiber backbone. 
     The coaxial cable preferably originates at the fiber boxes and branches through the selected geographical region (discussed herein as a neighborhood, but of course, any geographical scale could be served), connected by repeaters and nodes to individual communicating stations. The inner backbone is preferably partitioned for efficient routing of traffic. 
     The nodes in one embodiment comprise hubs. The repeaters may be placed three hundred feet apart along the coaxial cable, with hubs placed within thirty feet of every house, business, or other type of communicating station on the NAN. The hubs preferably connect to the local houses or other buildings with ten-base-T twisted pair copper wiring employing the Category 5 (Cat5) standard. The hubs in one embodiment are powered by one or more of the communicating stations that they service. Accordingly, each station connected to a hub may share the powering of the hub and may share the powering of other switching equipment of the NAN as well. 
     In one embodiment NAN software operates on the server, the fiber boxes, the repeaters, and the hubs. Client software preferably operates a computers located at each communicating station. Additional functional software or logic may also execute on communicating stations or computers of subscribing service providers. For example, software may communicate with an electric power meter for transmitting information regarding power consumption from a communicating station (the power customer) through the network to third party service provider, in this case, a utility power company. 
     In one embodiment, at least a portion of the backbone is installed over the right-of-way owned by or franchised to a public utility such as gas, electric, or power company. This negates any need for a separate utility administering the NAN to acquire a new easement or franchise from the landowners or the government entity of the geographic region. The NAN may be financed and/or installed through the cooperation of the utility service provider company. This arrangement allows the public utility service provider that would otherwise be unable to enter the digital communication market to participate. It is also advantageous in that a NAN developer or administration entity would otherwise likely be unable to afford to finance and install the NAN due to the cost and risk of funding and lack of sufficient rights-of-way. 
     In certain embodiments of an apparatus and method in accordance with the present invention, an independent entity may create a city-wide network or NAN. The network includes, in one embodiment, a fiber optic ring within the city to serve as a local backbone. The fiber optic ring may be fully redundant. That is, it preferably completes a loop such that any break in the loop will not shut the whole system down. The fiber can be laid inexpensively as distances are not great and thus, less expensive local short-distance-types of fiber cable can be used. A low cost fiber can be used, such as feeder fiber which is less costly, and which requires less labor to install. 
     The fiber backbone is preferably populated by fiber boxes having switches therein. Coaxial cable from switches to bridges and repeaters to hubs. The hubs may connect to client stations using twisted-pair, copper cabling. A central server may be used and may be located within a headquarters data center. A headquarters data center may be employed as a gateway for Internet service providers. In addition, the Internet service providers may enter the system through other gateways including one or more switches. 
     The fiber backbone may be laid using the franchise agreement granted to the power company within a city or region. Thus, as the entire network is laid independently, the ISP service is provided independent of the telecommunications line over the entire route. Additionally, all ISPs are available on the net allowing equal access without choking traffic. 
     The infrastructure is preferably upgradable from 10 megabit to gigabit technology over the same lines, such that the lines need not be relaid in order to upgrade. Services that can be provided include surveillance, on-line books, two-way multi camera, schools, etc. Additionally, IPBX, telephone, television, CATV, and video on demand can be provided over the NAN. Video can be provided allowing independent selection, broadcast, start time and may be buffered to the user in real time. 
     The NAN also preferably incorporates one or more multiport switches which are configured to truncate broadcast data. The multi-port switch is preferably an indoor switch but is contained in an aluminum pedestal of dimensions approximately 3 by 2 by 2 feet and is environmentally controlled. 
     The repeaters in preferred embodiments convert the data from the switches to be transmitted over coaxial cable and are preferably semi-intelligent. In one embodiment, the repeaters are housed out of doors within a protective pedestal. The pedestal may be located on the ground or hung from power lines. 
     The bridges are, in preferred embodiments, high speed with a look-up binary tree and are preferably contained in the protective pedestals. The bridges also filter out broadcast traffic. The hubs route traffic to subscribing communicating stations and convert from coaxial to twisted pair cable. The hubs are connected with a T-connector and powered by the cooperative power coupler of the present invention. 
     The P-coupler preferably includes a series of transformers, one at each communicating station. The communicating station connect with Cat5 wiring to the hub through a home connection box. The home connection box preferably provides convenient connections for power to the hub and for transmit and receive lines. The lines at the home connection box are wired alphabetically. The home connection box connects preferably connects with Ethernet cabling to a network card located within a computer at the client station. 
     A modular power connector is preferably located at the home connection box. The wiring from the communicating station to the hub operates, in one embodiment, at ten megabytes per second. Three pairs of lines are preferably used, a transmit twisted pair, a receive twisted pair, and an A/C twisted pair running from the transformer to power the hub. 
     The NAN of the present invention is a high speed routerless network which differs from traditional large scale networks in that traffic is routed locally and that it has the speed of a small local area network but with many more stations connected thereto. The large amount of communicating stations is facilitated by the many novel aspects of the invention. 
     The NAN can be described as a baseband network rather than a broadband network because it addresses communicating stations directly and linearly rather than through broadcasting of data. The NAN of the present invention defines what cannot be routed rather than defining the types of packets that can be routed. The NAN also preferably uses converse/inverse filtering. Because the communications traffic is direct-routed, neighbor to neighbor communications is very high speed and occupies only a small part of the NAN. It also reduces the burden on the Internet. 
     METHOD OF IMPLEMENTATION 
     The NAN of the present invention is unique in that its clients are merely geographically related, rather than being business, government, educational institution, or otherwise related. Additionally, individual subscribers pay for the continued operation of the NAN rather than a single large entity. The NAN may be partially funded by public service companies such as utility companies. In one embodiment, the power company pays a portion of the installation fees in return for receiving a portion of the subscription and allows the infrastructure to be installed along its rights of way for which it has a business franchise. Accordingly, the NAN need not have a separate franchise and need not be a public utility. 
     Additionally, the power company or other public utility may receive benefits in the form of cheaper monitoring of the usage of its services. For instance, power companies may be able to automatically read the meters of the subscribers through the NAN, rather than having to send out meter readers, thereby reducing the cost. Billing and payment may also be automated over the NAN, further reducing costs. 
     The NAN may be administered by a private company, but is preferably not controlled by any central agency, governmental body or other entity, and thus, is a true community network. 
     Subscribers are allowed to join for an initial hook-up fee and a monthly service fee, similar to cable or telephone service. Upon paying the hook-up fee, customers are connected and provided with access to the NAN, but if they do not pay the monthly fee, some or all their services may be cut off. 
     The subscribers are all provided with an IP address upon the first use of their account. The IP address is in one embodiment semi-permanent in that it is retained until the subscriber changes network cards or computers. The IP addresses are retained in a binding within a server located at the central office. The server sends out the IP addresses, and the IP addresses are retained within bridges and within the switches in order to route the traffic accordingly. 
     The subscribers are preferably provided with Internet service from outside ISP which connect to the backbone through gateways. Internet service fees may be part of the subscription or may be part of independent subscription fees. 
     These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In order that the manner in which the above-recited and other advantages and objects of the invention are obtained will be readily understood, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of network system hardware for use with the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system architecture for use with the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic block diagram of one embodiment of a network architecture for use with the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic block diagram of one embodiment of a traffic filter module for use with the present invention. 
         FIG. 4A  is a schematic representation of one embodiment of a communications packet of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4B  is a schematic representation of an OSI seven layer model. 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic representation of a manner of connecting a communicating station to a communications node of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a connection box of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a partially exploded perspective view of a pedestal of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a hanging pedestal of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic flow chart diagram listing steps of a method of operating a NAN of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 10 through 15  are a schematic flow chart diagrams describing in greater detail steps that may be conducted in accordance with the method of  FIG. 9 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , shown therein is a schematic block diagram showing various hardware components of one embodiment of a large-scale, high speed network of the present invention. Because the network is intended to serve a selected geographical region, it is referred to herein as a neighborhood area network (ANA)  10 . The NAN  10 , as depicted, includes a backbone  12 , that is divided into two components. A first component is a fiber backbone  14  that is preferably adapted to transmit packetized data using standard optical communications protocols and technology. The fiber backbone  14  is preferably configured in a ring with incoming traffic traveling in a selected given direction. 
     A second component comprises a local backbone  16  that is preferably configured with a non-redundant branching structure and that is adapted to transmit data using radio wave signals. In the schematic depiction of  FIG. 1 , the physical locations of connections are represented, while an example of the actual branching structure is shown in  FIG. 3 . 
     The NAN system  10  in the depicted embodiment of  FIG. 1  also includes a server  18  which may be located at a central headquarters office  20 . One or more fiber switches  22  may be located within the fiber backbone  14 . Indeed, the fiber backbone  14  may complete a circle around a neighborhood or other common geographical region which is intended to be networked in computer, voice, and or/video communication. The fiber backbone  14  may be provided with redundant loops in case one loop becomes inoperable. 
     The local backbone  16  preferably communicates with the fiber backbone  14  through one or more fiber switches  22 . Each fiber switch  22  is preferably configured to examine packetized message traffic passing therethrough, and where a message is intended for a communicating station serviced by a portion of the local backbone serviced by the switch  22 , route the message onto the local backbone  16 . Each switch  22  also preferably routes locally generated traffic with external destinations to the fiber backbone  14  for receipt by other switches or gateways  108  to the Internet  34 . The switches  22  preferably also convert communications between optical communications signals and radio frequency signals. 
     Within the local backbone  16 , switching devices, including a series of repeaters  24 , nodes  26 , and bridges  50  are preferably deployed. In one embodiment, the local backbone  16  is provided with coaxial cable  38  having a sufficiently high band width and having signals of sufficiently high amplitude that repeaters  24  are needed only every 300 feet or so. The nodes may comprise hubs  26  which, due to the efficient propagation of the NAN  10 , can be located up to 30 feet from each communicating station  30 . 
     Communicating stations  30  in one embodiment connected to the nodes  26 , with Cat 5, twisted pair wiring  40  through a home connection box  42 . Internet Service Providers (ISPs)  32  are shown connected to the NAN  10  through in several different types of gateways. An ISP  32  may connect through the central headquarters office  20  and from there to a fiber switch  22 . Alternatively, an ISP may communicate directly with the fiber backbone  14  through a fiber switch  22 . The ISPs provide access to the worldwide web and the Internet  34 . 
     Each communicating station  30  may be provided with one or more home service boxes  44 . The service boxes  44  communicate over the NAN  10  and provide interactivity from a remote distance. The service boxes  44  may comprise, for instance, power meters  46 , security systems  48 , and any number of electrical and mechanized devices, including appliances, sprinkling systems, synchronized clocks, etc. 
     The fiber switches  22  may be housed within containment units  52 . The containment units  52  may be located inside or out of doors and are preferably provided with insulation and/or environmental control devices such as a fan  54  and/or air conditioning  56 . The containment units  52  are preferably vented. 
     The repeaters  24 , bridges  50  and nodes  26  are preferably located within protective pedestals  28  which are also preferably vented, which provide a hardened outer shell, and which may be provided with fans  54  or other environmental control devices. The pedestals  28  may be mounted in the ground, or may be mounted from utility and/or power lines overhead. The pedestals  28  preferably provide some type of lightening protection such as a Faraday shield. The pedestals  28  are described in greater detail below with reference to  FIGS. 7 and 8 . 
       FIG. 2  is a functional block diagram illustrating a system architecture  100  including operative data structures and executable modules for controlling the operation of the hardware of the NAN  10  depicted in  FIG. 1 . The system architecture  100  controls the interactions of the various intelligent components of the NAN  10  of  FIG. 1 . 
     Accordingly, shown in  FIG. 2  are the different modules and executables for operating the NAN  10 . Included are a plurality of client stations  30  communicating over a transmission system  102 . Other entities may also communicate over the transmission system  102 . These include the central headquarters office  20 , the server  18 , a monitoring station  152 , and service providers  104 , including a utility company  106 . 
     Referring now to the transmission system  102 , one method of operation of the NAN  10  to transmit information between the client stations  30  will be described. In one embodiment, the NAN backbone  12  is essentially routerless. That is, the system is operated at a large scale, but using the same principles as a small local area network. This is achievable due to the unique architecture and configuration of the NAN  10 . Routers ( 62  in  FIG. 3 ) are required only when connecting to outside entities, such as other NANs or the Internet  34 . 
     Components included within the system  100  include the bridges  50 , the switches  22 , the repeaters  24 , and the nodes, which in one embodiment comprise hubs  26 . Also included within the system  102  is an Internet routing module  108  which routes traffic to and from the ISP&#39;s  32 . The Internet routing module  108  operates as a gateway and may comprise a switch  22  and a router  62 . 
     The switches  22  are provided with software modules in the form of a switch routing module  110  and a switch conversion module  112 . The switch routing module  110  is used to route traffic between the switches  22 . The switch conversion module  112  is used to convert packeted traffic between the optical communications protocol and the radio frequency signals used within the coaxial cable lines  16 . Thus, in preferred embodiments, each switch includes one or more protocol converters interfacing between fiber cabling and Cat5 twisted pair wiring. 
     The protocol converters translate the optical signals into radio frequency signals for transmission on the coaxial Cat5 cables. The radio frequency signals are in turn translated into digital signals by the network cards  156 . 
     The Cat5 twisted pair wires lead into out of the switch  22  and connect to the protocol converters  112  and to repeaters  24 . The repeaters  24  place the data packets on the coaxial cable  16 . The Cat5 wiring may also lead directly to client stations  30  that are within 300 feet of the switch  22 . 
     Traffic is routed in an efficient manner whereby the system  100  utilizes the high speed fiber cables  14  to as great a degree as possible routing packetized traffic to the switch  22  closest to the communicating station  30  to which the message is addressed. Once the packet reaches the closest switch  22 , it is routed through a repeater  24  onto the local backbone  12 . Once on the local backbone  12 , the packet passes to a bridge  50  and then to the node  26  closest to the client station  30  in a manner be discussed below with relation to  FIG. 3 . 
     The repeaters  24  are preferably spaced approximately every 300 feet in order to avoid over-attenuation of the signals carrying the data packets. The nodes  26  are placed within 30 feet of each communicating station  30 . 
     The communicating stations  30  are preferably provided with client software  126  for enabling communications over the NAN  10 . The NAN  10  communications medium is, in one embodiment, standardized Ethernet data packets adhering to the Ethernet/OSI standards. In one embodiment, the data packets may be transmitted over the NAN  10  using merely MAC addresses of the low levels of the OSI model. 
     Client stations  30  which are new to the NAN  10  transmit an initial communication packet over the NAN  10  to the server  18 . The server  18  in reply issues an IP address  138  to the client station  30  which is semi-permanent. Thereafter, the client station  30  has a semipermanent IP address  136  which is changed only upon incidents such as the computer or network card of the client station  30  being changed. 
     The packets are routed through the switches  22 , repeaters  24 , and nodes  26 , to the addressed client stations  30 . The packets may be transmitted at a rate of 10 megabits per second due to the unique architecture of the NAN  10 . This high rate of speed can be upgraded by a factor of 10 or even up to a factor of one hundred without having to redeploy the fiber cables  14 , the coaxial cables  16 , and the pair twisted wiring  40 . This, again, is due to the unique architecture of the system. 
     The system architecture includes extending the distance a packet can travel up to between 3000 and 25000 feet and increasing the maximum tolerable packet acknowledgment time. This is accomplished in one embodiment by digressing from the IEEE standards. 
     For instance, the signals with which the packets are transmitted are amplified to a higher power than those on standard networks. This is accomplished by increasing the gain in the amplifiers that make the repeaters function. Additionally, the reception equipment is preferably more sensitive and able to capture a more degraded signal than standard network equipment. 
     The fact that the system operates on a baseband concept wherein all of the cable bandwidth is restricted to one channel rather than being divided into multiple channels allows for a higher bandwidth and greater power from the repeaters. This allows for collision detection over the cable  38  and for a release of the collision detection at a much lower level. Thus, voltage spikes are detected and ignored so that lower level collisions are not detected and the large level collisions can be detected. The incidences of these collisions are highly reduced due to the high bandwidth and direct routing of the system  100 . 
     Collision detection is preferably accomplished through voltage detection and timed resends and is adjusted to compensate for the increased sensitivity of the repeaters. 
     The repeaters  24  are provided with software or other logical circuitry  120  therein which allows the repeaters  24  to be semi-intelligent. The repeaters  24  transmit the fact that they are functioning, as well as information regarding the amount of traffic passing therethrough, in order to better manage the NAN  10 . Otherwise, the repeaters  24  merely pass the packets through and do not provide any switching function, merely increasing the amplitude of the signals carrying the packets. As mentioned, the repeaters  24  are, in one embodiment, placed every 300 feet across the local backbone  16 . 
     The hubs  26  route the packetized traffic through the Cat5 twisted pair wiring  38  to the communicating stations  30 . Internet routing  108  may also take place to route the Internet communications to the ISPs  32 . Communications with external stations over the Internet  34  may be conducted with a permanent IP address to get the messages within the NAN  10 , wherein the outside data packets are routed using MAC addresses. Additionally, stations  30  without permanent IP addresses may communicate through the use of a masqueraded IP address using a permanent IP address to get into the NAN and the semi-permanent IP addresses  136  issued to each client station  30  in a manner that will be discussed below in greater detail. 
     The bridges  50  are provided with software  114  and are also provided with a memory  116  containing a bank  118  of the IP addresses  136  of each client station  30 . The bank  118  also includes, for each corresponding IP address  136 , information regarding the location of the client station  30  to which the IP address  136  is assigned. 
     Accordingly, the bridges limit communications to only a particular portion of the network  10  to which the communication is addressed. Thus, the bridges  50  effectively partition the NAN  10 . A further function of the bridges  50  and the switches  22  is to eliminate unwanted communications. For instance, in one embodiment, broadcast packets and messages are forbidden. Accordingly, each switch  22  and bridge  50  may be provided with a traffic filter module  160  as depicted in  FIG. 4 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the traffic filter module  160  is used to eliminate certain types of traffic that may not be routed over the NAN  10 . Accordingly, the NAN  10  is defined as determining what types of communications can not be routed rather than determining what types can be routed, as in the prior art. Within each traffic filter module  160  may be a broadcast traffic sniffing module  162 . The broadcast traffic sniffing module  162  examines each information packet  165  (shown in  FIG. 4A ) and checks certain fields  171  which indicate that the packet  165  is broadcast data. When the traffic sniffing module  162  determines that the packet  165  is broadcast traffic, it then initiates the traffic elimination module  164  which eliminates the broadcast packet  165 . 
     The bridges  50  and switches  22  in one embodiment detect broadcast traffic by detecting an empty field  171  within the MAC address  170 . Alternatively, the broadcast traffic sniffing module  162  may detect a series of addresses at a certain level such as  255 ,  255 ,  255 ,  255  to detect a broadcast packet  165 . 
     Thus, because the NAN  10  eliminates unwanted traffic and restricts traffic to only those portions of the NAN  10  through which the packet  165  must travel to reach the addressed communication station  30  in the most efficient manner, much extraneous traffic is eliminated. This, combined with the higher speeds of the present invention, allow the NAN  10  to be operated as if it were a local area network but on much grander scales, indeed, even to include entire neighborhoods or municipalities. Additionally, because of this, the NAN  10  is suitable for use in geographical areas covering extensive distances that are merely geographically or community interest related, rather than being business, government, education or otherwise related. Thus, the NAN system  10  can be by financed at least in part by the service providers which will benefit from the efficient communication of the NAN  10 . 
     Referring now to the service providers  104  of  FIG. 2 , an example of such a service provider is a utility company  106 . In one embodiment, the utility company  106  is a power company. Thus, for example, the power company can communicate over the transmission system  102  on the NAN  10  with each client station  30 . Within each client station  30  is one or more service boxes  144  having therein customer service software  150 . 
     The customer service software  150  might, in one instance, comprise power meter software  148  within a power meter box  46 . The power meter software  148  may transmit power usage through the NAN  10  back to the utility company  106 . The utility company  106 , with a power usage collection module  144 , receives the power usage data and transmits it to a billing module  146 . The billing module  146  then bills the customer at the communicating station  30  over the transmission station  102 . The payment of the bill may also pass through the transmission system  102 , thus passing through the NAN  10  back to the utility company  106 . Of course, utility companies other than the power company may also use this system of data collection billing and payment receipt. 
     Other types of service boxes  144  may also contain customer service box software  150 . For instance, the security system  48  may contain therein software which notifies the monitoring station  152  of any irregularities. Software  154  within the monitoring station  152  may monitor the data transmitted by the security system  48 . For instance, this data might include home security system data indicating that a break-in has occurred. The security system  48  may also indicate the occurrence of a fire, and may transmit full video surveillance data back to the monitoring station  152 . The monitoring station  152  or a similar station may also monitor the contents of the NAN  10  in order to eliminate illegal traffic. Pornography or other types of traffic may likewise be eliminated. 
     Each client station  30  as mentioned, preferably communicates at the MAC layer within the NAN  10 . The client stations  30  may also be provided with a semi-permanent IP address for communications external to the NAN  10 . The server  18  is provided with server software  124  which maintains a bank  138  of the IP addresses  136 . The server  18  thus issues the IP addresses  136  and also maintains a binding between the MAC layer communications and the IP addresses  136 . These bindings are transmitted to the switches  22 , bridges  50 , and any other equipment with a need to know the IP addresses  136  of the client stations  30 . 
     Consequently, the server  18  is not necessary other than for issuing IP addresses and maintaining bindings, and indeed, if the server  18  were to go down, the transmission system  102  operating on the NAN  10  could continue to operate. New client stations  30  would merely not be able to receive an IP address. 
     The central headquarters office  20  preferably contains therein a headquarters software module  128 . The headquarters software module  128  may conduct monitoring and billing types of operations. Thus, a customer database  130  may be maintained therein and may coordinate with a billing module  134 . A redundant database  132  is also preferably included. The redundant database  132  may be located at a distant site such that it maintains a copy of all data in the case of a failure of the customer data  130 . Synchronizing information may pass between the customer database  130  and the redundant database  132  over the NAN  10  with the use of the transmission system  102 . 
     Billing information may be generated and stored within the billing module  134  and may be transmitted to communicating stations  30  over the transmission system  102 . The customer database  130  may maintain records including records of which customers are behind on their payments. If the customers are behind, the client station  130  of that customer may be denied services in part or in full of the NAN system  10 . These services include, in one embodiment, Internet service. 
     The communicating stations  30  are preferably provided with standard network cards  156  which transmit through the home connection box  42 . The client software  126  residing at the communicating stations  30  preferably maintains the client&#39;s IP address  136  and receives and generates data packets (shown at  165  in  FIG. 4A ) with which information is transmitted over the transmission system  102 . The client software  126  may provide many various types of functions, including video phone communication, audio, and video transmission, payment of bills, ordering of on-demand video, transmission of home security information, etc. 
     A power coupler  135  may be provided within or in communication with the home connection box  42 . The power coupler  135  preferably conditions incoming power from a power source at each communicating station, combines the power and network connection, and provides a simple manner of connecting the twisted pair wiring to standard computer cabling, preferably Ethernet cable, which passes to the computer at the communicating station  30 . In one embodiment, the twisted pair wiring is provided with a twisted pair for transmission, a twisted pair for reception, and a twisted pair carrying AC to the hub  26 , as will be discussed in greater detail below with reference to  FIGS. 5 and 6 . 
     The hub  26  is in one embodiment provided with a power concentrator  25  which provides power conditioning and power delivery to the hub  26 . The power concentrator receives power from the power coupler  135  of the communicating stations  30 . Preferably the power concentrator  25  receives power from two or more stations  30  and passes the power on to the hub  26  or other switching device. A power concentrator  25  receives power through a transformer connected to a wall socket at the communicating station  30 . In one preferred embodiment, four houses share a hub and provide power to the hub. The hub bleeds power out of the four transformers at a time, but can receive power from less than all of them and be at a full power level. This redundant power supply scheme ensures that the hub  26  continues operating even if one of the power sources, i.e., one of the communicating station  30 , goes down. Thus, AC power is received from the communicating station  30  through the power coupler  135  to the power concentrator  25 . In addition, all switching equipment may be powered cooperatively in this manner and may be provided with power concentrators  25 . 
     In one embodiment, the AC power is received directly from a power meter (seen at  46  in  FIG. 5 ) at the communicating station  30 . The power from the communicating stations  30  may be provided individually or collectively to the switches, bridges, repeaters, router, hubs, and any other switching equipment of the NAN. Additionally, power meters not located at communicating stations  30  may be utilized to provide power to the hubs  26  and other switching equipment. 
     In one embodiment, the communicating stations  30  or the hubs  26  comprise a power meter monitoring hub  26 . The power meter monitoring hub  26  may comprise an RF receiver and an 8-bit microcontroller as well as an RS 232 communications interface and a power supply. The hub may also contain up to four 10-base T ports. On-site configuration is provided by an RS 232 port. Under this embodiment, the monitoring hub receives power consumption data from power meter transmitters and passes it on to the utility company  106  over the transmission system  102 . 
     Each power meter  46  in this embodiment provided with a power monitoring transmitter. The transmitter may be comprised of a PIC microcontroller, a 418 megahertz UHF transmitter, a photo-reflective sensor, and an off-line power supply. The transmitter may use the photo-reflective sensor to monitor rotation of the power meter disk and store the information in nonvolatile memory in the microcontroller. The transmitter transmits the power usage information to the power meter monitoring hub along a 418 megahertz RF link. 
     In one embodiment, the coaxial cable, as well as the 10-base T wire, is housed within a protective conduit. The system may operate with Linux using an IP chain and masquerading which is considered more effective than using a proxy server. 
     The bridges  50 , in addition to eliminating broadcast traffic, may also receive and regenerate the packets  165  at a higher power level. The repeaters  24  preferably merely amplify the signals carrying the packets  165  and do so without any delay, while the bridges may slow down the packets somewhat. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , shown therein is a functional block diagram of a NAN hierarchy scheme  60 . Within the scheme  60  is shown the fiber backbone  14  looping in a circuitous manner to form a ring. Within the fiber backbone  14  is a plurality of switches  22 . A central switch  22 a is shown connected with the central headquarters  20  and through a router  62  to the Internet. Thus, the fiber backbone  14  comprises an outer circuitous backbone. It should be noted that the NAN  10  may have a plurality of gateways  62 . Because of the plurality of gateways, any number of ISP providers  32  may provide service to the NAN  10 . Other types of service providers and outside entities may also access the NAN  10  through the gateways  62 . 
     Emanating from the switches  22  are components of the local backbone  16  which are arranged in a branched configuration. Thus, shown branching out from each switch  22  is a series of bridges  50 , repeaters  24 , and hubs  26 . Each bridge  50  separates and services a plurality of hubs  26 . 
     Thus, an incoming packet  165  received, for instance over the Internet  34 , passes through the router  62 . The router  62  uses an IP address  169  shown in  FIG. 4a  to determine is that the packet is local to the NAN  10 . For instance, the IP address may be assigned to the NAN  10  or to the router  62  specifically under a masquerade scheme that will be described. 
     Once the packet  165  reaches the NAN  10 , it is routed using a MAC address  170  of  FIG. 4a . After passing through the router  62 , the packet  165  is received by the central switch  22 a. As shown in  FIG. 4A , the packet  165  comprises a header  166 , a data portion  167 , and a footer  168 . The header comprises the address of the addressed communicating station  30 . The footer contains redundancy information to make sure the packet  165  was properly received. A cyclical redundancy check (CRC) may be used using information in the footer for acknowledgment that the packet  165  was received and has not been degraded. 
     Within the header  166  may be both an IP address  169  and a MAC address  170 . The MAC address  170  refers to a unique number given to each network card  156  of  FIGS. 2 and 5 . The IP addresses  169  are administered by the Internic agency and are addresses utilized under the TCP/IP protocol. Each station has a unique MAC address. Additionally, each station may have a unique IP address  169 . 
     Nevertheless, because IP addresses  169  are becoming scarce and difficult to procure, a masqueraded system may be employed wherein the router  62  contains a routable IP address or several routable IP addresses and stations  30  within the NAN  10  are addressed by the routable IP address of the router  62  outside the NAN  10 . Once addresses containing the masqueraded EP address reach the NAN  10  at the switch  22 a, the MAC address  170  may then be used to route the packet  165  within the NAN  10 . Indeed, within the NAN  10 , routing is preferably exclusively conducted using the MAC address  170 . 
     When communicating on the MAC level, a communicating station  30 , in one embodiment, uses a protocol such as an ARP request. The “ARP” request is an address revolution protocol. The ARP protocol talks to the network cards looking for the MAC address. The use of an ARP-type address protocol by the NAN  10  does not adhere exactly to the ARP address protocol but is similar to it. 
     Thus, the server  18  may be characterized as a modified DHCP server but does not broadcast DHCP as with the prior art systems, though it does maintain the IP-MAC address binding and notifies all subscribing components of that binding. Under this arrangement, when a communicating station  30  comes on-line and receives the non-routable IP address from the server  18 , it then binds the IP address. In one embodiment, this is done by populating its registry with the IP address. That is, the IP address is bound to the TCP/IP protocol stack. This IP address is used for TCP/IP protocol communications with stations  72  external to the NAN  10 . As discussed, all internal communications are preferably routed using the MAC address. 
     Of course, the communicating stations  30  could also receive permanent IP addresses either from the server  18  or directly from Internic. These permanent, routable IP addresses may also be maintained within the binding of the server  18 . 
     Preferably, hubs, bridges and switches work on only the lower two levels of the OSI model of  FIG. 4b . When a packet  165  is addressed to go outside of the NAN- 10 , it is sent to the router  62  which acts as a gateway to the Internet  34  and passes the packet  165  outside the NAN  10 . The IP addresses within the communicating stations  30  communicate through virtual ports on the communicating stations  30  but preferably not through the same communicating ports as traditional DHCP protocol standards. 
     Additionally, the IP addresses are semi-permanent. That is, the communicating stations  30  maintain a single IP address for external communications and do not flood the NAN  10  with requests for DHCP servers to receive IP addresses from. Indeed, because of this substantially, only direct routed traffic exists on the neighborhood, and all broadcast traffic is substantially squelched. Additionally, all traffic is partitioned within its own area and does not travel across the entire network. For this reason, there are substantially less collisions because traffic is much more localized. This also allows the network to service many more communicating stations  30 . 
     The OSI model  190  is shown in  FIG. 4b . As shown therein, the OSI-model comprises a first layer  191  known as the physical layer. A second layer  192  is known as the data link layer and it is this layer that predominantly deals with the MAC address  170 . A third layer  193  is referred to as the network layer, a fourth layer  194  is referred to as a transport layer, and a fifth layer  195  is referred to as a session layer. The session layer  195  primarily deals with the IP address  169 . A sixth layer  196  is referred to as the presentation layer, and a seventh layer  197  is referred to as the application layer. Within the seven layer OSI model, the upper levels allow two communicating stations, one assigned as a client and one assigned as a server, to coordinate communications with each other. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 3 , once message traffic  165  is received from the router  62  to the switch  22 a, the switch  22 a maintains the packet  165  momentarily in a buffer  164  and refers to a database  66  to determine whether the MAC address  170  is local to a partition  169  belonging to the switch  22 a. Switch  22 a makes this binary determination, and if the answer is yes, passes the packet  165  to a first bridge  50 a. 
     If the answer is no, that is, the traffic is not local to a partition  168 , the switch passes the packet  165  in a given direction to a subsequent switch  22 . In the depicted embodiment, the given direction is clockwise. Upon passing the packet  165  on, a subsequent switch  22  receives the packet  165  and similarly examines the packet  165  to determine whether it is local or external to a partition  168 . If the packet is local to the partition  168 , the switch  22  will pass it on to a bridge  50  within a partition  168  to which the switch  22  belongs. If the packet  165  is addressed external to the partition  168  of the switch  22 , the switch  22  passes the packet  165  in the given (clockwise) direction to a subsequent switch  22 . 
     Presuming that the packet  165  was local to switch  22 a, switch  22 a passes the packet to a first bridge  50 a. The bridge  50 a then holds the packet  165  temporarily in a buffer  64  and refers to a local database  66  to determine whether the packet  165  is local or external to the bridge  50 a. If the packet  165  is local to the bridge  50 a, the bridge  50 a determines which of the hubs  26  connected with the bridge  50 a the packet  165  must be routed through. 
     If the packet  165  is addressed external to the bridge  50 a, the bridge  50 a passes it to a subsequent bridge  50 b. The bridge  50 b then receives the packet  165  within a buffer  64  and examines its database  66  to determine if it the packet is addressed to a local station  30 . If it is not, it passes it on to subsequent bridges  50  (not shown) in the branching structure of the local backbone  16 . 
     The bridges  50  are typically separated by one or more repeaters  24  to amplify the radio frequency (RF) signals which contain the packets  165 . Referring now back to bridge  50 a, if the packet  165  was local to bridge  50 a, it determines which of the hubs  26  to pass it to. Presuming that the packet  165  was addressed to a station  30 a within a hub  26 a, the bridge passes the packet to the hub  26 a. The hub  26 a briefly maintains the packet  165  within a buffer  64  and examines its database  66  to determine which of the subscribing communicating stations  30  the packet  165  belongs to. In this case, it determines that the packet belongs to station  30 a and places the packet on a line  40  to be received by a network card  156  located at the communicating station  30 a. A similar process would occur with every bridge  50 . Thus, for instance, if the packet were addressed to a station  30 b, the bridge  50 b would receive the packet and transmit to the hub  26 b, which would receive the packet  165  and transmit it to the communicating station  30 b. 
     Inter-NAN communications are even more simplified. For instance, if the communicating station  30 a wishes to communicate with the communicating station  30 b, client software  126  would prepare the packet  165  and place it through the network card  156  onto the NAN  10 . The packet  165  would be received by hub  26 a which would in turn transmit the packet  165  to the bridge  50 a. The bridge  50 a would examine the packet once again to determine whether it is local or external to the bridge  50 a. If it is locally addressed, the bridge  50 a transmits to the appropriate hub  26  connected thereto. If it is not, it directs the packet  165  to another bridge  50  or to the switch  22 a, depending on the MAC address  170 . 
     The switching equipment, such as the switches, bridges, and hubs, preferably use a binary tree sorting algorithm to sort through addresses in the attendant databases  66  to determine the location of stations  30  addressed by the packets  165 , which greatly enhances the speed thereof. The binary tree, rather than being just a one dimensional look-up table or bubble sort, is branched and allows for larger databases without significant propagation delays. The binary tree is implemented, in one embodiment, using the Nikolas Wirth style that is known in the art. 
     Note that each bridge  50  also preferably contains its own sub-partition  70  in the partition  68  of the switch  22  to which it subscribes. In this case, when a bridge, such as bridge  50  determines that the packet  165  is local to the partition  68  but not within its own subscribing hubs  26 , the bridge  50 a passes the packet  165  on to the bridge, e.g. bridge  50 b. The bridge  50 b then examines the packet  165  and determines that it belongs to the hub  26 b and passes it on to hub  26 b. Hub  26 b in turn examines the packet  165  and passes it on to the communicating station  30 b. 
     If a communicating station  30  such as the station  30 a wants to communicate with a computer or entity  72  outside of the NAN  10 , it addresses the packet  165  using the IP address  169  of the entity  72 . If the outside station  72  wishes to communicate with the station  30 a, it also uses an IP address  169  to get into the NAN. This IP address  169  may be either a permanent IP address received from the Internic agency or a masqueraded IP address attributable to the router  62 . The outside station  72  sends any return messages using this IP address. 
     If the masqueraded IP address is used, the router  62  passes the packet  165  to the switch  22 a, which then examines the MAC address  170  without having to refer to the IP address. Thus, one difference between bridges  50  and the routers  62  of the present invention is that a bridge  50  reads only at the MAC level while a router  62  reads at the IP level. 
     The outside station  72  could also be part of a NAN other than the NAN- 10 . The outside station  72  could communicate using MAC addresses to other outside stations  72  within its own NAN, but once it wished to communicate with an entity outside its own NAN such as the communicating station  30 a, it then must use an IP address to pass packets  165  through the Internet with the use of routers  62 . 
     As presently contemplated, each NAN  10  may have 10,000 or more communicating stations  30 . A community having more than 10,000 locations wanting to subscribe to the NAN  10  would require more than one NAN  10 . Additionally, under the present system, this maximum number may be increased by increasing the speed of the local backbone  16 . The speed of the local backbone may be increased up to, for instance, a gigabit per second of throughput without having to reinstall the communicating lines. To increase the number of subscribing communicating stations  30  within a NAN- 10 , the firmware constituting the software within the client stations server, hubs, bridges and switches are replaced, in an operation that is substantially transparent to the communicating stations  30 . 
     Stations within the different NANs preferably communicate with each other over the Internet, as discussed. Nevertheless, within each NAN communications are routerless in the preferred embodiment. 
     Presently, the standard for communications on the inner backbone  16  is 10-base-T, whereas the fiber communications on the fiber backbone  14  are set at 100-base-T. NAN  10  communications preferably utilize the Ethernet 802.3 standard which is the standard presently relied upon by most Internet and network organizations. The Ethernet 802.3 standard is used in one embodiment of the NAN for packet encapsulation for transfer of the packets  165  over communication lines  36 ,  38 . 
     In order for a new communicating station  30  to be admitted to communicate on the NAN  10 , it must first establish communications with the server  18 . The server  18 , as described, maintains a binding between IP addresses and MAC addresses. The client software  126  which is installed on every communicating station  30  provides the communicating station  30  with the proper MAC address of the server  18 . Thus the communicating station communicates with the server  18  to receive a localized non-routable IP address for use in communications external to the NAN- 10 . 
     In one embodiment, the communicating station  30  may be given a permanent IP address issued by Internic or may be given a non-routable address and use the masquerading procedure discussed above. Additionally, there may be several different types of IP addresses issued. As discussed, routable and non-routable IP addresses may be issued as well as filtered IP addresses that filter content received from the Internet. Additionally, an IP address may be partially or fully functional depending on whether the communicating station  30  has paid a monthly or yearly fee. 
     Every station  30  checks in with the server  18  at the initial login in one embodiment, but if the server  18  is not functioning, the stations  30  may still continue to operate with the previously issued IP address. E-mail messages may be sent to a permanent IP address, or may be routed in the manner of outside station  72  communications as discussed above. 
     Shown in  FIG. 5  are the contents of a typical home connection box  42 , including a power coupler  184 . The home connection box  42  may comprise a protective housing  182 . Within the housing  182  is shown a power coupler adapter  184 . Connected to the adapter  184  is a wire  174 . The wire  174  emanates from a transformer  173  which is in electrical communication with a power outlet  172 . Also shown is an RF wire  176  carrying transmitted signals from the power meter  46 . Of course, power consumption may also be transmitted over air waves as discussed above. The network card  156  is shown connected with the adapter  184  with the use of standard Ethernet cable  178  which is plugged into jacks  180 . 
     The network card  156  is preferably a standard 10-base-T Ethernet network card. The adapter  184  also has shown connected thereto a set of wires  186 . One example of a network card  156  suitable for use with the present invention comprise a standard Ethernet 10-base T network card such as the CN2000 card available from CNET of Milpitas, Calif. 
     A pair of first twisted pair wires  186 a contains transmit information and a second set of twisted pair wires  186 b contains received information. A third set of twisted pair wires  186 c carries AC power to the power concentrator and to a node  26 . A protective conduit  188  covers the wires and protects them from the elements. The protective housing  182  is preferably mounted to the outside of the home or building within which the communicating station  30  is located. 
     Shown in  FIG. 6  is one embodiment of the home connection box  42 . Shown therein is a base  183  containing therein the adapter  187 . The protective housing  182  is adapted to fit over the base  183 . Jacks  185  are shown for receiving the wires  178 ,  174 ,  176  of  FIG. 5 . The outgoing wires  186  are also shown. Wiring is preferably labeled and connected on an alphabetical basis. 
     Shown within the central headquarters  20  is a statistics checker  158  for receiving information from the semi-intelligent repeaters  24 . The stats checker  158  receives the information from the repeaters  24  and determines that the repeaters  24  are online and functioning properly. A report may be generated by the statistics checker  158  and warnings may be sent to an operator in real time. 
     The hubs  26  are connected to the coaxial cable  38  with a T-connector so as not to break the connection. The hubs convert from coaxial cabling to twisted pair wires and provide collision detection as well as amplification. 
     Client software  126  provides an arrangement similar to a DHCP client, but contrary to DHCP clients of the prior art, the client software  126  does not broadcast and does not lease an IP address, but rather, contains a permanent or semi-permanent IP address. This keeps the network uncluttered. This is allowable because the DHCP client can be identified by the MAC address and routable IP addresses. Indeed, standard DHCP servers and broadcast traffic are not allowed on the network. In one embodiment, standard DHCP servers and broadcast traffic that do repeatedly transmit broadcast traffic are found and crashed or otherwise disallowed on the network. 
     The server  18  is preferably a DHCP-type server which performs management tasks including keeping track of and handing out IP addresses. The customers use a password to get their initial IP address. Once the communicating stations  30  receive their IP address  136  they may talk on a TCP/IP layer. A binder utility  157  may reside within the central headquarters. The binder utility  157  in one embodiment binds the IP address with the MAC address and may be used as a guarantee of customer payment. 
     The DHCP server and the DHCP clients talk at the MAC layer. Under the OSI standard model, this is the first and second layer. Then once the IP address is picked up, they may communicate at different layers such as the TCP/IP layer. Hubs and repeaters preferable communicate at the MAC layer while the server  20  ensures that a machine with a given MAC address has the assigned IP address and maintains this binding. 
     Thus, by eliminating broadcast traffic and making the NAN  10  essentially a routerless network, the NAN  10  can be operated at high speeds and on large scales. Only specific types of traffic are allowed to travel the NAN, further maintaining the high speed of the NAN. Under the present invention, the NAN determines what can travel thereon, rather than what cannot travel thereon as in the prior art. Indeed, the NAN  10 , including the switches, bridges and wires, operates outside of the standard “mold” of networks because its implementation does not follow IEEE or other standards. 
     The high speed of the NAN  10  of the present invention is attributable to a number of cooperating factors. For instance, rather than adhering to standard IEEE standards such as the Cat5 standard, packets are transmitted with greater power and can be transmitted up to 1500 feet using a higher power level and more sensitive receiving equipment before being picked up. This provides a longer acknowledgment time, and because the packets are directly routed using the local/external method described above, the packets are on the NAN for shorter periods of time causing less collisions. 
     Hubs, similar to the bridges, also restrict local traffic and do not pass it on to the NAN  10  but contain all traffic that is local to that hub. Typically, bridges may be located four repeaters from each other and may service about five hubs. Each hub may service about five communicating stations  30 . 
     Each switch and bridge regenerates the packet  165 , whereas the hub holds the packet in a buffer and may or may not regenerate the packet  165  depending on the level of amplitude of the packet. 
     The local partitioning and high rate of speed of the NAN  10  are enabled to a large degree by a unique firmware residing within the switching components. This unique firmware includes a tree structure sorting algorithm within the switching components. Initially, the novel firmware is much simplified in that the decisions are binary. That is, the switching components determine whether a packet is addressed local or external. Additionally, the databases are larger and hold a greater number of MAC addresses. In one embodiment greater than 800 MAC addresses are be contained within the databases  66 . In a further embodiment, greater than 10,000 MAC addresses are contained, and in a further embodiment, 15,000 or more MAC addresses are contained. 
     The NAN  10  keeps traffic local and partitioned and, as described, kills all broadcast traffic at the bridges. Typically, the broadcast traffic doesn&#39;t make it past the bridges to the switches, but the switches may also kill any broadcast traffic. 
     The firmware also processes packets  165  in a unique manner using a distance vector algorithm that allows the packets  165  to travel further without being regenerated. The firmware allows reduction of collision rates. Nevertheless, the packets  165  don&#39;t travel as far because they are held more localized by the bridges which have larger databases. Thus, the NAN  10  is characterized more by what cannot travel it than what can travel it. 
     Shown in  FIG. 7  is an earth-based pedestal  200  of the present invention. The pedestal  200  comprises a pedestal base  202  which is mounted within the earth  216  a distance of at least several inches. A cylindrical outer housing  204  is shown and is provided with site  201  for air-circulation. The cylindrical outer housing  204  is inserted over the base  202  to protect a circuit board  206  housed therein. The circuit board is mounted within a Faraday shield  218  which may be a partial chassis or a cage. 
     The Faraday shield  218  is connected with a post  208  and is mounted within the ground a distance of approximately 1.5 feet. The post  208  is connected with copper braid wiring  212  to a pair of steel rods  214  which are mounted about 8 inches apart and approximately 3 feet in the ground. This provides adequate ground charge and lightning protection for the circuit board  206 . 
     The circuit board  206  typically comprises the contents of a node  26 , a repeater  24 , or bridge  50 . Emanating through openings  210  in the Faraday shield  218  are a pair of communications wires  215 . Communications wires  215  may comprise a coaxial cable  28 , a twisted pair cable  40  and/or the fiberoptic cabling  36  and are preferably routed underground. In this manner, the nodes  26 , feeders  24 , and/or bridges  50  may be housed outside and are protected from the elements with the use of the pedestal  200 . 
     An alternate embodiment of a pedestal, shown in  FIG. 8  is a hanging pedestal  220 . The hanging pedestal  220  is adopted to hang from locations such as power or telephone lines or poles. The hanging pedestal  220  is shown comprising a base  222  and a lid  224 . In the depicted embodiment, two hanging pedestal bases  222  and lids  224  are shown separated by a hanger mount. The hanger mount  226  as depicted is comprised of a pair of hanging brackets  228 . The hanging brackets  228  comprise a pair of plates  230  which are tightened in proximal contact around a line from which hanging pedestal  220  is hung with bolts  232 . The base and lid may be hooked together with plastic hinges  236  and may latch with a snap-fit type latch  234 . The hanging pedestals also house an electronic circuit board therein which is accessed through a set of cables  208 . 
     Additional applications of the NAN  10  include video connecting, voice, video, cable TV, etc. Real time video may be provided on-demand rather than just being started every hour. The video may be downloaded in buffered portions and cached in part or in all on a memory device at a particular communicating station  30  which ordered the video. Sporting events may be archived for later viewing, and other real time events may be provided through a window frame within a monitor or screen of the communicating station  30 . Home education may be provided as may be books, such that the service provider  104  may comprise a virtual library. 
       FIG. 9  is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a general method  250  of operation of a NAN. The method  250  begins at a start step  252 . Subsequently, at a step  254 , a network such as a NAN system is provided. Preferably, the network is configured in the manner described above for the NAN  10 . At a step  256 , the network is installed. Preferably, this means that a NAN  10  of the present invention is installed as described above and as will be described below in greater detail. 
     At a step  258 , communicating stations  30  are connected to the network  10 . Preferably, the communicating stations comprise a plurality of businesses, organizations, and/or individuals related primarily or exclusively by residence within a common geographical location. At a step  260 , installation and operation of the NAN are financed. This step will be discussed in detail below, but briefly, the installation is preferably financed, at least in part, by a utility company, and operations are preferably financed by periodic subscription fees. 
     At a step  262 , the network, e.g., NAN  10 , is operated. Operation of the network  10  preferably takes advantage of the unique configuration of the NAN  10 . For instance, power is preferably cooperatively supplied from communicating stations, messages are directly routed, and localized message traffic such as advertising and security observation is routed over the network  10 . 
     At a step  264 , the network  10  is administered. Preferably, the network administration is provided by a private company other than the utility company that assisted in financing the installation. Administration preferably comprises billing and such matters, and is preferably conducted on behalf of cooperative ownership and management of the network. At a step  266 , the method  250  ends. 
     Providing a NAN system  10  of step  254  of  FIG. 9  may be conducted in accordance with a method  270  of  FIG. 10 . The method  270  begins at a step  272  and progresses to a step  274 . At step  274 , a backbone is provided. Preferably, the backbone comprises a fiber backbone  12  as described above. Thus, the backbone  12  is also preferably formed in a loop circling through a geographic area which the NAN  10  is intended to serve. 
     The method  270  may also, as depicted by a step  276 , comprise utilizing protocols that are not recognized standards, and particularly, that are not IEEE standards. By dispensing with IEEE standards, greater speeds and flexibility can be achieved, as discussed above. As depicted by a step  278 , the method  270  may also utilize direct routing of messages. The direct routing is preferably achieved in the manner discussed above, with switching equipment and cables branching from a central backbone  14 . The network  10  is also preferably partitioned, at a step  280 , preferably in the manner described above, such that any particular message goes directly to and stays within a partition  70  corresponding to a station  30  to which the message is addressed. 
     A server  282  is optional, but may provided, as indicated by a step  282 . The server preferably corresponds to the server  18 . Additionally, a central HQ  20  is preferably provided. One or more Internet Gateways may also be provided, as indicated by a step  284 . At a step  286 , the method ends. 
     Installing a NAN  10  of step  256  of  FIG. 9  may be conducted in accordance with a method  290  of  FIG. 11 . The method  290  begins at a start step  292 . As indicated at a step  294 , the method  290  preferably comprises installing at least a substantial portion of the cabling  36 ,  38 ,  40  of the NAN  10  within a right of way belonging to a public utility service provider company. In one embodiment, the public utility service provider comprises a power company. 
     At a step  296 , the NAN  10  is installed within a selected geographical area. Preferably, the geographical area comprises a municipality, and more preferability, a portion of a municipality, such as a neighborhood. As indicated at a step  298 , switching equipment is installed. The switching equipment preferably includes the fiber switches, the repeaters, the bridges  30 , and the hubs  26 . In one embodiment, at least a substantial portion of the switching equipment is installed out of doors, preferably within containment units  52  or protective pedestals  200 ,  220 . 
     At a step  300 , the switching equipment is preferably connected to power sources located at the communicating stations  30 . Preferably, the communicating stations  30  cooperatively and redundantly provide the power to switching equipment as discussed above. Thus, external power sources may not be needed, and if power goes out or is terminated at a single communicating station  30 , power can be supplied by the other communicating stations  30 . Preferably, the delivery of power is coordinated by a power concentrator  25 . 
     At a step  302 , the protective pedestals  200 ,  220  are preferably provided for housing the switching equipment. At a step  304 , the cabling  36 ,  38 ,  40  is provided, preferably by burying the cabling within the rights of way of the utility company. 
     At a step  306 , the server  18  and the central HQ computer  20  are provided. Of course, other steps will be necessary to completely install the NAN  10 , but will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art from the present description. At a step  308 , the method  290  ends. 
     Connecting stations of step  258  of  FIG. 9  may be conducted in accordance with a method  310  of  FIG. 12 . The method  310  begins at a start step  312  and progresses to a step  314 . At the step  314 , users subscribe to the NAN service (and) or Internet service. That is, users such as individuals at residences, businesses, schools, and other organizations at the various communicating stations  30  subscribe to receive NAN-service. The subscribing is preferably conducted prior to installing the relevant switching equipment in the NAN of the subscribers. 
     At a step  316 , the NAN is connected to individual residences or places of business. Unlike most limited distribution networks, the NAN  10  is preferably connected to multiple residences, businesses, and/or organizations. In installing the NAN, connections are preferably made to each building in which is housed one or more communicating stations  30 . Preferably, in a step  318 , each communicating station  30  is provided with a home connection box  42  to which the NAN cabling and switching equipment is connected. 
     At a step  320 , the switching equipment local to each communicating station  30  is connected with the communicating station  30  to receive power from the communicating station  30 . Thus, power delivery is shared by groups of communicating stations  30  as described above. 
     At a step  322 , a plurality of communicating stations  30  are preferably placed in communication by a connection to common switching equipment such as a node or hub  26  of  FIG. 1 . Preferably, the switching equipment is located out of doors in a centralized location, and more preferably, is located within a ground-based pedestal  200  or a hanging pedestal  220 . 
     As indicated by a step  324 , installation of the NAN  10  preferably comprises connecting together in the NAN  10  only communicating stations  30  related by location within a common geographical area. The geographical area may be any selected area, but preferably comprises a municipality, plurality of municipalities, or portions thereof such as common neighborhoods. At a step  326 , the method  310  ends. 
     Financing installation and operation of a NAN system of step  260  of  FIG. 9  may be conducted in accordance with a method  330  of  FIG. 13 . The method  330  begins at a start step  332  and progresses to a step  334 . At step  334 , subscription fees are received from users at the communicating stations  30 . Preferably, the users are subscribed prior to connecting the communicating stations  30  to the NAN. The fees are preferably paid periodically and the proceeds used to maintain and administer the NAN and recompense the providers of the NAN system  10  as well as possibly to help compensate an alliance organization such as the utility company that has assisted in financing the advertising of and installation of the NAN  10 . 
     As indicated by a step  336 , the NAN  10  may also be in part financed by a utility service provider company. In one embodiment, the utility service provider company is other than a telecommunications company. By receiving assistance from a gas, power, water company or the like, these utility service providers that are otherwise unable to participate in the expansion of digital communications can be a part of this growth. Thus, in one example, a power company allows the NAN  10  to be installed in rights of way granted to the power company and may also in part or whole finance the installation. Solicitation of users may also be financed by an alliance organization such as a utility service provider company. 
     As indicated by a step  338 , the utility service provider company or other alliance organization receives a portion of the subscription fees received in step  334  to compensate it for its costs of installation and solicitation. Additionally, the utility company is also preferably provided with use of the NAN to accomplish tasks such as reading utility meters at the communicating stations  30  and billing the communicating stations  30  for use of the utility services. 
     Additionally, as indicated by a step  342 , companies making use of the NAN may be charged. For instance, content providers, Internet service providers, advertisers, and the like may be charged for their use of the NAN  10 . At a step  346  the method  330  ends. 
     Operating a NAN system of step  262  of  FIG. 9  may be conducted in accordance with a method  350  of  FIG. 14 . The method  262  begins at a start step  352  and progresses to a step  354 . As indicated, the operation of the NAN may comprise receiving the power to operate the switching equipment cooperatively from the communicating stations  30 . As indicated by a step  356 , the method  362  may comprise remote reading of utility consumption as described above. 
     As indicated by step  358 , the method  350  may comprise remotely billing users at communicating stations  30  for utility services. As indicated by a step  360 , the method  350  may comprise transmitting security signals over the NAN  10 . Thus, for instance, when the communicating stations  30  are provided with security systems  46  such as cameras, sensors, or the like, monitoring of the cameras or sensors or other surveillance equipment can be conducted by transmitting signals therefrom over the NAN  10  to a central surveillance office which itself comprises a communicating station  30 . 
     At a step  362 , audio and video signals may be transmitted over the NAN  10 . Thus, for instance, music may be piped into residences or businesses over the NAN  10  and video signals such as live feeds and recordings may likewise be transmitted over the NAN  10 . While the television signals may be broadcast, more preferably, the video signals are provided to requesting stations  30  on-demand. Video conferencing may likewise be provided. 
     At a step  364 , broadcast data is truncated or otherwise eliminated from the NAN  10 . This is preferably conducted in the manner described above. 
     At a step  366 , messages are directly routed from sender to receiver over the NAN. Once again, this is preferably conducted in the manner described above. 
     At a step  368 , routing of messages utilizes partitions of the NAN. In preferred embodiments, the partitioning is conducted as described above. 
     At a step  370 , a plurality of Internet gateways are provided for connecting the NAN with Internet service. While a single Internet gateway may be provided, it is preferred that several are provided to promote competition and lower prices. 
     At a step  372 , localized advertising is transmitted over the NAN. Thus, for instance, a communicating station  30  may comprise a local business within the geographical area which the NAN encompasses, and may wish to transmit advertising to other communicating stations  30 . Such advertising may be accomplished by directing advertising directly to selected communicating stations  30 , which are more likely to be interested in the advertising due to the close proximal location of the advertising business. Of course, the discussed steps of the method  350  are given by way of example, and many other manners of operating a NAN of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art. At a step  374 , the method  350  ends. 
     Administering a NAN of step  264  of  FIG. 9  may be conducted in accordance with a method  380  of  FIG. 15 . The method  380  begins at a start step  382  and progresses to a step  384 . At step  384 , periodic billing statements may be transmitted over the NAN  10 . The billing is preferably coordinated and monitored by the central HQ  20 . 
     At a step  386 , payments may also be transmitted over the NAN by credit card, digital signature types of E-commerce, and the like. When a communicating station  30  fails to pay its bills, reminders may be automatically sent over the NAN, and if the problem persists, suspension of NAN privileges may be levied until the fees are paid as indicated by a step  388 . 
     As indicated by a step  390 , administration may be conducted by government entities such as municipalities, but more preferably, the administrative entity comprises a private organization. The organization may be the provider of the NAN. Preferably, where a utility service provider is involved in financing and installing the NAN  10 , the administrative entity is other than the utility service provider. In one embodiment, as represented by a step  392 , the ownership and management of the NAN  10  is a cooperative venture of the users located at the various communicating stations  30 . The method  380  preferably ends at a step  394 . 
     The NAN of the present invention provides certain advantages including providing high speed (high band width) Internet access at a low price compared to conventional technologies. Advantages of the NAN also include the capability of real-time video conferencing. The NAN allows a region such as a geographical region of otherwise unrelated entities, such as a town or neighborhood, to be networked in high speed computer communication. 
     The NAN may be financed at least partially by utilities in order to expedite installation and may rely on the rights of way of public utilities such as power companies. The “last mile” dilemma is also solved under the present invention, as the system allows for inexpensive installation of facilities for the “last mile” of a network infrastructure and relatively faster operation thereof Thus, an advantage of the NAN is that it provides cost effective last mile service and delivery. 
     The NAN also operates at very high speeds. Preferably, message traffic is directly hauled to its destination, rather than passing the message traffic through a central server or router. Indeed, under one embodiment, the NAN efficiencies are achieved without a central server altogether. 
     Additionally, the NAN provides support for a broader variety of devices and types of devices to be networked. The NAN system of the present invention does not rely on the telephone line infrastructure, and consequently eliminates handling errors that occur with user log ons. Additionally, the telephone lines and other telecommunications infrastructure receive less traffic and are less likely to be jammed with message traffic when the NAN is employed to relieve them of being overburdened. Indeed, the NAN in one embodiment achieves total independence from the telecommunication infrastructure. 
     Also, no modem hardware or protocol is necessary at the user facility. Conventional T-1 lines, fiber converters, and cable modems are unnecessary in achieving the much higher speeds of the NAN of the present invention. Additionally, Internet access may be provided over the NAN and Internet connection may operate at comparatively high speeds. For instance, Internet access may in one example be as high as ten Mbps while employing certain currently available hardware. 
     The NAN allows free competition among Internet service providers and allows them to freely hook into the NAN system. The Internet connectivity is always on and continuous at any given communicating station without the need of a dial-up. Due to the elimination of modems in connecting to the Internet, low data losses are experienced. For instance, hand shaking errors between modems and error data that otherwise arises between modems may be reduced or eliminated. This is largely due to the absence of protocol conversions with the inventive system. 
     The operational hardware and software of the NAN include hubs, packets, bridges, and gateways disposed at different points to allow directly routed, packeted traffic. The system distributes traffic to the lowest segment. Direct routing may be peer-to-peer rather than being controlled by a switchboard, server, or central office. The results of this arrangement is very high speed packet transfer. 
     The system may rely on MAC addresses and static, masqueraded, IP addressing rather than dynamic IP addressing. The system may provide a binding between a hardware device and a user so the system stores the user&#39;s public IP addresses. 
     Additionally, communications within the network are secure and the network is user friendly. The high-speed networking supports real-time communications with cameras. Indeed, because of the low cost, users can connect to more devices, one example of which is utility meters. The system makes remote meter reading and monitoring of other types of utility services cost effective. 
     The NAN of the present invention is also unique in that no network administration is necessary to control local message traffic. Traffic may be independent of any governing authority. Additionally, because the Internet is both a large scale system and localized within a geographic area, business services such as advertising can be offered locally, making them more efficient. Thus, local advertising may be directed to a local audience. The system may support interconnection with virtually any devices within a community. The system may utilize permanent IP addresses due to a unique Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). 
     The neighborhood area network (NAN) may operate upon an IPX/SPX and Ethernet protocol. Broadcasts packets from the clients are preferably blocked at every bridge as well as DHCP traffic. 
     The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.