Patent ID: 7036140

Claim:
An architecture of components within a building to distribute television signals and data over an in-building coax distribution network to provide television signals to a set of at least two televisions and to provide for two-way data communication between at least one hub and a set of at least two client modems attached at the distal ends of the in-building coax distribution network, the architecture comprising: a) A network connection connecting the building to an external network, the cable carrying data pertaining to communications with the set of at least two client modems; b) A cable carrying television signals in a first frequency band; c) At least one signal amplifier for amplifying television signals in the first frequency band from the cable calming television signals, the output of the at least one signal amplifier provided to at least one diplexer, the downstream leg of the at least one diplexer connected to the in-building coax distribution network; d) at least one hub connected to the in-building coax distribution network through the at least one diplexer, the hub: 1. comprising at least one central modem for transmitting Internet Protocol data downstream to the set of client modems and for receiving upstream transmissions of Internet Protocol data from individual client modems, the upstream and downstream transmissions—occurring in frequency bands above the first frequency band, 2. buffering the upstream and downstream communications for the in-building coax distribution network; 3. controlling the use of the upstream channel on the in-building coax distribution network by the set of at least two client modems; and 4. acting as a proxy server for the at least two client modems; and e) at least one network access device for 1. transmitting data upstream to the external network from one of the at least one hubs, the hub having received the data transmission from one of the client modems and the client modem having received the data from a device downstream of a particular client modem, and 2. receiving downstream transmissions of data from the external network for conveying to the at least one hubs which in turn conveys the data to the client modems for use by at least one device downstream of a particular client modem.