Patent ID: 7720090

Claim:
A central controller comprising: a media access controller configured to transmit a first group message via a first multicast transmission to a first group of one or more remote devices operating in accordance with a first protocol and to transmit a second group message via a second multicast transmission to a second group of one or more remote devices operating in accordance with a second protocol, the first and second group messages assigning one or more time slots on the same logical upstream channel during which the respective first and second groups of one or more remote devices may transmit information to a central device; a first processor operating in accordance with the first protocol; a second processor operating in accordance with the second protocol; and a protocol processor configured to distinguish transmissions from the first group of one or more remote devices from transmissions from the second group of one or more remote devices based on the time slot assignments, the protocol processor further configured to route the transmissions from the first group of one or more remote devices to the first processor and to route the transmissions from the second group of one or more remote devices to the second processor.