Patent ID: 7768938

Claim:
A method comprising: connecting a remote terminal to a central office using a fiber optic cable; connecting said remote terminal to premises of multiple subscribers using twisted pair access lines located between said remote terminal and each of said premises and thereby forming at least a portion of an access network; locating said remote terminal with respect to a plurality of said premises using a first distance that is less than a second distance between said plurality of said premises and said central office; employing digital subscriber line techniques to communicate over said twisted pair access lines between the remote terminal and said plurality of premises; supporting simultaneously a plurality of communication services, including audio/video broadcast services, over said twisted pair access lines; statistical multiplexing data associated with said communication services from said twisted access lines connecting said remote terminal to said premises; reducing peak data rates by selectively buffering said data prior to being multiplexed onto said fiber optic cable and limiting peak data rates for individual communication services as an aggregate data rate approaches a maximum rate that can be supported by said twisted pair access lines; providing the capability to switch audio/video broadcast signals in said remote terminal, such that each premise has access to said signals; and enabling a subscriber at said premise to dynamically select at least a subset of said signals from a set of said signals.