Patent ID: 7697507

Claim:
A modem for bi-directional transporting of an Ethernet signal over a configurable number of telephone lines, comprising: (a) a first port connected to a physical layer module configured to receive and transmit a single Ethernet signal; (b) a data splitter configured to split the received Ethernet signal into the configurable number of downstream data signals; (c) a second port comprising the configurable number of Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) ports coupled to said data splitter, wherein each Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) port is configured to transmit a separate downstream Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) signal having a configurable downstream data rate, wherein each Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) port is further configured to receive a separate upstream Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) signal having a configurable upstream data rate, and (d) a data collection and reorganization unit coupled to said Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) ports and configured to assemble said upstream Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) signals into the single Ethernet signal for transmission by said physical layer module.