Patent ID: 7690949

Claim:
An outlet that is part of a local area network in a building, the network including at least part of an existing CATV coaxial cable that is at least in part in walls of the building and is terminated at a CATV outlet opening, the CATV coaxial cable being connected for carrying a CATV signal in a CATV signal frequency band, frequency multiplexed with a digital data signal in a digital data frequency band that is distinct from the CATV signal frequency band, said outlet comprising: a first coaxial connector for connecting said outlet to the CATV coaxial cable; a coaxial cable modem for bidirectional digital data communication with one or more additional modems of the same type as said coaxial cable modem over the CATV coaxial cable; a first filter coupled between said coaxial cable modem and said first coaxial connector for substantially passing only signals in the digital data frequency band; a power port connectable to receive a power signal from a power signal source; a power supply comprising an AC/DC converter or a DC/DC converter, coupled between said power port and said coaxial cable modem for DC powering said coaxial cable modem by the power signal; a data port for coupling the digital data signal to a first unit; a multi-port unit including one of: a hub; a switch; a router; and a gateway, coupled to pass data between said data port and said coaxial cable modem; and first and second enclosures each containing power-consuming circuits connected to be powered from said power supply, wherein: said first coaxial connector, said coaxial cable modem, said first filter, said power port, said power supply, said data port and said multi-port unit are each housed in a respective one of said enclosures; said outlet is mountable into a wall opening or outlet cavity; said first and second enclosures are removably mechanically attached to each other and electrically connected to each other to enable power to be passed between them; and said outlet is addressable in the local area network.