Patent ID: 7209497

Claim:
In a communications network accommodating at least two subscribers linked via at least one communications network branch to at least one content distribution unit, the content distribution unit feeding a two-way radio frequency signal to the at least one communications network branch, a system of spectrally splitting the at least one distribution unit in order to replace the at least one communications network branch by at least two separate communications network branches, the system comprising the elements of: at least one extended converter unit to receive via an at least one optical signal conduit an at least one two-way optical signal carrying content information having a pre-determined transmission frequency bandwidth, to form a RF signal having a substantially extended transmission spectrum bandwidth, to convert pre-determined downstream portions of the at least one two-way optical signal into at least two different pre-determined RF transmission frequency bands, and to introduce the at least two converted different RF bands into a multiplexed downstream RF signal having a substantially extended transmission spectrum bandwidth; and at least two extended broadband amplifiers to selectively pass at least two pre-determined RF bands from the multiplexed RF signal having a substantially extended transmission spectrum bandwidth downstream to the at least two different communications network branches; and at least one back converter unit to receive via the at least one communications network branch at least one branch-specific RF signal, to extract from the at least one branch-specific RF at least one predetermined upstream frequency band, to convert the at least one branch-specific upstream RF band to a predetermined upstream frequency band, and to introduce the converted upstream RF band into the multiplexed RF signal having a substantially extended transmission bandwidth to be delivered upstream to the at least one content distribution unit.