Patent ID: 8819221

Claim:
A method of operating an access network including a plurality of data connections between end user devices and an aggregation transceiver device where the connections are aggregated for onward connection through the access network, the method comprising: storing a plurality of different profiles, each of which specifies a set of values for a set of one or more parameters associated with each data connection, and, for each data connection, monitoring performance of the connection; selecting one of the stored profiles to be applied to the connection in dependence on a result of monitoring the connection; and applying the selected profile to the data connection, wherein monitoring the connection includes determining a number of mal-performance events occurring, within a given period of time, and estimating a number of those mal-performance events occurring as a result of an area-wide event affecting a plurality of lines and disregarding any such mal-performance events when selecting a profile to apply to the data connection, and wherein estimating the number of mal-performance events occurring as a result of an area wide event includes determining a proportion of live connections within a predetermined group of connections suffering a resynchronization within a test period of a predetermined duration and comparing the proportion with a threshold and identifying all such resynchronization as being caused by an area wide event if the proportion exceeds the threshold.