Patent ID: 8300528

Claim:
A method of provisioning an interface device, the interface device interfacing between an access network and a back-bone network, the access network including a Digital Subscriber Line, DSL, connection to an end user terminal and a transceiver device including a DSL transceiver for modulating and demodulating signals sent to and from the end user terminal over the DSL connection, the arrangement of the access network the interface device and the back-bone network being such that data from a device connected to the back-bone network which is destined for the end user terminal passes through the interface device and then through the access network and wherein the interface device is operable to constrain the rate of flow of data from the backbone network through the interface device towards the end user terminal to an existing maximum rate specified for the end user terminal, the method comprising: providing a management device for managing the interface device; receiving data readings from the transceiver device indicative of the current or recent line rate of the DSL connection; and provisioning the interface device to restrict data flowing to the DSL connection to a new maximum rate selected by the management device in accordance with the received data readings from the transceiver device indicative of the current or recent line rate of the DSL connection, wherein, when the new maximum rate is greater than the existing maximum rate for the DSL connection at which the interface device is currently provisioned, the interface device is provisioned or re-provisioned only after a delay period, and wherein the delay period depends upon the amount of the increase in the new maximum rate compared to the existing maximum rate, and wherein, the greater the increase in the new maximum rate compared to the existing maximum rate, the shorter the delay period.