Patent ID: 8102842

Claim:
A system comprising: a first and a second communication port; a sensor configured to sense whether the first or second communication port is connected to an external device; and an integrated circuit comprising: a media access controller (MAC); a digital signal processing module configured to receive an information signal from the MAC and to output a processed signal; a first analog front end (AFE) coupled to the first communication port; a second AFE coupled to the second communication port; a switch assembly having a first and second switch configured to receive the processed signal, the first switch being coupled to the first AFE, the second switch being coupled to the second AFE; and a switch controller configured to delay enabling the first or second switch for a first predetermined amount of time after powering up the respective AFE based on a status of the sensor and whether the first or second communication port is active, and wherein the switch controller is configured to power off one of the AFEs having an inactive communication port; wherein the sensor has an output coupled to the switch controller, and the output is configured to be de-bounced prior to sending the status of the sensor to the switch controller.