Patent ID: 7075952

Claim:
A network element for a telecommunications network, comprising: a first interface unit for receiving standard PCM signals in the network element, wherein parallel standard PCM signals are first level signals in a Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy; a second interface unit for receiving a packet data stream, and multiplexing means, operationally connected to said first and second interface units, for receiving the parallel standard PCM signals from the first interface unit, wherein the parallel standard PCM signals are not multiplexed, for directly multiplexing said parallel standard PCM signals and said packet data stream on a time-division basis into a transmission frame, a total capacity of a payload portion of the frame essentially corresponding to the capacity of N PCM signals, wherein the multiplexing means are provided with configuring and allocating means for dividing the total capacity of the payload portion between at least two parts of variable capacity, wherein each part is configured to be allocated a desired portion of the total capacity of the payload portion in accordance with a current transmission requirement, and for allocating a part with the desired capacity to at least one traffic source from a group in which a number of PCM signals constitutes a first traffic source and a number of packet data streams constitutes a second traffic source; wherein said second interface unit comprises rate adaptation means for adapting bit rate of the packet data stream to correspond to the capacity of the payload portion allocated to the packet stream to correspond to the capacity of the payload portion allocated to the packet stream, the output of said rate adaptation means being directly connected to said multiplexing means.