Patent ID: 7035504

Claim:
A communication system for providing high speed data services to a subscriber using optical fibers, the communication system comprising: an optical interface unit in a network node element, the optical interface unit comprising an electrical-to-optical (E/O) circuit, an optical-to-electrical (O/E) circuit, and a first diplexer device, the first E/O circuit being operative to receive first electrical signals, convert the first electrical signals to first optical signals of a first wavelength, and transmit downstream the first optical signals, the first O/E circuit being operative to receive second optical signals of a second wavelength from the diplexer, convert the second optical signals to second electrical signals, and to transmit the second electrical signals upstream, a cross connect unit in the network node element operable to receive the first optical signals from the optical interface unit, the cross connect unit operable to combine the first optical signals with third optical signals of a third wavelength for transport over an optical fiber, the cross connect unit operable to receive the second optical signals from the optical fiber, the cross connect unit operable to provide the second optical signals to the optical interface unit.