Patent ID: 7120153

Claim:
A method for cross connecting an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) network and a telecommunication switch, comprising: receiving ATM cells from the ATM network at a packet sorter; extracting data packets from the ATM cells, wherein the data packets comprise address data and payload data; generating translated addresses based on the address data; creating new data packets based on the payload data and the translated addresses; creating new ATM cells with the new data packets; scheduling the new ATM cells to be transmitted from the packet sorter to an ATM switch; transmitting the new ATM cells from the packet sorter to an ATM switch in compliance with an ATM service contract; forwarding the new ATM cells from the ATM switch to at least one distributed Segmentation and Reassembly (SAR); converting the new ATM cells to Time-Division Multiplexed (TDM) signals; and transmitting the TDM signals from the at least one distributed SAR to the telecommunication switch via at least one TDM port.