Patent ID: 7007296

Claim:
A process comprising the steps of: receiving simultaneously in a plurality of diplexer filters froth a cable TV signal delivery medium downstream analog CATV signals and downstream RF signals carrying downstream packet data and upstream RF signals carrying upstream packet data and filtering out in each diplexer filter all but said downstream analog CATV signals, and, in each said diplexer filter, receiving from a LAN segment input baseband packet data transmissions, and, in each diplexer filter, combining said baseband packet data transmissions with said downstream analog CATV signals and transmitting the combined signals on a coaxial cable drop line coupled to a local area network of a predetermined one of a plurality of subscribers who share a cable modem outside the premises of said subscribers, and selectively filtering to select upstream baseband packet data from the local area network of each subscriber on said coaxial cable drop line and coupling said selected upstream baseband packet data onto said LAN segment; receiving simultaneously in a shared cable modem from said cable TV signal delivery medium downstream analog CATV signals and downstream RF signals carrying downstream packet data and upstream RF signals carrying upstream packet data transmitted by other cable modems and filtering out in said shared cable modem all but said downstream RF signals carrying downstream packet data and recovering said packet data and filtering out all packets not addressed to a subscriber that is sharing said shared cable modem and transmitting the remaining packets out on a first LAN segment or other data path, and receiving upstream baseband packet data from said first LAN segment and transmitting them to said headend over said cable TV signal delivery medium using whatever upstream media access control and physical layer protocols are in use on said able TV signal delivery medium; receiving said packets transmitted on said first LAN segment or other data path and examining the address data in the packet headers and routing each packet to an appropriate LAN segment or segments coupled to one or more diplexer filters, and receiving said upstream baseband packet data transmissions from said LAN segments coupled to said diplexer filters and concentrating them onto said first LAN segment for transmission to said shared cable modem.