Patent ID: 7907586

Claim:
A method of determining a transmission parameter for a channel at a multi-channel interface, the channels serving either for communicating between nodes of a transmission system according to one of a first set of transmission parameters or for communicating with a subscriber according to one of a second set of transmission parameters, comprising the steps of: decoding a received data stream at the multi-channel interface between the nodes of the transmission system by applying each transmission parameter of a selected one of the first and second sets of transmission parameters in turn until meaningful data result or all of the transmission parameters of the selected set have been applied; first deciding from the results of the decoding step whether the channel is for communicating between nodes or for communicating with a subscriber; wherein the channel is determined to serve for communication between the nodes of the transmission system if the decoding results in meaningful data when decoded using a communication protocol for communication between the nodes of the transmission system or if decoding has resulted in no meaningful data when decoded using communication protocols for communication with at least one subscriber, and the channel is determined to serve for communication with at least one subscriber if the decoding results in meaningful data when decoded using a communication protocol for communication with at least one subscriber or if decoding has resulted in no meaningful data when decoded using communication protocols for the communication between the nodes of the transmission system; and if the channel is determined to serve for communication between the nodes of the transmission system, then decoding a first data quantity of the data stream under the assumption that it is from a communication channel of a first type; and increasing a first counter if the decoding of the first data quantity results in meaningful decoded data, the first counter indicating a likelihood that the channel is associated with the first type, and increasing a second counter if the decoding of the first data quantity results in no meaningful decoded data, the second counter indicating a likelihood that the channel is not associated with the first type.