Patent ID: 7272172

Claim:
A method for selecting a spectral mask for use with a DSL system, the method comprising: obtaining a weighted ratio of upstream rates and downstream rates; determining whether a cost function, based in part upon the weighted ratio, is greater than a predetermined value, wherein determining whether a cost function is greater than a predetermined value further comprises: determining a cost function according to the relation: cost function =2*(dsrate(2)−dsrate(1)/dsrate(1)+(usrate(2)−usrate(1))/usrate(1), wherein dsrate(1) is the downstream rate of a first mask, dsrate(2) is the downstream rate of a second mask, usrate(1) is the upstream rate of the first mask and usrate(2) is the upstream rate of the second mask; and selecting a spectral mask based in part upon the determination of whether the cost function is greater than a predetermined value.