Patent ID: 8631450

Claim:
A Broadband Coaxial Network (“BCN”), comprising: a first BCN modem in signal communication with a coaxial cable network (“CCN”), the first BCN modem including a first controller; and a second BCN modem in signal communication with the CCN including a second controller, wherein each of the first and second controllers is configured to probe at least one respective communication link connecting that controller directly to at least one other BCN modem and to adjust transmission power and bit loading over the at least one respective communication link based on a result of the probe; wherein one of the first and second BCN modems is a network controller providing information allowing the admission of other BCN modems to the CCN based on an authorization; wherein one of the other BCN modems transmits an admission request signal to the network controller using an admission area, wherein if a collision occurs in the admission request, the network controller resolves the collision and enables the colliding BCN modem to access the admission area at a different time, and if no collision occurs, the admission is achieved in response to the admission request signal; wherein the network controller transmits a probe signal to a plurality of slave BCN modems through a channel path, the plurality of slave BCN modems determine a set of transmission characteristics of the channel path, each of the plurality of slave BCN modems determines a bit-loaded modulation scheme of the channel path in response to the set of transmission characteristics and informs the bit-loaded modulation scheme to the network controller, the network controller determines a common bit-loaded modulation scheme based on the bit-loaded modulation scheme and broadcasts the common bit-loaded modulation scheme to the plurality of slave BCN modems; and wherein the BCN provides both best effort capabilities in which short term requests are made and time allocation grants to transmit packets received by a BCN modem, and reserved communications capabilities in which long term requests are made and a specific allocation is granted for a certain data rate.