Patent ID: 7596801

Claim:
A fiber-to-the home (FTTH) system, comprising: at least one digital home communications terminal (DHCT) for receiving forward signals from a headend facility and for transmitting reverse RF signals to the headend facility, the reverse RF signals including header information and payload data; a single wire and return device (SWRD) for receiving the reverse RF signals from the at least one DHCT, demodulating the reverse RF signals via an upstream demodulator, and converting the demodulated signals to Ethernet signals; an optical network terminal (ONT) coupled to the SWRD for converting the Ethernet signals to optical signals, and for transmitting the optical signals to the headend facility via optical fiber; and a plurality of downstream modulators located in the headend facility remote from the upstream demodulator with each downstream modulator associated with at least one corresponding DHCT and having an identification number that is inserted into the forward signals from the headend facility to identify that downstream modulator to the at least one corresponding DHCT, one of the downstream modulators associated with the at least one DHCT for receiving signals corresponding to the optical signals and for sending the forward signals downstream to the at least one corresponding DHCT via the ONT; wherein the at least one DHCT inserts the modulator identification number received within the forward signals from the headend facility into the reverse header information, and wherein the SWRD converts the modulator identification number within the reverse header information into an Internet Protocol address to enable the reverse signals to be directed to the one downstream modulator.