Patent ID: 7685349

Claim:
An apparatus, comprising: a substrate configured to form more than 24 telecommunications circuits and further configured to be mounted in a size 23 inches or smaller telecommunications rack; a plurality of rear connectors disposed upon a side of the substrate, each being connectable to a respective network element to form at least portion of a telecommunications circuit; and a plurality of backplane connectors disposed upon another side of the substrate, each of said backplane connectors is: communicatively coupled to one or more said rear connectors; configured to receive an insertable module that permits access to a respective said telecommunications circuit, wherein said insertable module comprises a printed circuit board that is directly connected to one of said backplane connectors, wherein signal continuity of respective said telecommunications circuits is maintained before, during and after insertion of the insertable module and before, during, and after removal of the insertable module, and wherein further signal continuity of respective said telecommunications circuits is maintained with or without the insertable module, wherein further still at least one backplane connector is an edge contact connector having shorting contacts configured to receive a corresponding module edge connector disposed on a respective said insertable module; operable to permit communication between the plurality of said network elements without receiving the insertable module; and configured to receive or remove the insertable module during operation while maintaining signal continuity.