Digital carrier system for rural telephone and data applications

Abstract

A digital carrier telephony system for delivering voice and data telephony services to subscribers in rural locations having low population densities. A Central Office processes telephony signals having subscriber channels. A Terminal (COT), which is connected to the CO and to one end of a digital carrier line, can transmit outgoing digital carrier line signals on the digital carrier line in response to multiplexing the subscriber channels of telephony signals received on a wired link from the CO. The COT also can transmit telephony signals to the CO in response to demultiplexing subscriber channels of incoming digital carrier line signals received on the digital carrier line. At subscriber locations, multiple remote drop units are typically connected to the digital carrier line. The remote drop unit can insert one of the subscriber channels into the multiplexed subscriber channels of one of the incoming digital carrier line signals. In addition, the remote drop unit can retrieve one of the subscriber channels from the multiplexed subscriber channels of one of the outgoing digital carrier line signals. The remote drop unit also can pass those incoming and outgoing carrier line signals carried on the digital carrier line not intended for communication to the subscribers associated with that unit. Each remote drop unit can be powered in the field by coupling span power generated by the COT and carried on the digital carrier line.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.