Stand-alone internet mailbox for cable subscribers

A method for receiving Internet addressed electronic mail (e-mail) messages over a cable television distribution network, transmitted with an address header over a cable distribution network simultaneously with television signals, comprising the steps of:

• (a.) receiving at each premises of e-mail subscribers in a corresponding stand-alone mailbox without assistance from a mail server in the cable distribution network an Internet addressed e-mail message which has been modulated in a cable television signal and broadcast over said cable television distribution network simultaneously with other cable television signals but in a predefined frequency band not configured to carry said cable television signals, together with a cable network subscriber identifier appended to said e-mail message, said stand-alone mailbox having a single one-way communicative link from said Internet through said cable distribution network;
• (b.) demodulating said modulated cable television signal and decoding said cable network subscriber identifier;
• (c.) determining whether said cable network subscriber identifier corresponds to said premises of said e-mail subscriber;
• and,
• (d.) if said cable network subscriber identifier corresponds to said premises of said e-mail subscriber, displaying in said stand-alone mailbox said e-mail message without requiring concurrent operation of an external output device.

A method for delivering electronic mail (e-mail) messages over a cable television distribution network, comprising the steps of:

• (a.) receiving in said cable television distribution network, Internet addressed e-mail messages addressed to e-mail subscribers of said cable television distribution network, wherein said receiving step is performed without assistance from a mail server in said cable television distribution network;
• (b.) responsive to said receiving step, respectively associating each Internet address of each said e-mail message with a cable network subscriber identifier identifying one of said subscribers, adding to each said e-mail message a cable network address header corresponding to the premises of said respective e-mail subscriber, said cable network address header based on said cable network subscriber identifier, and modulating said e-mail message, cable network subscriber identifier and cable network address headers in cable television signals over said cable distribution network simultaneously with other cable television signals but in a predefined frequency band not configured to carry said cable television signals;
• (c.) receiving without assistance from a mail server in said cable distribution network all said modulated e-mail messages broadcast over said cable television distribution network in stand-alone mailboxes at each respective premises of said e-mall subscribers, each said stand-alone mailbox having a single one-way communicative link from said Internet through said cable distribution network;
• (d.) demodulating said modulated e-mail messages and decoding said cable network address headers of said e-mail messages in said stand-alone mailboxes;
• (e.) determining in said stand-alone mailboxes from said cable network address headers whether any of said e-mail messages are addressed to said respective premises;
• and,
• (f.) if an e-mail is addressed to said respective premises, displaying in a corresponding stand-alone mailbox said e-mail message addressed to said respective premises without requiring concurrent operation of an external output device.

A stand-alone mailbox for receiving Internet addressed electronic mail (e-mail) messages transmitted over a cable television distribution network to each premises of a plurality of e-mail subscribers, each said e-mail message transmitted with a network subscriber identifier appended to each said e-mail message, said e-mall messages transmitted over a cable distribution network simultaneously with television signals, comprising:

• a demodulator for receiving without assistance from a mail server in said cable television distribution network, Internet addressed e-mail messages modulated in cable television signals and transmitted over said cable television distribution network simultaneously with other cable television signals, but in a predefined frequency band not configured to carry said cable television signals, together with a cable network subscriber identifier appended to each said e-mail message;
• a decoder for decoding said cable network subscriber identifiers of said e-mail messages;
• a comparator for determining if said cable network subscriber identifiers of said e-mail messages corresponds to said premises for which said mailbox is coded;
• and,
• a display for said e-mail messages,
• said stand-alone mailbox operating each of said demodulator, decoder comparator and display without requiring concurrent operation of an external output device, said stand-alone mailbox having a single one-way communicative link from said Internet through said cable television distribution network.