Apparatus for providing internet protocol television service and internet service

A network element, comprising:

• a plurality of unidirectional ingress ports;
• a plurality of unidirectional egress ports;
• and
• a merging unit in communication with the plurality of unidirectional ingress ports and the plurality of unidirectional egress ports, wherein:
• each of the plurality of unidirectional ingress ports is configured to receive upstream traffic;
• the merging unit is configured to merge the upstream traffic received by the plurality of unidirectional ingress ports at a first network layer according to one or more intended destinations associated with the upstream traffic, the network layer comprises a combination of a physical layer and a portion of a data link layer;
• and
• each of the plurality of unidirectional egress ports is configured to transmit the merged upstream traffic toward another network element, the another network element configured to broadcast downstream traffic toward a plurality of network elements adapted for replicating of the downstream traffic at a second network layer, the second network layer comprises a combination of layers;
• wherein the first network layer and the second network layer are different.

A network element, comprising:

• a plurality of unidirectional egress ports configured to broadcast downstream traffic toward a plurality of network elements adapted for replicating of the downstream traffic at a first network layer comprising a combination of a physical layer and a portion of a data link layer;
• a plurality of unidirectional ingress ports configured to receive upstream traffic from a plurality of other network elements;
• and
• a merging unit in communication with the plurality of unidirectional ingress ports, the merging unit configured to merge the upstream traffic received by the plurality of unidirectional ingress ports at a second network layer according to one or more intended destinations associated with the upstream traffic, the second network layer comprises a combination of layers;
• wherein the first network layer differs from the second network layer.

A network element, comprising:

• a plurality of bidirectional ports configured to:
• transmit upstream traffic toward a plurality of ports of another network element, the another network element configured to merge the upstream traffic at a first network layer according to one or more intended destinations associated with the upstream traffic, the network layer comprises a combination of a physical layer and a portion of a data link layer;
• and
• receive downstream traffic from a plurality of network elements after the downstream traffic have been replicated by the plurality of network elements at a second network layer, the second network layer comprises a combination of layers;
• wherein the first network layer differs from the second network layer.