CPC H04L 12/2869 (2013.01) [H04L 12/2861 (2013.01); H04L 12/4633 (2013.01)] | 27 Claims |
1. An apparatus for communicating with a plurality of Remote PHY devices, comprising:
a single hardware device for supporting a narrowband digital return (NDR) channel for the plurality of remote PHY devices, comprising:
a single digital-to-analog converter (DAC) which converts digital payloads carried by digital packets received from the plurality of Remote PHY devices into a RF signal;
a transmitter for sending the RF signal to an Out-of-Band (OOB) Termination System; and
a hardware component operable to process an unprocessed or processed version of input stream energy from each of the plurality of remote PHY devices to determine which of the plurality of remote PHY devices are transmitting a signal rather than noise, wherein the single DAC receives as input only digital payloads sent from remote PHY devices that are deemed to be transmitting a signal rather than noise.
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