System and method for distributing information via a communication network

Abstract

A communication system for distributing information via a network to one or more subscribers includes a multi-port switch, one or more radio frequency (RF) modems coupled to respective ports of the switch, a combiner and a transmitter. The switch forwards source information to the RF modems based on address information. Each RF modem modulates and up converts information from the switch to an RF signal within a respective subscriber channel of the television broadcast spectrum. Each channel is assigned to one or more subscribers, and each subscriber is allocated unshared bandwidth. Each channel may be further divided into unshared bandwidth increments, so that multiple subscribers may share a single channel. The combiner combines modulated information from each RF modem into a combined signal and the transmitter transmits the combined signal to the subscribers via the network. An HFC network including a distribution point and one or more optical nodes is contemplated, each optical node serving a particular geographic area via a corresponding coaxial cable. Each subscriber destination includes a gateway device or the like that is tuned to a corresponding channel to retrieve source information from that channel, and to deliver the information to one or more local subscriber devices. The gateway further includes converters, a modulator and an up converter to receive and transmit subscriber information upstream to the distribution point. The gateways and an address resolution server enforce point to point communications. A bandwidth manager allocates bandwidth and monitors bandwidth usage.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method of distributing information by a point of distribution to subscribers via a communication network, comprising: 
 dividing a television broadcast spectrum into a plurality of subscriber channels, each subscriber channel having a deterministic bandwidth;    allocating unshared bandwidth to each of a plurality of subscriber destinations;    assigning each of the subscriber destinations to a subscriber channel;    forwarding source information to each subscriber destination based on assigned subscriber channels;    modulating source information for each subscriber channel;    up converting modulated source information into a corresponding one of the subscriber channels;    combining modulated information from each subscriber channel into a combined signal; and    distributing the combined signal to the plurality of subscriber destinations via the communication network.    
     
     
         2 . The method of    claim 1   , further comprising: 
 dividing the television broadcast spectrum into an upstream portion and a downstream portion; and    allocating each subscriber destination an unshared downstream bandwidth and an unshared upstream bandwidth.    
     
     
         3 . The method of    claim 2   , wherein each subscriber channel includes a downstream subscriber channel in the downstream portion and an upstream subscriber channel in the upstream portion.  
     
     
         4 . The method of    claim 1   , further comprising: 
 subdividing at least one subscriber channel into a plurality of bandwidth increments; and    assigning multiple subscriber destinations to the at least one subscriber channel, each of the multiple subscriber destinations being allocated at least one of the bandwidth increments of the at least one subscriber channel.    
     
     
         5 . The method of    claim 1   , further comprising: 
 receiving source information from a plurality of content servers in the form of data packets; and    the forwarding comprising forwarding the received source information based on address information within the data packets.    
     
     
         6 . The method of    claim 1   , further comprising: 
 tracking actual bandwidth usage of each subscriber destination.    
     
     
         7 . The method of    claim 6   , further comprising: 
 monitoring source information by service type provided to a subscriber destination; and    tracking bandwidth usage of the subscriber destination for each service type.    
     
     
         8 . The method of    claim 1   , wherein the dividing comprises dividing a substantial portion of the television broadcast spectrum into the plurality of subscriber channels.  
     
     
         9 . The method of    claim 1   , further comprising: 
 receiving a request for video information from a subscriber destination via the communication network;    receiving the requested video information in packetized format;    forwarding the packetized video information to a subscriber channel assigned to the requesting subscriber destination.    
     
     
         10 . The method of    claim 9   , wherein the video information is a broadcast television channel.  
     
     
         11 . The method of    claim 1   , further comprising: 
 allocating broadcast television channels within a predetermined frequency range of the television broadcast spectrum;    dividing the plurality of subscriber channels into a remaining portion of the television broadcast spectrum outside the predetermined frequency range allocated to the broadcast television channels; and    combining the broadcast television channels into the combined signal.    
     
     
         12 . The method of    claim 11   , further comprising: 
 allocating a first portion of the remaining portion of the television broadcast spectrum to downstream subscriber channels; and    allocating a second portion of the remaining portion of the television broadcast spectrum to upstream subscriber channels.    
     
     
         13 . The method of    claim 12   , wherein each subscriber channel comprises a respective downstream subscriber channel and a respective upstream subscriber channel, each having a dedicated and unshared bandwidth.  
     
     
         14 . The method of    claim 1   , further comprising: 
 converting the combined signal into an optical signal; and    transmitting the optical signal on an optical plant to an optical transceiver node.    
     
     
         15 . The method of    claim 1   , further comprising: 
 receiving a combined upstream signal from the communication network;    splitting the combined upstream signal into multiple streams of subscriber information;    providing each stream of subscriber information to a corresponding one of a plurality of tuners, each tuner tuned to a corresponding subscriber channel;    extracting, by each tuner, a corresponding return RF signal;    demodulating a return RF signal into packetized subscriber information; and    forwarding the packetized subscriber information.    
     
     
         16 . The method of    claim 15   , further comprising: 
 the receiving comprising receiving an optical signal; and    prior to splitting the combined upstream signal, converting the optical signal into the combined upstream signal.    
     
     
         17 . The method of    claim 1   , further comprising: 
 detecting a request by a subscriber destination for increased bandwidth; and    increasing the allocated unshared bandwidth to the subscriber destination in accordance with the increased bandwidth request.    
     
     
         18 . The method of    claim 1   , further comprising: 
 detecting a request by a subscriber destination for a service that would require a greater amount of bandwidth than currently allocated to the requesting subscriber destination; and    increasing the allocated unshared bandwidth to the requesting subscriber destination to handle the requested service.    
     
     
         19 . The method of    claim 1   , further comprising: 
 receiving a physical address request from a subscriber destination;    retrieving the requested physical address from a stored address database; and    forwarding the retrieved physical address to the requesting subscriber destination.    
     
     
         20 . The method of    claim 19   , further comprising: 
 if the requested physical address is not found, forwarding a broadcast address resolution protocol request in an attempt to locate a device having the requested physical address.    
     
     
         21 . The method of    claim 20   , further comprising detecting and halting abuse of address requests by a subscriber device.  
     
     
         22 . A method of communicating information between a point of distribution and a plurality of subscriber destinations via a hybrid fiber coax (HFC) delivery plant, comprising: 
 dividing a television broadcast spectrum into a plurality of subscriber channels, each subscriber channel having a deterministic bandwidth;    assigning each subscriber destination to a subscriber channel;    allocating unshared bandwidth to each subscriber destination;    forwarding, by the point of distribution, source information to each subscriber destination based on assigned subscriber channels;    modulating, by the point of distribution, source information for each of the subscriber channels;    up converting modulated source information into a corresponding one of the subscriber channels;    combining, by the point of distribution, modulated information from each subscriber channel into a combined signal;    is converting, by the point of distribution, the combined signal into an optical signal;    transmitting, by the point of distribution, the optical signal to an optical transceiver node via an optical plant;    converting, by the optical transceiver node, the optical signal into a combined electrical signal; and    transmitting, by the optical transceiver node, the combined electrical signal via a coaxial cable to each of the plurality of subscriber destinations.    
     
     
         23 . The method of    claim 22   , further comprising: 
 extracting, by a gateway device at a subscriber destination, modulated information from an assigned channel of the combined electrical signal;    demodulating, by the gateway device, source information from the extracted modulated information; and    forwarding, by the gateway device, demodulated source information to an addressed subscriber device at the subscriber destination.    
     
     
         24 . The method of    claim 23   , prior to forwarding demodulated source information, further comprising: 
 converting, by the gateway device, demodulated source information into a format appropriate for the addressed subscriber device.    
     
     
         25 . The method of    claim 23   , further comprising: 
 splitting broadcast information from the combined electrical signal.    
     
     
         26 . The method of    claim 25   , further comprising: 
 converting retrieved broadcast information to appropriate format for a subscriber device.    
     
     
         27 . The method of    claim 22   , further comprising: 
 modulating, by a gateway device at a subscriber destination, subscriber information from a subscriber device;    up converting, by the gateway device, the modulated subscriber information to a radio frequency (RF) signal into an assigned subscriber upstream channel; and    transmitting, by the gateway device, the subscriber RF signal to the optical transceiver node via the coaxial cable.    
     
     
         28 . The method of    claim 27   , prior to modulating subscriber information, further comprising: 
 converting the subscriber information into digital format.    
     
     
         29 . The method of    claim 27   , further comprising: 
 receiving, by the gateway device, a physical address request in broadcast packet format;    converting the physical address request to a unicast packet format; and    forwarding the unicast physical address request to an address resolution device at the point of distribution.    
     
     
         30 . The method of    claim 22   , further comprising: 
 tracking, by a gateway device at a subscriber destination, actual bandwidth usage of the subscriber destination; and    forwarding bandwidth usage information to a bandwidth manager at the point of distribution.    
     
     
         31 . The method of    claim 30   , further comprising: 
 tracking, by the gateway device, bandwidth usage of the subscriber destination for each of a plurality of service types; and    forwarding bandwidth usage information for each of the service types to the bandwidth manager.    
     
     
         32 . The method of    claim 22   , further comprising: 
 sending, by a bandwidth manager at the point of distribution, a channel switch command to a gateway device at a subscriber destination; and    switching, by the gateway device, from an assigned channel to another channel in response to the channel switch command.    
     
     
         33 . The method of    claim 22   , further comprising: 
 receiving, by the optical transceiver node, a plurality of upstream subscriber RF signals from the subscriber destinations;    combining, by the optical transceiver node, the upstream subscriber RF signals into a combined upstream signal;    converting, by the optical transceiver node, the combined upstream signal into an optical upstream signal; and    transmitting, by the optical transceiver node, the optical upstream signal via an optical plant to the point of distribution.    
     
     
         34 . A communication system for distributing information via a network to a plurality of subscriber destinations, comprising: 
 a switch that forwards source information for each subscriber destination to a corresponding one of a plurality of ports of the switch based on address information;    a plurality of radio frequency (RF) modems, each RF modem coupled to one of the plurality of ports of the switch, and each RF modem operable to modulate and up convert information received from a respective switch port to an RF signal within a respective one of a plurality of subscriber channels of a television broadcast spectrum;    each of the plurality of subscriber channels being assigned to one or more of the subscriber destinations, each subscriber destination being assigned an unshared bandwidth allocation;    a combiner, coupled to the RF modems, that combines modulated information from each RF modem into a combined signal; and    a transmitter, coupled to the combiner, that transmits the combined signal to the plurality of subscriber destinations via the network.    
     
     
         35 . The communication system of    claim 34   , further comprising: 
 at least one source server, each coupled to respective ports of the switch, that provides the source information.    
     
     
         36 . The communication system of    claim 35   , further comprising: 
 the at least one source server comprising a plurality of source servers including a video server, a computer network server and a telephone network server.    
     
     
         37 . The communication system of    claim 35   , wherein the at least one source server comprises an MPEG converter that receives and provides broadcast video content.  
     
     
         38 . The communication system of    claim 34   , further comprising: 
 the source information comprising data packets; and    the switch retrieving an address from data packets and forwarding the data packets based on the address.    
     
     
         39 . The communication system of    claim 38   , wherein each address identifies one of the plurality of subscriber destinations.  
     
     
         40 . The communication system of    claim 39   , wherein each address identifies a subscriber device of a subscriber destination.  
     
     
         41 . The communication system of    claim 34   , wherein the switch comprises an Ethernet switch.  
     
     
         42 . The communication system of    claim 34   , wherein the switch comprises a matrix of switches.  
     
     
         43 . The communication system of    claim 42   , wherein the switch matrix comprises arrays of switches organized as a pyramid configuration including a lowest level first array of switches and one or more higher level arrays of switches, each first array switch coupled to a subset of the RF modems, and each switch of each higher level array coupled to a subset of switches of an adjacent lower level array.  
     
     
         44 . The communication system of    claim 43   , wherein the switch matrix further comprises: 
 the first array for handling a high level of bandwidth;    a second array for handling a medium level of bandwidth; and    a third array for handling a low level of bandwidth.    
     
     
         45 . The communication system of    claim 44   , further comprising: 
 the third array, coupled to a telephone network server, for handling telephonic data;    the second array, coupled to a computer network server, for handling telephonic and computer network data; and    the third array, coupled to a video server, for handling video, telephonic and computer network data.    
     
     
         46 . The communication system of    claim 43   , further comprising: 
 the switch matrix including a manager switch coupled to at least one array switch;    a bandwidth manager coupled to the manager switch; and    an address resolution server coupled to the manager switch.    
     
     
         47 . The communication system of    claim 46   , wherein the manager switch handles communications between subscriber destinations.  
     
     
         48 . The communication system of    claim 42   , wherein the switch matrix is configured to operate significantly below its maximum bandwidth capacity to provide statistically starved capability.  
     
     
         49 . The communication system of    claim 34   , further comprising: 
 the network including an optical plant; and    the transmitter comprising an optical transmitter that converts a combined electrical signal to an optical signal and that transmits the optical signal onto the optical plant.    
     
     
         50 . The communication system of    claim 49   , further comprising: 
 an optical receiver, coupled to the optical plant, that converts an optical upstream signal comprising subscriber information to a subscriber electrical signal;    a splitter, coupled to the optical receiver, that provides the subscriber electrical signal to a plurality of tuners;    each of the plurality of tuners extracting a corresponding subscriber RF signal; and    a plurality of demodulators, each demodulator demodulating subscriber information from a corresponding subscriber RF signal and forwarding the subscriber information to the switch.    
     
     
         51 . The communication system of    claim 34   , further comprising: 
 a broadcast television source that provides broadcast television information in a predetermined frequency range of the television broadcast spectrum;    the subscriber channels allocated into a remaining portion of the television broadcast spectrum outside the predetermined frequency range; and    the combiner receiving and combining the broadcast television information into the combined signal.    
     
     
         52 . The communication system of    claim 51   , further comprising: 
 a video on demand and modulator server that asserts video information; and    the combiner receiving and combining the video information into the combined signal.    
     
     
         53 . The communication system of    claim 34   , further comprising: 
 a bandwidth manager, coupled to the switch, that allocates unshared bandwidth to each subscriber destination.    
     
     
         54 . The communication system of    claim 53   , further comprising: 
 each subscriber channel comprising a plurality of bandwidth increments; and    the bandwidth manager allocating at least one bandwidth increment to each subscriber destination.    
     
     
         55 . The communication system of    claim 53   , wherein the bandwidth manager detects a request by a subscriber destination for a service that requires a greater amount of bandwidth than the subscriber destination is currently allocated, and wherein the bandwidth manager allocates additional unshared bandwidth to the requesting subscriber destination.  
     
     
         56 . The communication system of    claim 53   , wherein the bandwidth manager sends a channel switch command to a subscriber destination to dynamically switch that subscriber destination to another assigned channel.  
     
     
         57 . The communication system of    claim 53   , wherein the bandwidth manager monitors bandwidth usage of each of the subscriber destinations.  
     
     
         58 . The communication system of    claim 34   , further comprising: 
 an address resolution server, coupled to the switch, that stores an address database; and    the address resolution server operative to respond to a physical address request by retrieving and forwarding the physical address based on a logical address.    
     
     
         59 . A communication system for distributing information via an optical network, comprising: 
 an optical plant;    a point of distribution, comprising: 
 a multi-port switch that forwards source information for each of a plurality of subscriber destinations to a corresponding port;  
 a plurality of optical transceivers, each optical transceiver coupled to one of the plurality of ports of the switch to convert information received from a respective port to a respective one of a plurality of optical source signals, and each optical transceiver assigned to one or more subscriber destinations to allocated unshared bandwidth to assigned subscriber destinations; and  
 a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) combiner that combines an optical source signal from each of the plurality of optical transceivers into a combined optical signal and that transmits the combined signal onto the optical plant;  
   a plurality of fiber optic cables, each routed to a corresponding one of a plurality of subscriber destinations; and    a WDM selector, coupled to the optical plant, that receives and separates the combined optical signal from the WDM combiner into its individual optical signal components, and that forwards each separate optical signal over a corresponding one of the plurality of fiber optic cables to the subscriber destinations.    
     
     
         60 . The communication system of    claim 59   , wherein the switch comprises an optical switch.  
     
     
         61 . The communication system of    claim 59   , further comprising: 
 a plurality of optical gateway devices, each located at a respective subscriber destination and coupled to a corresponding one of the plurality of fiber optic cables.    
     
     
         62 . The communication system of    claim 59   , further comprising: 
 the optical plant including an upstream optical plant; and    the point of distribution including a WDM splitter coupled to the WDM selector via the upstream optical plant and coupled to each of the plurality of optical transceivers via a separate fiber optic cable.    
     
     
         63 . A communication system for enabling communication between a point of distribution and a plurality of subscriber destinations via a hybrid fiber coax (HFC) network, comprising: 
 an optical plant;    a point of distribution, comprising: 
 a multi-port switch that forwards source information for each subscriber destination to a corresponding port of the switch based on address information;  
 a plurality of radio frequency (RF) modems, each RF modem coupled to a port of the switch, and each RF modem operable to modulate and convert information received from a respective switch port to an RF signal within a respective one of a plurality of subscriber channels of a television broadcast spectrum;  
 each of the plurality of subscriber channels having a deterministic bandwidth and assigned to one or more of the subscriber destinations, each subscriber destination being assigned an unshared bandwidth allocation;  
 a combiner that combines modulated information from each RF modem into a combined signal; and  
 a transmitter, coupled to the combiner and the optical plant, that converts the combined signal to an optical signal and that transmits the optical signal via the optical plant;  
   a coaxial cable distributed to a plurality of subscriber destinations; and    an optical transceiver node, coupled to the optical plant and the coaxial cable, that converts the optical signal to an electrical signal and that transmits the electrical signal to subscriber destinations via the coaxial cable.    
     
     
         64 . The communication system of    claim 63   , further comprising: 
 a plurality of gateway devices, each located at a respective subscriber destination and coupled to the coaxial cable, each comprising: 
 a tuner, for coupling to the coaxial cable, that is tuned to an assigned subscriber channel to extract modulated information from the electrical signal; and  
 a demodulator, coupled to the tuner, that demodulates the extracted modulated information into source information.  
   
     
     
         65 . The communication system of    claim 64   , wherein the tuner is dynamically programmable to switch to at least one other of the subscriber channels.  
     
     
         66 . The communication system of    claim 64   , wherein the tuner is dynamically programmable to tune to multiple subscriber channels.  
     
     
         67 . The communication system of    claim 64   , wherein each gateway device further comprises: 
 a gateway switch, coupled to the demodulator, that forwards source information to an addressed one of a plurality of subscriber devices.    
     
     
         68 . The communication system of    claim 67   , wherein each gateway device further comprises: 
 a plurality of converters, each coupled to the gateway switch, that converts source information to an appropriate format for a corresponding subscriber device.    
     
     
         69 . The communication system of    claim 68   , further comprising: 
 a set top box coupled to the gateway device; and    the gateway device including a video converter that converts source information into video data that is forwarded to the set top box.    
     
     
         70 . The communication system of    claim 68   , further comprising: 
 a telephone coupled to the gateway device; and    the gateway device including an audio converter that converts digital audio data from the source information into telephone analog signals that are provided to the telephone.    
     
     
         71 . The communication system of    claim 67   , wherein each gateway device further comprises: 
 management and control logic, coupled to the gateway switch, that monitors bandwidth usage of a corresponding subscriber destination and that forwards bandwidth usage information to the point of distribution.    
     
     
         72 . The communication system of    claim 71   , wherein the management and control logic monitors bandwidth usage for each of one or more service types and reports service type bandwidth usage to the point of distribution.  
     
     
         73 . The communication system of    claim 71   , wherein the management and control logic receives a physical address request in broadcast format from a local subscriber device, converts the request to unicast format, and forwards the unicast physical address request to the point of distribution.  
     
     
         74 . The communication system of    claim 64   , wherein each gateway device further comprises: 
 a splitter, for coupling to the coaxial cable, that splits broadcast content from the electrical signal.    
     
     
         75 . The communication system of    claim 74   , wherein each gateway device farther comprises: 
 a video converter, coupled to the splitter, that converts digital video information into analog format.    
     
     
         76 . The communication system of    claim 64   , wherein each of the plurality of gateway devices further comprises: 
 a modulator that modulates subscriber information from a subscriber device; and    an up converter, coupled to the modulator and the coaxial cable, that converts modulated subscriber information to a radio frequency (RF) signal into an assigned subscriber upstream channel and that transmits the upstream RF signal to the optical transceiver node via the coaxial cable.    
     
     
         77 . The communication system of    claim 76   , wherein each of the plurality of gateway devices farther comprises: 
 a converter, coupled to the modulator and for coupling to a subscriber device, that converts the subscriber information into digital format.    
     
     
         78 . The communication system of    claim 76   , further comprising: 
 the optical transceiver node including an optical converter that converts a plurality of upstream RF signals from the coaxial cable into an upstream optical signal and that transmits the upstream optical signal to the point of distribution via the optical plant.