Abstract: An apparatus for optical coupling having a first array of individual waveguides optically communicating with a free space region at a first junction and each waveguide having a tapered region proximate the junction where a gap spacing between tapered regions of adjacent individual waveguides is substantially constant is proposed. The gap spacing is a minimum amount of space between adjacent individual waveguides. The first array of individual waveguides also has a horn region immediately proximate the tapered region and opposite the first junction with an increasing width whose maximum establishes the gap spacing.

Abstract: Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) or other network information identifiers embedded in television signals are processed in order to permit viewers to customize the display of a corresponding program. In an illustrative embodiment, at a time prior to the scheduled display of a program or portion thereof, a given viewer makes a selection of one of a number of available alternate characteristics for the program, such as one of a number of available alternate endings. At a later time, a base URL embedded in the television signal is extracted and processed using the viewer selection in order to generate a combined URL. The combined URL is then used to establish a connection over a network with a corresponding web site or other information source, and information is retrieved from the web site and stored in a memory. The retrieved information is subsequently taken from the memory and used to modify the manner in which the program is displayed to the viewer.

Abstract: Circuitry for a node of an optical communication network is configured to mux (i.e., combine) one or more incoming customer signals for transmission as a single outgoing optical signal and to demux (i.e., split) an incoming optical signal into one or more outgoing customer signals, where the muxing and demuxing clocks are selected from one or more customer clocks recovered from the one or more customer signals, an input clock recovered from the incoming optical signal, and a local clock generated by a local clock generator. When configured for an add/drop configuration, the circuitry selects (1) the muxing clock from the one or more customer clocks, the input clock, and the local clock and (2) the demuxing clock from the input clock and the local clock. When configured for a drop/continue configuration, the circuitry is configured to select both the muxing and demuxing clocks from either the first input clock or the local clock.

Abstract: A wireless communication method and arrangement that facilitates and allows a user at one end to send dual tone multiple frequency characters from one wireless unit to a second wireless unit completely within tandem free operation mode without changing to tandem operation mode. By remaining in tandem free operating mode during dual tone multiple frequency signaling the delay and distortion of the CODECs used in tandem operation mode is avoided, and the real possibility of missing bursts of dual frequency multiple frequency characters that exists presently because of existing timing requirements is removed.

Abstract: A multiple input/output switch includes a plurality of transmission control logic units and a plurality of reception control logic units. Each of the transmission control logic units is associated with a transmission data path, and each of the reception control logic units is associated with a reception data path. Each transmission control logic unit outputs a destination code on a communication medium when the transmission control logic unit receives data. The destination code identifies a reception data path to which the data is to be sent. The reception control logic units monitor the communication medium for their respective destination codes, and when detected, send a confirmation signal to the transmission control logic unit via the communication medium. Upon receipt of the confirmation signal, the transmission control logic unit outputs the received data to the reception control logic unit via the communication medium.

Abstract: An optical transmission system designed for gigabit pulse rates and Raman pumping in which there is essentially no pre-dispersion compensation and the in-line dispersion compensation at the start of each span is overcompensation of between 110 and 120 of the compensation needed to neutralize the dispersion of its immediately preceding span.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for aligning and maintaining the alignment of the transmitting unit and the receiving unit in an optical wireless communication system. The receiving unit includes an optical bundle positioned at the focal point of an objective optic element. The optical bundle is comprised of an array of optical fibers, arranged surrounding the receiving fiber. The receiving unit also includes a number of detectors that measure the optical signal strength on a corresponding fiber in the optical bundle. The array of fibers is used to detect the location of the received signal relative to the receiving optical fiber and to provide feedback to adjust the orientation of the optical bundle to optimize the received signal strength. When misalignment occurs between the received signal and the receiving fiber, some of the incident received signal will be captured by one or more of the outer optical fibers.

Abstract: Tuning for connection admission control (CAC) algorithms in broadband ATM networks is accomplished using an overbooking technique based on aggregate effective bandwidth, AEBW, as an approximation to required bandwidth for given levels and classes of network traffic. An overbooking gain factor, &agr;t is developed—typically in a network operations system—based on long-term measurements supplied periodically by network switches. In operation, overbooking is introduced in small increments until a threshold (such as a cell loss threshold) is reached, at which point overbooking is reduced in a large step. A variety of network measurements can be used to apply the present invention to a range of traffic and service contexts.

Abstract: A mobile terminal for communicating with a base station in a packet radio services network. The terminal has a processor for determining one of a plurality of channels for communication between the mobile terminal and the base station; for digitally coding speech to provide speech information; for assembling speech information into speech packets; and for generating channel allocation requests for a channel in which to send speech packets. A radio transmitter is provided for transmitting the requests and the packets to a base station in the network. A radio receiver receives identities of channels allocated by the base station for the mobile terminal to transmit on. The processor is responsive to each received channel allocation to determine that packets are sent on the allocated channel. In the GPRS since a channel is released when there is no packet to transmit, higher traffic levels can be obtained using the same number of radio channels.

Abstract: In the method according to the present invention, a signal from a mobile station is received. The standard deviation of the symbol error rate is determined, and power control with adaptive adjustment of an amount of change in the target signal-to-noise ratio is performed based on the determined standard deviation of the signal error rate and a target associated therewith.

Abstract: A double-talk detector (109) for an acoustic echo canceler (104) of a VoIP terminal (101) converts (216,226) received far-end signals (212) and transmitted near-end signals (222) into the frequency domain and high-pass filters out (218,228) low-frequencies representing noise to obtain a complex reference signal and a complex error signal, respectively. It then correlates (230) the complex signals and computes (232) the instantaneous error energy (234) and smoothed (long-term average) error energy (235) of the complex error signal. If the convergence value is below 0.06 (300), the signals are converged and double-talk detection is enabled (306). If the convergence value is above 0.09 (312), the signals are diverged and double-talk detection is disabled (316). If double-talk detection is not enabled, an error threshold (236) is set (304,318) to the value of the smoothed error energy.

Abstract: A method and system for automatically testing E911 systems using digital loop carrier trunks in a laboratory. A testbed running a testing program evaluates the functionality of a digital loop carrier trunk, a channel unit pair, and an E911 switch by measuring a delay and duration of an acknowledgement pulse from the E911 switch in response to an off-hook condition at a simulated PBX. The testbed and testing program also evaluate the functionality of the E911 switch and a simulated PSAP by measuring a delay and duration of a ring signal from the E911 switch in response to an emergency signal sent by the simulated PBX. Once connection between the simulated PBX and the simulated PSAP has been established, the end-to-end signal loss is also measured.

Abstract: An optical transmission fiber including a core having a first index of refraction, a cladding material located around the core and having a second index of refraction less than the first index of refraction, a first coating material located around a first portion of the cladding material and having a third index of refraction greater than the second index of refraction, and a second coating material located around a second portion of the cladding material and having a fourth index of refraction less than the second index of refraction.

Abstract: Techniques for producing a glass structure having interconnected macroscopic pores, employing steps of filling polymerizable glass precursors into pores in a polymeric structure having interconnected macroscopic pores; polymerizing the precursors; and decomposing the polymers to produce a glass oxide structure having interconnected macroscopic pores. Further techniques employ steps of exposing portions of a photosensitive medium including glass precursors to an optical interference pattern; polymerizing or photodeprotecting the exposed portions and removing unpolymerized or deprotected portions; and decomposing the polymerized or deprotected portions to produce a glass structure having interconnected macroscopic pores. Techniques for filling pores of such glass structure with a material having a high refractive index, and for then removing the glass structure.

Abstract: A system includes a compiler component that employs a declarative notation, for a description, that describes one or more fields of a network packet. The compiler component employs a declarative notation, for the description, that describes one or more constraints for at least one field of the one or more fields. The description is of a portion of the network packet. A representation based on the description is employable for recognition of the portion of the network packet at a network interface.

Abstract: A cellular mobile telephone network is disclosed in which a mobile station requests service in data modulated on a common random access channel (RACH) in a format associated with first a cell in which the mobile station is located. Base stations in cells neighbouring the first cell, are configured to demodulate the RACH message burst having the format associated with the first cell, and to pass the demodulated data to a radio network controller (RNC). This enables the average power required for a successful RACH transmission to be reduced.

Abstract: Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) modems allow high-speed data to be sent over telephone lines normally used for analog voice service. In cases of impaired DSL line performance, diagnostic information is passed over a more stable part of the channel, i.e. the voice band channel. For example, analog modems may be used to communicate over the voice band channel. The diagnostic information may include various types of information that the two non-connecting DSL modems see on their respective sides of the line. For example, all the parameters that each of the DSL modems establish during start-up can be part of the diagnostic payload transmitted by the analog modems. Parameters such as settings of frequency domain equalizer, line bit rates, settings of time domain equalizer, SNR, location within startup of start-up failure, signal shape, Reed-Solomon values, etc. may be passed.

Abstract: In a UMTS network in which a single user can transmit or receive a number of services having different transmission power requirements over a single channel, a method of determining for each service the number of bits to be punctured or repeated to provide rate matching by the steps of deriving for each service the Energy per Bit per Noise density EB/NO required to achieve a desired Bit Error Rate; from each EB/MO deriving a value of the Energy per coded Symbol per Noise density ES/NO; and from ES/NO deriving a rate matching factor by which that ES/NO can be matched to the minimum Energy per coded Symbol per Noise density applicable to the channel in which to the services are multiplexed.

Abstract: An enhancement to AIN fault handling that allows SSP triggers to access an alternative treatment application when fault handling is invoked. If an alternative treatment application is referenced in the BCM fault handling attribute, then the application is called when AIN fault handling is invoked. If the alternative treatment application is not successful in completing the service function, then one of the traditional fault handling options is applied, (i.e., routing to a specific directory number, voice announcement then terminate call, continue, or final treatment). The present invention allows a last attempt at completing the service function by the alternative treatment application after fault handling is called, but before default handling or final treatment is invoked.

Abstract: A geo-location technique for use in mobile communications networks employs both FDD and Time Division Duplex (TDD) modes of operation, and is applicable when both FDD and TDD systems are jointly deployed or both FDD and TDD modes of a wireless system such as UMTS are jointly activated. It has been determined that the near-far interference can be much easier controlled on purpose in the TDD mode than in the FDD mode thanks to the slotted data transmission nature of a TDD system that permits adjustment of the interference level at the time slot level instead of the frame level. Indeed, in a TDD system, loading and interference levels can be gracefully decreased in a single time slot without harming the ongoing traffic or complicating the power control operations, as would be the situation in a UMTS FDD system via IPDL or similar solutions that require to mute the pilot transmission. The invention applies to both situations whether or not the terminals are equipped with a dual receiver.