Abstract: High-speed data transfer rates are provided between a central office and customer premise equipment with a multiplexer that is interposed between the central office and the customer premise equipment, and that functions as a remote access node. The multiplexer communicates at high data rates via downstream data links such as twisted-pair conductors between the multiplexer and the customer premise equipment. By positioning the multiplexer physically close to the customer premise equipment, DSL data rates can be achieved. In one application, the multiplexer assigns a variable number of the upstream data links between the central office and the multiplexer on a dynamic, adaptive, and automatic basis to individual ones of the downstream data links. In this way, unused data link capacity of the upstream data links is used to provide high data transmission rates when required between the multiplexer and the central office.