Abstract: A high-speed broadband, wireline modem including an adaptive equalizer having both a training mode and a decision-directed non-training mode. The adaptive equalizer comprising at least one of a forward path coupled to receive signal samples, the forward path including a forward filter and a decision element, and a feedback path coupled between an output of the decision element and an input of the decision element, the feedback path including a feedback filter; and means for adapting the one of said forward filter and said feedback filter based on a least squares error criterion performed substantially according to a predetermined algorithm.

Abstract: The present invention, generally speaking, provides for cancellation of non-linear distortions within the echo path of a communications system by characterizing the nonlinearity, performing digital processing of a data signal to cause substantially the same nonlinearity to be applied to the data signal, and inputting a resulting data signal to a non-linear echo-cancellation path. In an exemplary embodiment, the non-linear echo-cancellation path includes as a nonlinear echo canceller a transversal filter or the like. A separate linear echo cancellation path is also provided. Training of the nonlinear echo canceller follows training of the linear echo canceller. This technique is particularly applicable to cancelling the effects of DAC nonlinearity, which can be readily characterized. Using this technique, cancellation improvement of about 3dB can readily be obtained. Alternatively, instead of achieving a lower residual echo floor, the linearity requirements for the transmit DAC can be relaxed.

Abstract: The present invention, generally speaking, provides efficient multi-rate trellis encoder and decoder structures. The trellis encoder allows for a variable number of uncoded bits to be represented in a transmit symbol. The decoder maps received symbols to a smaller constellation by dropping selected symbol bits, whereby, for each of multiple cosets, points within that coset are mapped to a fewer number of points. Substantial simplification of the decoder structure is therefore achieved.

Abstract: An xDSL modem having an adaptively adjustable guard band comprising a finite number of spaced-apart frequency bins between the upstream and downstream frequencies. The guard band is adjusted by selecting one from among a plurality of filters belonging to a filter bank of the receiver circuitry. A weighted loss in data capacity is calculated when each of the candidate filters are used, and the filter which gives the lowest loss in data capacity, subject to certain criteria, is used. The adjustment is made pursuant to noise and signal characteristics measured during start or restart of an xDSL communications session.

Abstract: The present invention comprises a method of obtaining coefficients for a transmit filter such that the power spectral density of the output for the different frequencies comes close to but does not exceed a maximum power spectral density of a communication(s) standard. By first doing a convex optimization procedure to obtain the autocorrelation coefficients for the filter and then using the autocorrelation coefficients to determine the filter coefficients, a low-order filter that closely approximates the desired output power spectral densities can be produced.

Abstract: The present invention, generally speaking, accelerates convergence of a fast RLS adaptation algorithm by, following processing of a burst of data, performing postprocessing to remove the effects of prewindowing, fictitious data initialization, or both. This postprocessing is part of a burst mode adaptation strategy in which data (signals) get processed in chunks (bursts). Such a burst mode processing approach is applicable whenever the continuous adaptation of the filter is not possible (algorithmic complexity too high to run in real time) or not required (optimal filter setting varies only slowly with time). Postprocessing consists of a series of “downdating” operations (as opposed to updating) that in effect advance the beginning point of the data window. The beginning point is advanced beyond fictitious data used for initialization and beyond a prewindowing region. In other variations, downdating is applied to data within a prewindowing region only.

Abstract: The present invention, generally speaking, provides a digitally-tunable, echo-cancelling analog front end (AFE) for wireline digital communications. The analog front end is especially useful in a High-bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line (HDSL) or HDSL2 environment. An analog echo simulation path is provided capable of simulating echo from a wide variety of echo paths. Digitally controlled attenuators are provided in the transmission path and in the analog echo simulation path. Also provided is a digital-tunable equalizer stage. The equalizer stage is tuned to match the characteristics of the receive path. The same arrangement may be adapted for various DSL technologies, i.e., xDSL. There results an analog front end that is well-adapted to high-speed wireline communications.

Abstract: Multiple characteristics of an signal are measured to determine the presence of an alert tone on an incoming signal to a customer premises equipment (CPE) in preparation for receipt of FSK modem signals. The apparatus, method, and article of manufacture discern the presence of an alert tone by measuring characteristics of the incoming signal. The alert tone is able to be discerned even under crosstalk conditions and over a wide dynamic range with the digital signal processing (DSP) method and apparatus described. Multiple characteristics of the signal are measured to determine the presence of the alert tone.

Abstract: An xDSL communication system using Discrete Multi-tone (DMT) symbols sent over a channel. The magnitude of the channel's frequency-domain equalizing filter is normalized, leaving only phase information. The inverse discrete fourier transform of the normalized filter gives a peak at a position which corresponds to the group time delay of the transmitted DMT symbol. Identification of the symbol boundary facilitates synchronization of the receiver symbol sample phase to the transmitter symbol phase.

Abstract: An xDSL communication system having a reduced number of digital filter coefficients. The full-length equalizer channel impulse response is truncated by first selecting a subset of contiguous filter samples followed by windowing and convolution with a time domain representation of a frequency domain filter. The result is a shorter equalizer having fewer coefficients so as to improve data transmission rate.