Abstract: A random-access local network having multiple nodes provides data communication across residential wiring such as telephone line as a network medium, where each node accesses the network medium using discrete multi-tone (DMT) modulated symbols. The effects of amplitude and phase distortion of transmitted DMT symbols are overcome, without the necessity of complex equalizers, by differentially encoding data prior to transmission, and recovering the transmitted data by comparing phase differentials between consecutive symbol tones. Each transmitted symbol is composed of a plurality of tone signals, each tone signal modulated according to a constellation point in a complex domain. A transmitter in a first node transmits a training symbol onto a network medium, where the DMT tones of the training symbol have an equal predetermined amount of energy.

Abstract: A method and arrangement for transferring data between nodes over a telephone cable that couples the nodes provides a dual configuration node transmitter, and a dual configuration node receiver. The dual configuration transmitter has a first transmitter circuit that transmits data over a first configuration of the telephone cable and a second transmitter that simultaneously transmits other data over a second configuration of the telephone cable. The dual configuration receiver is coupled to the telephone cable and has a first receiver circuit that selects the data transmitted by the first transmitter circuit and rejects the data transmitted by the second transmitter circuit, and a second receiver circuit that selects the data transmitted by the second transmitter circuit and rejects the data transmitted by the first transmitter circuit.