Abstract: There is provided system and method for receiving speech signals via a plurality of speech lines and communicating the speech signals over a phone line. For example, the communication system comprises a modem, a multiplexor in data communication with the modem, and a plurality of speech codecs in data communication with the multiplexor. According to this aspect, each of the plurality of speech codecs receives a portion of the speech signals via one of the plurality of speech lines and encodes that portion of the speech signals to generate encoded speech signals, and wherein the encoded speech signals from each of the plurality of speech codecs are multiplexed by the multiplexor to generate multiplexed encoded speech signals, and wherein the modem transmits the multiplexed encoded speech signals over the phone line.

Abstract: Various media stream processing systems and methods are provided. In one exemplary embodiment, a media stream processing method is provided that includes the brokering of a number of communications channels between a communications network and a packet switched network with a number of media stream processors. Each of the communications channels is specified by a profile having a number of channel parameters. The method also includes storing each of the profiles in a standby media stream processor when each of the media stream processors is operational. Finally, the method includes brokering respective ones of the communications channels originally brokered by one of the media stream processors with the standby media stream processor upon a failure of the one of the media stream processors.