Abstract: An STM telecommunications switch comprising a plurality of parallel data switching planes and a parallel control planes, each plane having an equal number of input ports and output ports and a central switching unit to switch each input port to any output port and wherein the data is switched in octets.

Abstract: A network has a plurality of nodes, wherein at least one of the plurality of nodes includes a switch arranged to carry out a Simple Transit Core Function and three or more of the plurality of nodes include a Single Link Interface which Single Link Interface has associated Output Attributes and/or Input Cognizant Attributes. Each Simple Transit Core Function at one node is not logically connected to another Simple Transit Core Function at another node. Each Simple Transit Core Function at one node is logically connected to at least three Single Link Interfaces at other nodes. The nodes including Single Link Interfaces which are connected to one instance of a node arranged to carry out a Simple Transit Core Function are controlled by respective Intercommunicating Connection Acceptance Control Processes according to the respective Output Attributes and/or Input Cognizant Attributes.

Abstract: A communications switch comprising a plurality of numerically identified input traffic ports, a plurality of numerically identified output traffic ports, at least one significant label extractor and at least one numerical processor, the communications switch being arranged whereby each message entering the communication switch by a numerically identified input traffic port contains a header, which header contains a label stack, which label stack includes at least one valid label, of which one valid label is a significant label. The numerical value of the significant label contained within the header of a particular message which entered the communications switch via a particular numerically identified input traffic port is extracted by the at least one significant label extractor and is supplied to one of the at least one numerical processors.

Abstract: A communications network using Asynchronous Transfer Mode has a head end unit connected to a plurality of groups of network terminations wherein the frequency spectrum of the network is divided into a number of frequency bands, one band of which forms a start-up band used for start-up and configuration of a network termination, the remaining bands each being used for communication between the head end unit and the network terminations within a group subsequent to start-up and configuration. The network may be a Passive Optical Network.

Abstract: In a telecommunications time division multiple (TDMA) optic network system, network termination equipments (NTE's) are enabled to communicate with a head end by the NTE encoding a message as a signal including error correction on the existing signal traffic, monitoring the errors at the head end and extracting the message from the errors.

Abstract: An ATM telecommunications switch includes a plurality of parallel data switching planes and a parallel central plane, each plane having an equal number of input ports and output ports and a central switching unit to switch each input port to any output port. The switch further includes a first rotator to connect each input port cyclically to each timeslot of the central switching unit and a second rotator to connect each timeslot of the central switching unit cyclically to each output port.