Abstract: A method for providing end-to-end protection in a point-to-multipoint access network and point-to-multipoint access network, the access network providing at least one physical connection between a line termination unit and a plurality of network units, each network unit being connectable to end user equipment, the at least one physical connection comprising at least one distribution network connecting the line termination unit to the plurality of network units. Protection switching between one of the at least one physical connection and a further one of the at least one physical connection is provided by a protection mechanism comprised in at least one of the plurality of network units.

Abstract: This invention is a new communication system in which multichannel broadcast digital services are distributed to each user with the broadcast services signal riding in the passband above a digital baseband signal. The system can deliver more than 1 Gbps additional bandwidth to each subscriber. The passband bandwidth will accommodate growth in downstream services including video on demand, higher speed web downloads including improved streaming audio and video, HDTV, interactive video, and personalized video. The invention requires only a single fiber path and a single optical receiver for each user or group of users. A single fiber, single optical receiver system is much less expensive than two systems, one transmitting baseband and the other passband. A single receiver is greatly cost beneficial to achieving economical fiber to the home.