METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAINTAINING AVAILABILITY OF LIFELINE TELEPHONY SERVICE ON A HYBRID FIBER-COAX NETWORK

摘要

An apparatus and method of powering a cable telephony service platform (CTSP ) (36) in a hybrid fiber coax (HFC) network are provided which utilizes a combination of power from a local AC driven power source (50) having a back-up battery (52) for powering the CTSP within a network interface unit (NIU) (104) during interruptions in normal AC power, and a network generated charging current (106) which maintains the battery at full float voltage charge irrespective of the duration of any such interruptions in AC power delivery. Thus, the present invention minimizes power required to be delivered by the networ k while still ensuring support of reliable lifeline telephony service for cable telephony on an HFC network.