Apparatus and method for asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) adaptive time domain duplex (ATDD) communication

摘要

Embodiments of the present invention provide communication of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) data using variable duration ATM frames between a data terminal unit (DTU) at a central office and a remote DTU at a user premises. One embodiment of the present invention can be viewed as a communication device which communicates data in an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) format, the device comprising at least one buffer configured to receive data from a sending device, and a modulation unit coupled to the buffer and configured to encapsulate a plurality of ATM cells into an ATM frame, the plurality of ATM cells having the received data, so that the ATM frame is communicated onto a subscriber line, such that the communicated ATM frame has a variable transmission duration, the variable transmission duration corresponding to a number of the plurality of ATM cells encapsulated into the ATM frame.