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 areprovided which utilizes a combination of power from a local AC driven powersource (50) having a back-up battery (52) for powering theCTSP within a network interface unit (NIU) (104) during interruptions innormal AC power, and a network generated charging current (106)which maintains the battery at full float voltage charge irrespective of theduration of any such interruptions in AC power delivery. Thus,the present invention minimizes power required to be delivered by the networkwhile still ensuring support of reliable lifeline telephonyservice for cable telephony on an HFC network.