A multi-services access system, such as a multi-services digital loop carrier
(DLC)
system for a telecommunications network, has a packet-mode card, such as a digital
subscriber line (DSL) card, configured to receive data packets corresponding to
one or more data signals and derived-voice packets from a single packet-mode customer
premises equipment (CPE) unit, wherein the packet-mode card determines whether
each received packet is a data packet or a derived-voice packet. The access system
also has a packet interface configured to receive the data packets from the packet-mode
card and to transmit the data packets to a packet-switched network for packet-based
switching. In addition, the access system has a derived-signal server configured
to receive the derived-voice packets from the packet-mode card and to convert the
derived-voice packets into a digital voice stream, as well as a controller and
a circuit interface configured to receive the digital voice stream from the derived-signal
server and to transmit the digital voice stream to a circuit-switched network for
circuit-based switching. Since the access system is able to assign resources dynamically
to packet-mode CPE units (as opposed to prior-art DLC systems, which have resources
pre-assigned), the system of the present invention is able to utilize system resources
more efficiently. Moreover, since the system has an internal derived-signal server,
there is no need to transmit derived voice signals outside of the system for conversion.
