A system and method of the present invention improves data transmission speeds by fixing the lower corner frequency at a frequency above voice band in a symmetric DSL transmission system. By using a fixed lower corner frequency that is above the voiceband and increasing the upper corner frequency upward as the symbol rate increases, the communication equipment systems utilize symmetric frequency plans that incorporate the relatively low loss, low crosstalk spectrum range while still being able to operate on the same line as analog voice band. Another aspect of the present invention is directed to multiplexing a first modem for communicating information packets between the first modem and a plurality of second modems via a single two-wire (e.g. telephone subscriber) lines. The present invention provides a Multi-Access (MA) protocol that enables a single link to be utilized by more than one access device (e.g., a CPE Modem). The Multi-Access protocol of the present invention provides a means to connect to multiple endpoints on a single local loop. Each CPE Modem may communicate directly with a modem at a CO location thereby removing the need for expensive gateway devices and secondary in-building cabling to support multiple access points.