This invention enables various types of equipment using different protocols to be multiplexed on to a two-wire line carrying traffic with a predetermined protocol. Transmissions from equipment which uses separate information and signalling channels are multiplexed on to a single channel of the predetermined protocol with the signalling incorporated in to the channel by the use of bit-robbing techniques.
This enables several different types of equipment to be connected via a single pair to the network access point, permitting standardization of the line cards in the access equipment.