MXPA96006608A - Apparatus to provide service to telephone subsidiaries connected to a remote terminal desdemultiples service providers telefoni - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a releasing apparatus for connecting a plurality of switches to a plurality of remote terminals, the remote terminal is connected to a plurality of subscriber lines, the apparatus is characterized in that it comprises: switching means for providing connections between the plurality of switches and the plurality of remote terminals; means of commands connected to the switching means for receiving control messages of the plurality of switching means, multiplexing the control messages, and sending the control messages to one of the plurality of remote terminals , and to receive control messages from the plurality of remote terminals, demultiplex the control messages, and cause the control messages to be released to the switching means via the switching means, and test the means connected to the plurality of systems of switching and the plurality of remote terminals to receive Testing of the plurality of switching systems and sending the test requests to one of the remote terminals, and receiving the results of the plurality of remote terminals and sending the test results to the switching system request

Description

APPARATUS TO PROVIDE SERVICE TO PHONE SUBSCRIBERS CONNECTED TO A REMOTE TERMINAL FROM MULTIPLE PROVIDERS OF TELEPHONE SERVICES TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to the field of providing competitive access telephone services and, more specifically, to providing a system that allows a plurality of switches of local service providers to connect to one or more remote terminals, so that Individual subscribers connected to the remote terminal can select among the service providers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Due to increasing pressure to deregulate the local telephone market, the support of the local telephone service provider (the local exchange carrier or "LEC") is being required to release the telephone services and resources that serve the local lines for REF: 23509 provide competition between the LEC and competitive access telephone service providers. An area of such operation that is particularly complicated occurs when the subscriber's lines are served by a remote terminal (eg, a subscriber circuit bearer), rather than a direct connection to a central switching station. (For the purposes of this document, the term "subscriber circuit carrier" or "SLC" is intended to cover what is known in the art as subscriber circuit carriers and digital circuit carriers). Subscriber circuit bearers (SLC) provide the primary connection of the subscriber's telephones to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) for groups of subscribers. There are many thousands of SLCs in use both in the United States and internationally. These SLCs are commonly used to provide inexpensive telephone services in rural and suburban communities where the direct connection to the central telephone switching station for each individual subscriber requires expensive external plant equipment, such as a large number of long wire pairs, amplifiers, etc. However, SLCs are now also used in urban areas, such as very high density and high density units, to provide the LEC with a more convenient arrangement of resources. In this way, many LECs are using SLC where a copper wire pair is used to reduce the physical maintenance costs of the external plant. FIGURE-1 illustrates an SLC 100, typical of the prior art. SLC 100 is connected to a plurality of subscriber telephones (not shown) in homes 102, 104, and 106 via lines 108-112 respectively (each home may have a plurality of lines, such as homes 104 and 106). ). The SLC 100 comprises gates and logic boards in a switch in a central station 114 and a remote terminal field or portion 116. The remote terminal 116 of the SLC 100 is housed on a pedestal or enclosure near the subscribers it serves. Subscriber lines (copper part or "tip and nape threads", as are known in the art), which can carry voice or data, are connected to remote terminal 116 of SLC 100 to a plurality of line cards 118 , as known in the art. The SLC 118 line cards are generally similar to the line cards found in any prior art switching system and provide the BORSHT functionality of the telephone service (battery, overvoltage, ringing, monitoring, hybrid, and test, as they are known). in the technique). These line cards are plugged into an optical network unit (ONU) 120, which receives and transmits analog signals to and from the line card, performs analog / digital translations and prepares the signals for transmission to the central station 114 by submerging the signal in a transmission protocol. The ONU 120 is controlled by the control unit 122. The control unit 122 uses a dedicated channel to the switch 114 to send control or command messages, such as reporting an off-hook condition or instant switch hook and receiving control messages, for stamping, for example, and other functions known in the art. In this embodiment of FIGURE 1, a host switch 134 at the LEC central station 114 is directly connected to the optical network via a plurality of network facilities 128-132, which carry multiplexed signals from the ONU120 on each of the channels 24 (such facilities are commonly SD1). In this exemplary prior art embodiment, the network facilities 128-132 are directly connected to the host switch 134. The digitally encoded voice and control messages (or other user data) are submerged in a digital stream and transmitted over the facilities 128-132 in a standard protocol, such as LT R303 or TR08, as are known in the art. The host switch 134 is also connected to the public switched telephone network 136. In this way, this remote LEC-terminal switch pair can provide telephone service to a plurality of subscribers. Returning now to FIGURE 2, a further prior art SLC system is shown, which illustrates a remote terminal 116 connected to the host switch 134 by means of the host digital terminal 124. The host digital terminal 124 generally uses a proprietary protocol 131 for transporting information between the host digital terminal 124 and the remote terminal 116 on the facilities 128-132. The host digital terminal 124 is generally located in the LEC switch 114 and is connected to a host switch 134. The host digital terminal 124 converts the proprietary protocol to the standard protocol TR303 or TR08 to release it to the host switch 134, and sends such signals over the collective conductors 133. The host switch 134 may then connect calls between the SLC 100 and the public switched telephone network (PSTN) 136. In the most remote terminal arrangements, there is a dedicated control channel 138 for converting commands between the remote terminal 116 and any of the host switch 134 or the host digital terminal 138. This control channel 138 is used to provide supervision, place telephone calls, etc., as is known in the art and described in the above reference. A test collective conductor 142 is also provided between the host switch 134, the host digital terminal 124 (if equipped), and the remote terminal 116. The test collective bus 142 is used by means of an apparatus in the host switch 134 (or via a remote link to the host switch 134, not shown but well known in the art) to test the host digital terminal 124 (if equipped), the remote terminal 116 and the lines, such as 108-112, as shown in FIG. know in the technique. To provide a competitive access provider switch, such as 140, with access to a subscriber line served by a remote terminal, there are several resources that must be "released". First, a plurality of voice channels (trunk or DSl) between the LEC switch and the remote terminal must somehow be connected to the switch of the competitive access provider 140. Second, the competitive access provider switch 140 must have some access to control channel 138. Finally, there must be an access test from the competitive access provider switch to the remote terminal 116 for testing. In the prior art switch of FIGURE 1, there are many voice channels (DSl), which can be released and redirected to the competitive access provider switch by physically promoting one or more trunks of the switch and physically attaching them to a similar facility (which uses the TR 303 or TROS protocol, or a modified version thereof). In the competitive access provider switch 140 (provided the appropriate functionality is present in the switch). further, test access to lines 108-112 can be achieved using a variety of telemetry arrays in the current market. The remote terminal 116, however, can only be tested using test and measurement devices on the host switch 134. However, since there is only one control channel 138 and a common test lead 142 per remote terminal 116, it is necessary that such facilities are shared with the competitive access provider switch 140. Such sharing is currently impossible because the control channel 138 is generally integrated with the switching equipment 134 of the original LEC switching system 114, and is not designed to give access to other switches. Also in the scenario of FIGURE 2, the protocol used to control the remote terminal is private, and only switches made by a given manufacturer are able to communicate with the control unit of the remote terminal. The competitive access service can not be offered without the use of the private control channel because it is used to report the unoccupied and occupied conditions, alarms, etc., of the remote terminal for each line, and to place calls to each of the lines connected to the remote terminal. Therefore, a problem in the art is that there is no way to release the control channel and testing facilities of a monopolized telephone service provider so that a competitive access telephone service provider can control and test selected lines. in a remote terminal on a comparably efficient base in the original LEC switch.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This problem was solved and a technical advance in the technique was reached by means of a system and a method that allows competitive access providers to have the capacity to provide service to subscriber lines connected to a remote terminal, and the ability to control and try such lines. According to this invention, a novel release apparatus is inserted between a host switch and a remote terminal to provide access to voice channels, maintenance channels, and the control channel for competitive access providers. This remote terminal release apparatus includes a switching structure, an order module and a test module. In the configurations where the remote terminal is directly connected to the switch, (ie, FIGURE 1) the release apparatus is simply inserted anywhere in the channel path. In this way, all the voice and control channels that were formerly linked between the remote terminal and the host switch are connected through the switching structure, and the test line from the remote terminal to the switch is connected through the module. test. Competitive access providers can then connect voice and control channels in the switching structure, which can then be connected to the remote terminal, and a test line from each of the competitive access providers is connected to the remote terminal via the test module. The switching structure of the release apparatus connects all voice channels between the remote terminal and all service providers. This also switches the control channels between the LEC switch and the competitive access providers on the one hand and the remote terminal on the other hand to the command module. The command module performs any necessary protocol translations (such as TR08 to TR303). All the control messages of the switches are then multiplexed and sent back to the switching structure, which routes them towards the original command channel towards the remote terminal. Command communications from the remote terminal (such as unoccupied and alarm conditions on a line) are demultiplexed, translated (if necessary) and sent to the switching structure to be released to the switch controlling that particular line. The test commands of the original LEC switch are sent via a metal path to the test module, which sends them via a metallic connection to the remote terminal. The test orders from competitive access providers are also sent via new metal paths to the test module, and then sent through a simple metal connection to the remote terminal. Alternatively, in situations where the original LEC switch is connected to a remote terminal via a host digital terminal (see FIGURE 2), a release apparatus according to this invention can be connected between the host switch and the digital terminal hostess. In this scenario, the voice lines, control line and test lines described above are treated. However, in the release apparatus between the host switch and the host digital terminal, standard protocols (such as TR303 or TR08) can be used to connect the competitive access provider switches to the host digital terminal without the release apparatus have to translate any private protocol, and without having to modify the remote terminal to understand a standard protocol. Finally, a release apparatus according to this invention can be used with an order module that translates into a private protocol TR303 through TR08 and, thus, can be inserted anywhere in the network using any combination of switches. In this way, competitive access providers can completely control specific lines on a remote terminal, providing all the control functionality and test capability needed to maintain a reliable remote terminal, while releasing services from the remote terminal of the remote switch. Original LEC.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A more complete understanding of the invention can be obtained from the consideration of the following description in conjunction with the drawings in which: FIGURE 1 is a block diagram of the SLC system of the prior art and in connection with the switched telephone network public; FIGURE 2 is a block diagram of a different prior art SLC system and its connection to the public telephone network; FIGURE 3 is a block diagram of a release system illustrating the release of lines and sharing facilities between the original LEC switch and competitive access providers according to the prior art systems of FIGURE 1; FIGURE 4 is a block diagram of a release system used in conjunction with the SLC system of FIGURE 2; FIGURE 5 is a block diagram of a release system that performs the protocol conversion used in conjunction with the systems of FIGURES 1 and 2; FIGURE 6 is a more detailed description of the delivery system of FIGURES 3, 4 and 5; FIGURE 7 is an example of the routing of a voice channel from the original LEC switch to the remote terminal; FIGURE 8 is an example of a competitive access provider routing of a voice channel to the remote terminal; FIGURE 9 is an example of an order of a LEC switch to the remote terminal; FIGURE 10 is an example of routing an order from a competitive access provider to the remote terminal; FIGURE 11 is an example of the maintenance request of a LEC switch to the remote terminal; FIGURE 12 is a diagram illustrating the connection between a competitive access provider switch and the maintenance access of a remote terminal; FIGURE 13 is a flowchart of the operations in the test access and arbitration portion of the release system according to this invention; FIGURE 14 is a flow diagram illustrating the control flow in the portion of the order interleaving process of the release apparatus according to this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating a first exemplary embodiment of a releasing apparatus 200 which connects a plurality of switches 134, 202 and 204 to a remote terminal 116. As will be described in more detail below, the apparatus of Release 200 comprises three modules: a switching structure 206, an order module 208, and a test module 210. In this exemplary embodiment, a LEC switch 134 and the competitive access provider switches 202 and 204 can communicate directly with a remote terminal using the TR303 or TR08 protocol. In this exemplary embodiment, all voice, control and test channels 128, 130, 132, 138 and 144 between the LEC switch 134 and the remote terminal 116 are cut off, and the release apparatus is added. The competitive voice and data access channels of the original LEC switch 134 (128, 130, 132, and 138) and the competitive access provider switch 202 (232, 234) and the provider switch 204 (236, 238) are then connect to the switching structure 206, and the metal test paths 144, 242, and 244 are connected to the test module 210. The voice and control channels (128 ', 130', 132 ', and 138') of the remote terminal 116 is also connected to the switching structure 206 and a collective test conductor, metallic 142 is connected to the test module 210. The switching structure 206, in this exemplary embodiment comprises a DSO switching structure, which is connected to a plurality of DSI inputs and outputs as are known in the art.The command module 208 is connected to the switching structure 206 via a plurality of DSO connections 212, 214, 216 and 218. The command module 208 receives messages of order Both of the competitive access provider switches 202 and 204 and of the original LEC switch 114 via the switch structure 206. The command module 208 multiplexes the command messages for the remote terminal 116 and sends them via one of the DSOs. 212-218 back to switching structure 206 by switching them over command channel 138 '. The command module also receives control messages and alarm messages from the remote terminal 116, and sends them to the switch that controls the line. Advantageously, the command module 208 performs any necessary translation of the native command set of the competitive access provider switches 202 and 204 in the command language that the control unit 202 of the remote terminal 116 is-waiting (usually TR303 to TR08 or vice versa). The command module 208 is also connected to an operational service and support system (OSS) 220, which can remotely control the remote terminal 116 for maintenance and other functions commonly provided by the OSS system in the prior art and thus , will not be discussed anymore. The test module 210 is connected to the original LEC switch 114 via the metal test collective conductor 144 and connects tests originating with the original LEC switch through the collective conductor 142 to the remote terminal 116. The test requests that originate from the competitive access provider switches 202 and 204 are sent to the test module 210 via the metal test leads 242 and 244 and are multiplexed together with the test request from the LEC switch 134 so that they appear in the remote terminal 116 as if the test requests were from the LEC switch 134. The results are reported again through test unit 210, demultiplexed, and released to the appropriate switch.

Each competitive access provider switch 202 and 204 may be connected to other remote terminals or other remote terminals with competitive access. In this exemplary embodiment, the competitive access provider switch 202 is connected to the switching structure 206 in the release apparatus 200 via the trunks (DSl) 232 and 234 and the competitive access provider switch 204 is connected via the trunks (DSl) 236 and 238. In this way, the release apparatus 200 can provide access to the competitively accessible telephone service providers to one or more remote terminals that can be served by a plurality of lines. In this way, each subscriber 102-106 may select one among service providers 114, 202 and 204, according to their needs, wishes, costs or other considerations. In addition, the releasing apparatus 200 can be located anywhere in the network, i.e., in the remote terminal 116, in the original LEC switch 114, or anywhere between them; as long as the competitive access provider 202 and 204 can physically make the connection to its releasing apparatus 200. Finally, the releasing apparatus can be connected to more than one remote terminal, such as 262 and 264 (up to the capacity of the switching structure 206). In this way, a flexible system is shown to provide competitive access, which is being released, from one or more remote terminals. Returning now to FIGURE 4, the use of a releasing apparatus is shown in the prior art configuration illustrated in FIGURE 2. Returning briefly to FIGURE 2, it is noted that there is a private protocol 131 between the host digital terminal 124 and the remote terminal 116. However, there is a standard interface using TR303 or TR08 between the host switch 134 and the host digital terminal 124 via a plurality of links 133. In the embodiment of FIGURE 4, the release apparatus 200 is connected between the switch 124 and the host digital terminal 124. At this point, the other competitive access provider switches such as 202 and 204, which can communicate via TR303 or TR08, can then be connected simply and efficiently to the structure 206 and the test module 210. The main difference between this configuration and the configuration described above in relation to FIGURE 3 is that the release apparatus should be located within the original LEC switching center 114 so that a common protocol (i.e., TR303) can be used between all the switches. Thus, the configuration of FIGURE 4, the private interface 131 is reserved between the host digital terminal 124 and the remote terminal 116. Returning now to FIGURE 5, an additional mode of the release apparatus 200 is shown. In this mode exemplary, there is a mix of switches where the original LEC switch 134 and the competitive access provider 204 have switches which communicate directly with the remote terminal 116 in the TR303 or TR08 protocol. However, the competitive access provider switch 202 includes the host digital terminal 224, which uses a private protocol on the 232 and 234 trunks. In this case, when a communication command is received on the 232 or 234 trunk, this is switched through the switching structure 206 through one of the connections 212-218 to the command module 208. The command module 208 in the exemplary mode is programmed to translate between the private interface as it is understood by the host terminal 224 and TR303 or TR08. In this way, the entire release apparatus 200 can provide competitive access in almost any configuration, depending on the translation program in the command module 208. Turning now to FIGURE 6, a more detailed block diagram of the release apparatus is shown. 200. The switching structure 206 of the releasing apparatus 200 comprises a DSO switching structure, which, as is known in the art, connects to a plurality of DSl. The switching structure 206 performs the basic help or preparation function, i.e., separating each DSO pair and providing route, etc., as is known in the art. Switching structure 206 could be any form of structure that could switch individual units of multi-unit trunks. In this embodiment, the switching structure 206 is connected to the competitive access service switches via DSl 232, 234, 236 and 238. As stated above, there may be one or more competitive access service providers connected to the structure. of switching 206, up to the capacity of switching structure 206, without departing from the scope of this invention. Switching structure 206 is connected to remote terminal 116 via DSL 128 ', 130', 132 ', and command channel 138' (in the configuration of FIGURE 4 switch structure 206 is connected to the digital terminal hostess via 128-138). Through those connections, the DSl and command channels that are normally connected between a remote terminal and the original LEC switch are still provided with a connection in the release apparatus 200, as if they were directly connected. Also, switch structure 206 may terminate DSl from more than one remote terminal such as remote terminals 260 and 262, and translate voice channels from such multiple remote terminals to appear as a remote terminal to an access provider switch. competitively, in this way, providing an improved use of the competitive access provider's resources. In this way, none of the remote terminals connected to a release apparatus according to this invention needs to be modified to give free access to such remote terminals. Switching structure 206 also has DSO connections to the command module, or command interleaving process 208. Switching structure 206, as will be discussed below, has connections to the original LEC switch via DSL 128, 130, and the command channel 138, like the prior art, so that the original LEC switch does not need to be modified to give access to the free remote terminal to the individual lines. More importantly, the order interleaving process 208 multiplexes / demultiplexes command messages to and from all service providers and the remote terminal, and sends such return command messages through the switch structure 206. The structure switch 206 then sends such command messages to the appropriate command channel.

The order interleaving process 208 performs any necessary conversion of any form of remote command interface language (which can be used by competitive access providers 202 and 204) to the original command language of the LEC 114 switch, so that it appears in the remote terminal as if such commands originated from a source. The command module 208 also translates the names of the virtual remote terminal of the competitive access providers to the appropriate remote terminal if more than one of the remote terminals is connected to the device 200. In this way, the command module can translate the TR303 to TR08, otherwise, or any private interface language to TR303 or TR08, depending on its programming. The test and arbitration access unit (TAA) 210 provides test access to and from the remote terminal via trunk 142 (for the remote terminal 116 shown, and the additional collective conductors if more than one remote terminal is connected to the device 210) a and from the LEC switch via 144, 242 for the switch 204, and 244 for the switch 202. The test access and arbitration unit 210 then performs arbitration between the switches that wish to run the test, allowing one test at a time to the remote terminal 116 maintaining access via the trunk 142 and simultaneously testing the other remote terminals, if equipped (generally, one test at a time per remote terminal). The test access and arbitration unit 210 also has a plurality of inhibition lines 306, 308 and 310, which are connected to each switch to prevent the switches from pre-downloading tests in progress or maintenance activities at the remote terminal 116. The test access and arbitration unit 210 is connected to test measurement devices 212, as is known in the art. Those test measurement devices 212, normally provided in a switch, allow competitive access service providers to have access to the test measurement devices that test this particular brand of remote terminal 116, even if the access provider switch competitive was not made by the same manufacturer. In this way, through the use of the switching structure 206, the order interleaving process 208 and the test access and arbitration unit 210, each switch that is provided with access to the lines in the remote terminal 116, can send and receive commands to control such lines, and they are all provided with access to the testing mechanisms for the remote terminal 116, without having to change any protocol in the existing LEC remote terminal, LEC switch, or competitive access providers. This invention provides an inexpensive and simple method for releasing the remote terminal 116 of the original LEC switch, and provides competition at the local service level with a minimum amount of disturbance of the operation of the pre-existing equipment. FIGURES 7-12 illustrate various connections through the release apparatus 200 to show how connections are made through this system. Turning first to FIGURE 6, FIGURE 6 illustrates a speech path to / from the original LEC switch connected to / from the remote terminal 16. The path of z 400 is installed on one of the DSOs of DSl 132, for example , and is released from the original LEC switch 114 to the switching structure 206. The SF 206 connects this DSO to one of the plurality of DSOs in one of the DSl connected to a remote terminal 116, which, in this example, is connected through the DSL 130 'to the remote terminal 116. Turning now to FIGURE 8, an example of a competitive access service provider voice path connected to and from a remote terminal is illustrated. In this scenario, a call that arrives from a competitive access service provider switch, that is, the switch 202 on the DS1 232, is prepared and sent through the switching structure 206 via the path 500 to one of the voice channels attached to the remote terminal 116, in this case the DS1 130 '. In this way direct connections can be made between the competitive access providers and the remote terminal 116 which appears as if the competitive access provider was originally attached to the remote terminal 116. Turning now to FIGURE 9, an example of a command connection between the original LEC switch and the remote terminal. A path 600 is established between the control channel 138 emanating from the original LEC switch through the control channel 138 ', which is connected to the remote terminal controller 116. Such connection appears as if it originated and as if not there would be a release device 200 between the original LEC switch and the remote terminal 116. In this scenario, the commands of channel 138 are released to CIP 208. Those commands (having originated from the original LEC switch) do not need to be translated and this mode is sent as such through the switching structure 206 to the CIP 208 back through a connection to the switching structure 206 to be connected to the control channel 138 '. Turning now to FIGURE 10, a path for a competitive access provider command to the remote terminal 116 for controlling or receiving information from the terminal 116 is illustrated. In this scenario, the competitive access provider switch 204 sends and / or receives an order via channel 1 of DSl 238, which is received in switching structure 206. Switching structure 206 prepares the channel pair and sends the command via path 700 to CIP 208. CIP 208 performs any translations of the orders according to any of the protocols (see FIGURE 13 and the accompanying text) through a multiplexer and sends it via the path 700 to the switching structure 206 where it is sent through the channel 138 'commands to the remote terminal. In this way, competitive access providers (and remote terminals) simply send and receive commands in their native command language and all conversion is effected in the connection interface process 208. The commands are multiplexed in CIP 208 and sent over an order channel to the remote terminal 116. In addition, the commands of other competitive access provider switches in the original LEC switch are multiplexed on the same channel. Thus, from any point of view, the release apparatus 200 gives the appearance that the remote terminal 116 is directly connected to any switch connected to the release apparatus 200.

Returning to FIGURE 10, the original LEC switch 114 performs a test on the path 800 via the collective conductor 144 as done in the prior art. Such tests are received in the test and arbitration access device (TAA) 120. Such tests can be connected through the test measurement devices 212 to have access to the test tools initially provided in the original LEC switch 114 The test measurement device 212 is then connected via path 800 to the collective test lead 142, which makes a test communication with the remote terminal 116. The results are measured in the test measurement device 212 and the results collected are sent back on path 800 through collective conductor 144. In this way, the LEC switch sends tests and receives results in the same manner and appearance as is known in the art today. Turning now to FIGURE 12, control of remote terminal maintenance access of a competitive access provider switch is illustrated. In this scenario, the competitive access provider switch 202 performs a connection test to the TAA 210 via the collective test conductor 242. The TAA 210 then establishes a path 900 through one of the plurality of channels through the test measurement devices 212 if necessary and following the test measurement devices 212 through a continuation of the path 900 through the collective remote terminal maintenance bus 142 to the remote terminal 116. In this way, the Competitive access provider switches have the full ability to perform routine maintenance on lines and / or line card channels etc., which are under the control of the competitive access provider switches. Turning now to FIGURE 13, a control flow diagram is illustrated. In this example, an alarm enters on the maintenance channel 142 from the remote terminal 116, but this control flow is applicable to the command messages that flow in both directions. The operation begins in circle 1000 and proceeds to action block 1002, where the remote terminal sends an alarm using one of a plurality of interface or interconnection messages (here TR303 or TR08, which are well known in the art or still a private interface). The process continues to the decision diamond 1004 where a determination is made as to whether this is an alarm associated with the LEC switch. If not, then the process continues to the action blocks 1006 where the CIP translates the address to a virtual remote terminal address for one of the competitive access provider switches 202 and 204. If the address is not on the LEC switch 114, and after the action box 1006, the process continues to the action blocks 1008, where the alarm is sent to its respective destination. The process ends in frame 1010. Figure 14 illustrates the processing of a control message of a competitive access switch to the remote terminal. The process starts at circle 1100 and proceeds to action block 1102, wherein the competitive access provider switch sends an order to establish a call, for example, in sequence TR303 on a virtual TR303 interface. The process continues to the action blocks 1104 where the CIP 208 translates the virtual remote terminal address and the channel address to a specific DSl address on the remote terminal 116. The process continues to the decision diamond 1106, where a determination is made as to whether the control channel is idle. This action is taken as a form of arbitration to prevent the remote terminal from being overwhelmed with the message. If the control channel is not idle, then the message is stored until the channel is idle in action block 1008.

If in the decision diagram 1106 the control channel is idle, then a determination is made as to whether the control channel uses the TR008 in the decision diamonds 1110. If the control channel does not use the TR008, then in the blocks of 1111 and 1112, the messages are converted to TR008. The continuous process of the frame 1112 and the decision diamond 110 branches to the action block 1114 where the messages are sent over the control channel to the remote terminal. The process ends in action box 1116. It should be understood that the previously written mode is simply an illustrative principle of the invention, and that many variations can be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of this invention. Therefore, it is intended that such variations be included in the scope of the claims. It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known to the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is that which is clear from the present description of the invention. Having described the invention as above, property is claimed as contained in the following:

Claims (12)

1. A releasing apparatus for connecting a plurality of switches to a plurality of remote terminals, the remote terminal is connected to a plurality of subscriber lines, the apparatus is characterized in that it comprises: switching means for providing connections between the plurality of switches and the plurality of remote terminals; command means connected to the switching means for receiving control messages from the plurality of switching means, multiplexing the control messages, and sending the control messages to one of the plurality of remote terminals, and for receiving control messages from the plurality of remote terminals, demultiplexing the control messages, and causing the control messages to be released to the switching means via the switching means; and testing the means connected to the plurality of switching systems and the plurality of remote terminals to receive test requests from the plurality of switching systems and send the test requests to one of the remote terminals, and receive the results of the plurality of remote terminals and send the test results to the requesting switching system.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the command means further include means for translating command messages into a protocol expected by the remote terminal.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the translation means translate between the TR303 and the TR08.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the translation means translate between a private protocol language and the TR303.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the translation means translate between a private protocol language and the TR08.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the test means include measuring means for providing testing capabilities.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the switching means switches the DSO.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the switching means include means for preparing the control messages and releasing the control messages to the command means.

9. A method for use in a telephone network to provide service to a plurality of telephone subscribers connected to a remote terminal by means of a plurality of competitive service providers, each of the competitive service providers have their own switching system, the network telephone includes a release device connected between the remote terminal and the plurality of switching systems, the release device comprises a switching network, and a command module, the method is characterized in that it comprises the steps of: switching the connecting network the voice channels between the plurality of switching systems and the remote terminal; switch the network that connects the control channels to the command module; the command module multiplexes the commands of the plurality of switching systems to the remote terminal and sends the multiplexed commands to the remote terminal, and the command module demultiplexes the commands of the remote terminal and sends such commands to one of the plurality of commands. switching systems, so that the telephone network can provide telephone services to any of the telephone lines connected to the remote terminal through any of the plurality of competitive switching systems.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that different communication protocols are used by the remote terminal and one or more of the plurality of switching systems, the method also includes the step of: the command module translates the control messages of the protocol of origin of the destination protocol.

11. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that the release device includes the test module, which is connected to all the plurality of switching systems and the remote term, the method is characterized in that it includes the steps of: receiving a test order in the test module of a request from one of the plurality of switching systems; the test module sends the test order to the remote term; and respond to the receipt of a test result, the test module sends the result to the switching system that requested the test.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that it further includes the step of: the test module determines whether a test is in progress when it receives a test request and stores the test request if a test is in progress. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A release device to allow access to competitive access providers to telephone lines connected to a remote term, and the ability to control and test such lines. Such a release apparatus includes a switching structure, an order module, and a test module. The switching structure provides all the voice channel connections between all the switches and the remote term and prepares the control channels. The control messages are switched in the command module, which performs any necessary protocol translation. All the commands of the switches are then multiplexed and sent back to the switching structure, which routes them towards the orig command channel towards the remote term. The control messages of the remote term are demultiplexed, translated (if necessary) and sent to the switching structure to be released to the appropriate switch. The test lines are also provided to all competitive service providers.