Digital Communication Network Architecture for Providing Universal Information Services

1. A communication network comprising: a plurality of communication links; wideband channel switching means coupled to the links and operable for establishing switched wideband channels on the links; narrowband channel switching means coupled to the links and operable for establishing switched narrowband channels on the links; control means, responsive to signaling messages received over the links for effecting operation of the wideband and the narrowband switching means and sending signaling messages over the links to effect establishment of wideband and narrowband communication paths through the wideband and the narrowband switching means over the channels; control communication means, interconnecting the wideband and the narrowband switching means with the control means, for communicating control signals among the control means and the wideband and the narrowband switching means, the signals for controlling establishment of the channels; and signal transfer means, responsive to receipt of signaling messages received over the links through the narrowband switching means for communicating these signaling messages to the control means over the control communication means, and responsive to receipt of signaling messages received from the control means over the control communication means for communicating these signaling messages over the links through the narrowband switching means.

2. A communication network for use in providing integrated voice, data, and video services between a plurality of pieces of equipment connected thereto by a plurality of channelized communication links, each piece of equipment connected to the network by a set of links comprising at least one link and providing a set of wideband communication channels comprising at least one wideband channel and a set of narrowband communication channels comprising at least one narrowband channel, a narrowband channel of each link set for carrying signaling messages for establishing communication connections over all channels of the link set, the network comprising: wideband digital channel switching means, coupled to links of the sets, for interconnecting wideband channels to establish wideband communication paths between pieces of equipment; narrowband digital channel switcing means, coupled to links of the sets, for interconnecting narrowband channels to establish narrowband communication paths between pieces of equipment; control means, responsive to signaling messages received from the pieces of equipment for sending control communications to the wideband and the narrowband switching means and sending signaling messages to the pieces of equipment to control establishment on the wideband and narrowband channels of wideband and narrowband communication paths between the pieces of equipment; control communication means, interconnecting the wideband and the narrowband switching means with the control means, for carrying control communications from the control means to the switching means; and signaling message transfer means, connected to the control communication means and having the signaling-message-carrying narrowband channels coupled thereto by the narrowband switching means, for transferring signaling messages incoming from the pieces of equipment on the coupled channels to the control means over the control communication means and for transferring signaling messages incoming from the control means over the control communication means to the pieces of equipment on the coupled channels.

3. The network of claim 2 wherein a plurality of the signaling message carrying narrowband channels are coupled to the signaling message transfer means in form of multiplexed signal streams one incoming from the narrowband switching means and one outgoing to the narrowband switching means and comprising a plurality of substreams, each substream comprising signals of different signaling-message-carrying narrowband channels, the signaling message transfer means comprising: multiplexing and demultiplexing means connected to the narrowband switching means for separating the incoming multiplexed stream into its constituent substreams and for combining into the outgoing multiplexed stream its constituent substreams; a plurality of processing means each coupled to the multiplexing and demultiplexing means to receive therefrom an incoming substream and to transmit thereto an outgoing substream, each processing means for extracting incoming messages from the received substream and forming outgoing messages into the transmitted substream; control communication interface means connected to the control communication means for transmitting incoming messages on the control communication means to the control means and receiving outgoing messages on the control communication means from the control means; transfer controlling means coupled between the plurality of processing means and the interface means for receiving incoming messages from the plurality of processing means and forwarding them to the interface means and receiving from the interface means outgoing messages and forwarding them to the processing means that are forming an outgoing substream comprising signals of a signaling-message-carrying channel leading to a piece of equipment for which the message is intended; and buffering means interposed between the plurality of processing means and the transfer controlling means for facilitating transfer of messages between the plurality of processing means and the transfer controlling means by temporarily storing messages being transferred therebetween.

4. The network of claim 2 wherein the signaling message transfer means include apparatus for serving a plurality of the signaling-message-carrying narrowband channels one at a time on a rotating basis, the apparatus comprising: first buffer storage means having the served channels coupled thereto, for buffering groups of signals incoming and outgoing on the served channels; finite state machine means shared by the served channels and connected to the first buffer storage means to retrieve therefrom buffered incoming groups, one group at a time from each incoming served channel, the finite state machine means for identifying both signal types and source of each received incoming group and generating a source identifier and a type identifier for each received incoming group; second buffer storage means for storing incoming and outgoing signal groups and their accompanying identifiers; first control means connected to the finite state machine means and to the first and the second buffer storage means, responsive to receipt of the type identifiers from the finite state machine means for storing in the second buffer storage means those incoming groups retrieved from the first buffer storage means, and their source and type identifiers, received from the finite state machine means that are identified by their type identifiers as being groups of message signals, and discarding other incoming groups, and further responsive to type and destination identifiers, retrieved with the accompanying outgoing groups from the second buffer storage means, for generating outgoing groups and supplying the received and generated outgoing groups to the first buffer storage means one group at a time for each served outgoing channel; and second control means connected to the second buffer storage means and communicatively coupled to the control communication means, responsive to type and source identifiers retrieved from the second buffer storage means with their accompanying incoming groups for assembling the retrieved groups into incoming messages and transferring the incoming messages to the control communication means, and disassembling outgoing messages received from the control communication means into outgoing groups of message signals, generating a destination identifier and a type identifier for each outgoing group, and storing the outgoing groups along with their destination and type identifiers in the second buffer storage means.

5. The network of claim 2 further comprising: a plurality of channelized optical fibers coupling a set of link sets comprising at least some of the link sets to the wideband and the narrowband switching means and providing a plurality of second communication channels for extending wideband and narrowband channels to the wideband and the narrowband switching means; wideband digital channel handling means, connected between links of the set of link sets and the fibers, for connecting wideband channels of the connected links with second channels to establish wideband communication paths between the wideband switching means and pieces of equipment connected to the links of the set of link sets; and narrowband digital channel handling means, connected between links of the set of link sets and the fibers, for connecting narrowband channels of the connected links with second channels to establish narrowband communication paths between the narrowband switching means and pieces of equipment connected to the links of the set of link sets.

6. The network of claim 5 wherein the wideband handling means comprise second wideband digital channel switching means responsive to received control communications for connecting wideband channels with second channels; wherein the control communication means are further connected to the second wideband switching means; and wherein the control means are further responsive to the received signaling messages for sending control communications over the control communication means to the second wideband switching means to control establishment thereby of wideband communication paths.

7. The network of claim 5 wherein the narrowband handling means comprise narrowband digital channel multiplexing and demultiplexing means, connected between links of the set of link sets and the fibers, for multiplexing a plurality of narrowband channels of the connected links into a second channel and demultiplexing a second channel into a plurality of narrowband channels of the connected links to establish narrowband communication paths between the narrowband switching means and pieces of equipment.

8. The network of claim 5 wherein the second communication channels comprise a plurality of wideband-carrying channels each comprising at least one wideband channel and narrowband-carrying channels each comprising in multiplexed form a plurality of narrowband channels; wherein the wideband handling means comprise second wideband digital channel switching means, connected between links of the set of link sets and the fibers and coupled to the bus, responsive to control communications received over the bus from the control means for connecting wideband channels of the connected links with wideband channels of the wideband-carrying channels to establish wideband communication paths between the other wideband switching means and pieces of equipment connected to the links of the set of link sets; and wherein the narrowband handling means comprise narrowband digital channel multiplexing and demultiplexing means, connected between links of the set of link sets and the fibers, for multiplexing a plurality of narrowband channels of the connected links into narrowband channels of a narrowband-carrying channel and demultiplexing narrowband channels of a narrowband-carrying channel into a plurality of narrowband channels of the connected links to establish narrowband communication paths between the narrowband switching means and pieces of equipment connected to the links of the set of link sets.

9. A communication network for use in providing integrated voice, data, and video services between a plurality of pieces of equipment connected thereto by a plurality of first channelized communication links, each piece of equipment connected to the network by a set of first links comprising at least one first link and providing a set of wideband communication channels comprising at least one wideband channel and a set of narrowband communication channels comprising at least one narrowband channel, a narrowband channel of each first link set for carrying signaling messages for establishing communication connections over all channels of the first link set, the network comprising: wideband channel switching means, coupled to links of the first link sets, for interconnecting wideband channels to establish wideband communication paths between pieces of equipment; narrowband channel switching means, coupled to links of the first link sets, for interconnecting narrowband channels to establish narrowband communication paths between pieces of equipment; a plurality of channelized second links coupling a set of first link sets, comprising at least some of the first link sets, to the wideband and the narrowband switching means and providing a plurality of second communication channels for extending wideband and narrowband channels to the wideband and the narrowband switching means; wideband channel handling means, connected between first links of the set of first link sets and the second links, for connecting wideband channels of the connected first links with second channels to establish wideband communication paths between the wideband switching means and pieces of equipment connected to the first links of the set of first link sets; narrowband channel handling means, connected between first links of the set of first link sets and the second links, for connecting narrowband channels of the connected first links with second channels to establish narrowband communication paths between the narrowband switching means and pieces of equipment connected to the first links of the set of first link sets; and control means connected to the wideband and the narrowband switching means and having second channels that are connected to the signaling-message-carrying narrowband channels coupled thereto, the control means responsive to signaling messages received from the pieces of equipment on the coupled channels for sending control communications to the wideband and the narrowband switching means and sending signaling messages to the pieces of equipment on the coupled channels to control establishment on wideband and narrowband channels of wideband and narrowband communication paths between the pieces of equipment.

10. A communication network for use in providing integrated voice, data, and video services between a plurality of pieces of equipment communicatively connected thereto, the network comprising: a central switching node for establishing wideband and narrowband communication connections between the pieces of equipment; a plurality of peripheral nodes, each for communicatively coupling a plurality of the pieces of equipment to the central node; a plurality of channelized first optical fibers communicatively connecting the pieces of equipment to the plurality of peripheral nodes, each piece of equipment connected to one peripheral node by a set of first fibers comprising at least one first fiber and providing a set of wideband communication channels comprising at least one wideband channel and a set of narrowband communication channels comprising at least one narrowband channel, a narrowband channel of each first fiber set for carrying signaling messages for establishing communication connections over all channels of the first fiber set; a plurality of channelized second optical fibers communicatively connecting the peripheral nodes with the central node, each peripheral node connected with the central node by its own set of second fibers comprising at least one second fiber and providing a plurality of second communication channels for carrying the wideband and the narrowband channels; wherein each peripheral node comprises wideband digital channel handling means, coupled to first fibers of first fiber sets connected to the peripheral node and to second fibers of the peripheral node's second fiber set, for connecting wideband channels with second channels to establish wideband communication paths between the central node and pieces of equipment connected to the peripheral node, and narrowband digital channel handling means, coupled to first fibers of first fiber sets connected to the peripheral node and to second fibers of the peripheral node's second fiber set, for connecting narrowband channels with second channels to establish narrowband communication paths between the central node and pieces of equipment connected to the peripheral node; and wherein the central switching node comprises wideband digital channel switching means, coupled to fibers of the sets, for interconnecting wideband channels carried by the second channels to establish wideband communication paths between pieces of equipment, narrowband digital channel switching means, coupled to fibers of the sets, for interconnecting narrowband channels carried by the second channels to establish narrowband communication paths between pieces of equipment, and node control means, coupled to the wideband and the narrowband switching means, responsive to signaling messages received from the pieces of equipment on the signaling-message-carrying narrowband channels for sending control communications to the wideband and the narrowband switching means and sending signaling messages to the pieces of equipment on the signaling-message-carrying narrowband channels, to control establishment of wideband and narrowband communication paths on the wideband and narrowband channels between the pieces of equipment.

11. The network of claim 10 further comprising a communication bus means, interconnecting the wideband and the narrowband switching means with the node control means, for carrying control communications from the node control means to the switching means; and signaling message transfer means, connected to the communication bus means and having the signaling-message-carrying narrowband channels carried by the second channels coupled thereto by the narrowband switching means, for transferring signaling messages incoming from the pieces of equipment on the coupled channels to the node control means over the bus means and transferring signaling messages incoming from the node control means over the bus means to the pieces of equipment on the coupled channels.

12. The network of claim 10 wherein the node control means are further coupled to the wideband handling means of the plurality of peripheral nodes and are further responsive to the received signaling messages for sending control communications to the wideband handling means to control establishment thereby of wideband communication paths.

13. The network of claim 12 further comprising a communication bus means, interconnecting the wideband and the narrowband switching means and the wideband handling means with the node control means, for carrying control communications from the node control means to the switching and the handling means; and signaling message transfer means, connected to the communication bus means and having the signaling-message-carrying narrowband channels carried by the second channels coupled thereto by the narrowband switching means, for transferring signaling messages incoming from the pieces of equipment on the coupled channels to the node control means over the bus means and transferring signaling messages incoming from the node control means over the bus means to the pieces of equipment on the coupled channels.

14. The network of claim 10 wherein the narrowband handling means comprise narrowband digital channel multiplexing and demultiplexing means, coupled to first fibers of first fiber sets connected to the peripheral node and to second fibers of the peripheral node's second fiber set, for multiplexing a plurality of narrowband channels into a second channel and demultiplexing a second channel into a plurality of narrowband first channels to establish narrowband communication paths between the narrowband switching means and pieces of equipment connected to the peripheral node.

15. The network of claim 10 wherein the second communication channels comprise a plurality of wideband-carrying channels each comprising at least one wideband channel and narrowband-carrying channels each comprising a plurality of narrowband channels; wherein the wideband handling means comprise second wideband digital channel switching means, coupled to first fibers of first fiber sets connected to the peripheral node and to second fibers of the peripheral node's second fiber set, responsive to control communications received from the node control means for connecting wideband channels of first fibers with wideband channels of the wideband-carrying channels to establish wideband communication paths between the other wideband switching means and pieces of equipment connected to the peripheral node; and wherein the narrowband handling means comprise narrowband digital channel multiplexing and demultiplexing means, coupled to first fibers of first fiber sets connected to the peripheral node and to second fibers of the peripheral node's second fiber set, for multiplexing a plurality of narrowband channels of first fibers into narrowband channels of a narrowband-carrying channel and demultiplexing narrowband channels of a narrowband-carrying channel into a plurality of narrowband channels of first fibers to establish narrowband communication paths between the narrowband switching means and pieces of equipment connected to the peripheral node.

16. A communication network for use in providing integrated voice, data, and video services between a plurality of interface arrangements each for communicatively coupling at least one subscriber communication device to the network, the network comprising: a central switching node for establishing wideband and narrowband communication connections between the interface arrangements; a plurality of remote nodes each communicatively coupling a plurality of the interface arrangements to the central node; a plurality of channelized first optical fibers communicatively connecting the interface arrangements with the remote nodes, each interface arrangement connected with one remote node by its own set of first fibers comprising at least one first fiber and providing a set of wideband first communication channels comprising at least one wideband first channel and a set of narrowband first communication channels comprising at least one narrowband first channel, a narrowband first channel of each first fiber set for carrying signaling messages for establishing communication connections over all channels of the first fiber set; and a plurality of channelized second optical fibers communicatively connecting the remote nodes with the central node, each remote node connected with the central node by its own set of second fibers comprising at least one second fiber and providing a plurality of wideband-carrying channels each comprising at least one wideband second communication channel and at least one narrowband-carrying channel each comprising a plurality of narrowband second communication channels; each remote node comprising first wideband digital channel switching means, coupled to second fibers of the remote node's second fiber set and to first fibers of the first fiber sets that are connected to the remote node, responsive to control communications received from the central node for connecting wideband first channels with wideband second channels to establish wideband communication paths between the central node and the interface arrangements connected to the remote node, and narrowband digital channel multiplexing and demultiplexing means, coupled to second fibers of the remote node's second fiber set and to first fibers of the first fiber sets that are connected to the remote node, for connecting the channels of a plurality of narrowband first channel sets with the second channels of a narrowband-carrying channel to establish narrowband communication paths between the central node and the interface arrangements connected to the remote node; and the central node comprising second wideband digital channel switching means, coupled to second fibers of the second fiber sets, responsive to received control communications for interconnecting wideband second channels to establish wideband communication paths between interface arrangements, narrowband digital channel switching means, coupled to second fibers of the second fiber sets, responsive to received control communications for interconnecting narrowband second channels to establish narrowband communication paths between interface arrangements, node control means, responsive to signaling messages received from the interface arrangements for sending control communications to the first and the second wideband switching means and the narrowband switching means and for sending signaling messages to the interface arrangements to control establishment of wideband and narrowband communication paths between the interface arrangements on the channels of the first and second fibers, communication bus means, interconnecting the first and second wideband switching means and the narrowband switching means with the node control means, for carrying control communications from the control means to the switching means, and signaling message transfer means, connected to the bus means and having second channels that are connected to signaling-message-carrying narrowband first channels coupled thereto by the narrowband switching means, for transferring signaling messages incoming from the interface arrangements on the coupled channels to the node control means over the bus means and transferring signaling messages incoming from the node control means over the bus means to the interface arrangements on the coupled channels.

17. The network of claim 16 wherein the first wideband switching means comprise first wideband digital channel switching fabric, connected to second fibers of the remote node's second fiber set and to first fibers of the first fiber sets that are connected to the remote node, for making and breaking connections between wideband first channels and wideband second channels, and first control means, coupled to the first wideband switching fabric, responsive to control communications received from the node control means for controlling the making and breaking of connections by the first wideband switching fabric; wherein the second wideband switching means comprise second wideband digital channel switching fabric, connected to second fibers of the second fiber sets, for making and breaking connections between wideband second channels, and second control means, coupled to the second wideband switching fabric, responsive to control communications received from the node control means for controlling the making and breaking of connections by the second wideband switching fabric; and wherein the narrowband switching means comprise narrowband digital channel switching fabric, connected to second fibers of the second fiber sets, for making and breaking connections between narrowband second channels, and third control means, coupled to the narrowband switching fabric, responsive to control communications received from the node control means for controlling the making and breaking of connections by the narrowband switching fabric.

18. The network of claim 16, wherein a set of narrowband first channels comprises a plurality of narrowband first channels multiplexed into a multiplexed first channel, and wherein the narrowband digital channel multiplexing and demultiplexing means comprise means for connecting narrowband first channels of a plurality of multiplexed first channels with narrowband second channels of a narrowband-carrying channel.

19. The network of claim 16 wherein the first fibers comprise a plurality of downstream first optical fibers each for carrying communications from a remote node to an interface arrangement and a plurality of upstream first optical fibers each for carrying communications from an interface arrangement to a remote node, each interface arrangement connected with a remote node by at least one upstream and at least one downstream first fiber, the at least one upstream first fiber providing an upstream narrowband first channel for carrying signaling messages and the at least one downstream first optical fiber providing a downstream narrowband first channel for carrying signaling messages; wherein the second fibers comprise a plurality of downstream second optical fibers each for carrying communications from the central node to a remote node and a plurality of upstream second optical fibers each for carrying communications from a remote node to the central node, each remote node connected with the central node by at least one upstream and at least one downstream second fiber; wherein the first wideband digital channel switching means comprise means for connecting wideband first and second channels of upstream fibers and connecting wideband first and second channels of downstream fibers; wherein the narrowband digital channel multiplexing and demultiplexing means comprise means for connecting the channels of a plurality of narrowband first channel sets of upstream first fibers to the second channels of a narrowband-carrying channel of an upstream second fiber and connecting the second channels of a narrowband-carrying channel of a downstream second fiber to the channels of a plurality of narrowband first channel sets of downstream first fibers, wherein the second wideband digital channel switching means comprise means for connecting wideband second channels of the upstream second fibers with wideband second channels of the downstream second fibers; and wherein the narrowband digital channel switching means comprise means for connecting narrowband second channels of the upstream second fibers with narrowband second channels of the downstream second fibers.

20. The network of claim 16 wherein each set of first fibers provides at least one upstream wideband first channel and at least one upstream narrowband first channel each for carrying communications from an interface arrangement to a remote node, and further provides at least one downstream wideband first channel and at least one downstream narrowband first channel each for carrying communications from a remote node to a interface arrangement; wherein each set of second optical fibers provides at least one upstream wideband-carrying channel and at least one upstream narrowband-carrying channel each for carrying communications from a remote node to the central node, and further provides at least one downstream wideband-carrying channel and at least one downstream narrowband-carrying channel for carrying communications from the central node to a remote node; wherein the first wideband digital channel switching means comprise means for connecting upstream wideband first channels with upstream wideband second channels and connecting downstream wideband first channels with downstream wideband second channels; wherein the narrowband digital channel multiplexing and demultiplexing means comprise means for connecting the channels of a plurality of upstream narrowband first channel sets to the second channels of an upstream narrowband-carrying channel and connecting the second channels of a downstream narrowband-carrying channel to the channels of a plurality of downstream narrowband first channel sets; wherein the second wideband digital channel switching means comprise means for connecting upstream wideband second channels with downstream wideband second channels, and wherein the narrowband digital channel switching means comprise means for connecting upstream narrowband second channels with downstream narrowband second channels.

21. The network of claim 16 further comprising a plurality of network interface means each for optically coupling an interface arrangement to its own set of first fibers for communications.

22. The network of claim 16 wherein each first fiber comprises a first length of fiber and an associated second length of fiber, the network further comprising a plurality of distribution pedestals each coupling a plurality of first lengths of fibers to their associated second lengths of fibers.

23. The network of claim 16 further comprising: a second central switching node; a plurality of third optical fibers interconnecting the two central nodes and providing a set of wideband third communication channels comprising at least one wideband third channel, a set of narrowband third communication channels comprising at least one narrowband third channel, and a control communication channel; the second central node comprising third wideband digital channel switching means, coupled to third fibers, responsive to received control communications for establishing wideband communication connections to wideband third channels to provide wideband communication paths between the two central nodes, second narrowband digital channel switching means, coupled to third fibers, responsive to received control communications for establishing narrowband communication connections to narrowband third channels to provide narrowband communication paths between the two central nodes. second node control means, coupled to the third wideband and the second narrowband switching means and to the control communication channel, responsive to control messages received on the control channel for sending control communications to the third wideband and the second narrowband switching means to direct establishment of communication paths between the two central nodes; wherein the first wideband switching means are coupled to third optical fibers for connecting wideband second channels with wideband third channels to establish wideband communication paths between interface arrangements and the second central node; wherein the first narrowband digital channel switching means are coupled to third optical fibers for connecting narrowband second channels with narrowband third channels to establish narrowband communication paths between interface arrangements and the second central node; and wherein the first node control means are coupled to the control channel for sending control messages to the second node control means to control establishment of communication paths between the two central nodes.

24. The network of claim 23 further comprising second communication bus means interconnecting the third wideband switching means and the second narrowband switching means with the second node control means for carrying control communications therebetween; first means coupling the bus means of the first node with the control channel for facilitating passage of control messages between the node control means of the two nodes via the control channel and the bus means of the first node; and second means coupling the second bus means to the control channel for facilitating passage of control messages between the node control means of the two nodes via the control channel and the second bus means.

25. The network of claim 16 further comprising: external communication interface means, coupled to the narrowband switching means and via the bus means to the node control means, for establishing in cooperation with the node control means connections between narrowband second channels and communication channels of a communication system separate from the network, to provide narrowband communication paths between the network and the system.

26. The network of claim 25 wherein the external communication interface means comprise telephony interface means for connecting narrowband second channels with channels of a telephone system.

27. The network of claim 25 wherein the external communication interface means comprise data subscriber interface means for connecting narrowband second channels with channels of a data transport system.

28. The network of claim 16 further comprising: wideband vendor communication interface means, coupled to the second wideband switching means and via the bus means to the node control means, for establishing in cooperation with the node control means connections between wideband second channels and communication channels of a provider of wideband communication services, to provide wideband communication paths between the network and the vendor.

29. The network of claim 16 further comprising telemetry interface means, coupled to the control bus means, for facilitating passage of telemetry messages comprising telemetry data and control information between the bus means and a packet transport system; wherein the signaling-message-carrying narrowband first channels further carry the telemetry messages; and wherein the signaling message transfer means further transfer telemetry messages incoming from the interface arrangements on the coupled channels to the telemetry interface means over the bus means and transfer telemetry messages incoming from the telemetry interface means over the bus means to the interface arrangements on the coupled channels.

30. The network of claim 16 wherein each first and second fiber conducts a plurality of wavelengths each carrying at least one first and second channel, respectively, whereby first and second channels are wavelength-division multiplexed on the first and second fibers, respectively.

31. The network of claim 30 wherein each narrowband-carrying channel carries a plurality of narrowband second channels in time-division-multiplexed form.

32. The network of claim 30 wherein a set of narrowband first channels comprises a plurality of narrowband first channels time-division-multiplexed into a multiplexed first channel; and wherein each narrowband-carrying channel carries a plurality of multiplexed second channels in time-division-multiplexed form, with each multiplexed second channel comprising a plurality of narrowband second channels in time-division multiplexed form.

33. The network of claim 16 wherein each wideband switching means comprise a space-division digital switch.

34. The network of claim 16 wherein the narrowband switching means comprise a time-division digital switch.

35. The network of claim 16 wherein the narrowband multiplexing and demultiplexing means comprise a time-division digital switch.

36. A communication network for use in providing integrated digital wideband and narrowband voice, data, and video communication services between a plurality of interface arrangements each for communicatively coupling at least one subscriber communication device to the network, the network comprising: a central switching node for establishing switched wideband and narrowband communication connections between the interface arrangements; a plurality of remote nodes each communicatively coupling a plurality of the interface arrangements to the central node; a control communication bus interconnecting the plurality of remote nodes with the central node; a plurality of channelized first optical fibers communicatively connecting the interface arrangements with the remote nodes, each interface arrangement connected with one remote node by its own set of first fibers comprising at least one first fiber and providing a set of wideband first communication channels comprising at least one wideband first channel and at least one multiplexed first communication channel comprising a time-division multiplexed plurality of narrowband first communication channels, a narrowband first channel of each first fiber set for carrying signaling messages for establishing communication connections over all channels of the first fiber set, each first fiber carrying a plurality of wavelengths each defining at least one of the wideband and multiplexed first channels, whereby first channels are wavelength-division multiplexed on the first fibers; a plurality of channelized second optical fibers communicatively connecting the remote nodes with the central node, each remote node connected with the central node by its own set of second fibers comprising at least one second fiber and providing at least one wideband second communication channel and at least one multiplexed second communication channel each comprising a multiplexed plurality of narrowband second communication channels, each second fiber carrying a plurality of wavelengths each defining at least one second channel, whereby second channels are wavelength-division multiplexed on the second fibers; a plurality of network interfaces, one connected between each interface arrangement and its set of first fibers, each having transmitter means for wavelength-division multiplexing wideband and multiplexed first channels received from the interface arrangement into the connected fibers, and each further having receiver means for wavelength-division demultiplexing wideband and multiplexed first channels received on the connected fibers for use by the interface arrangement; each remote node comprising first wideband digital channel switching fabric, coupled to second fibers of the remote node's second fiber set and to first fibers of the first fiber sets connected to the remote node, for making and breaking connections between wideband first channels and wideband second channels to establish wideband communication paths between the central node and the interface arrangements connected to the remote node, first control means, coupled to the first wideband fabric and to the communication bus, responsive to control communications received on the bus from the central node for controlling the making and breaking of connections by the first wideband fabric, narrowband digital channel multiplexing and demultiplexing means, coupled to second fibers of the remote node's second fiber set and to first fibers of the first fiber sets connected to the remote node, for connecting the narrowband first channels of a plurality of multiplexed first channels with narrowband second channels of a multiplexed second channel to establish narrowband communication paths between the central node and the interface arrangements connected to the remote node, first fiber interface means, interposed between both the first wideband switching fabric and the narrowband multiplexing and demultiplexing means and the first fibers, for wavelength-division multiplexing the first channels received from the first wideband switching fabric and the narrowband multiplexing and demultiplexing means onto the first fibers and wavelength-division demultiplexing first channels received on the first fibers for use by the first wideband switching fabric and the narrowband multiplexing and demultiplexing means, and second fiber interface means, interposed between both the first wideband switching fabric and the narrowband multiplexing and demultiplexing means and the second fibers, for wavelength-division multiplexing second channels received from the first wideband switching fabric and the narrowband multiplexing and demultiplexing means onto the second fibers and wavelength-division demultiplexing second channels received on the second fibers for use by the first wideband switching fabric and the narrowband multiplexing and demultiplexing means; the central node comprising second wideband digital channel switching fabric, coupled to second fibers of the second fiber sets, for making and breaking connections between wideband second channels to establish wideband communication paths between interface arrangements, second control means, coupled to the second wideband fabric and to the communication bus, responsive to control communications received on the bus for controlling the making and breaking of connections by the second wideband fabric, narrowband digital channel switching fabric, coupled to second fibers of the second fiber sets, for making and breaking connections between narrowband second channels to establish narrowband communication paths between interface arrangements, third control means, coupled to the narrowband fabric and to the communication bus, responsive to control communications received on the bus for controlling the making and breaking of connections by the narrowband fabric; third fiber interface means, interposed between both the second wideband and the narrowband switching fabrics and the second fibers, for wavelength-division multiplexing second channels received from the second switching fabrics onto the first fibers and wavelengthdivision demultiplexing second channels received on the second fibers for use by the second switching fabrics, node control means, coupled to the communication bus, responsive to signaling messages received from the interface arrangements for sending control communications to the first, second, and third control means on the bus and sending signaling messages to the interface arrangements, to control establishment of wideband and narrowband communication paths between the interface arrangements on the first and second channels, and signaling message transfer means, connected to the communication bus and having the narrowband second channels that are connected to the signaling-message-carrying narrowband first channels coupled thereto by the narrowband digital channel switching fabric, for transferring signaling messages incoming from the interface arrangements on the coupled channels to the node control means over the bus and transferring signaling messages incoming from the node control means over the bus to the interface arrangements on the coupled channels.

37. In combination a plurality of switching units each associated with a corresponding plurality of user terminals and inter-unit connection means, each of said switching units comprising narrowband switching mens for providing narrowband, switched communication channels between its associated user terminals and said inter-unit connection means, and wideband switching means for providing wideband, switched communication channels between its associataed user terminals and said inter-unit connection means, and said inter-unit connection means comprising switching means for connecting the narrowband switching means of all of said switching units to each other for inter-unit, narrowband switched communications, and switching means for connecting the wideband switching means of all of said switching units to each other for inter-unit, wideband switched communications.

38. The combination of claim 38 wherein said narrowband and said wideband switching means each further provides switched communication channels among its associataed user terminals.

39. In combination a plurality of switching units each associated with a corresponding plurality of user terminals and inter-unit connection means, each of said switching units comprising wideband switching means for providing wideband, switched communication channels between its associated user terminals and said inter-unit connection means, and said inter-unit connection means comprising switching means for connecting the wideband switching means of all of said switching units to each other for inter-unit, wideband, switched communication.

40. The combination of claim 39 wherein said wideband switching means each further provides switched communication channels among its associated user terminals.