US Patent 7609729 System and method of multiplexing TDM and packet data

Telecommunication equipment includes a TDM interface operable to receive STS-n data, and a packet interface operable to receive packet/cell data and filling a STS-MC payload with the packet/cell data. An n×n cross-connect is coupled to the TDM interface and operable to switch and assign the STS-n data to any one of n STS-1 time slots. A multiplexer is coupled to the cross-connect and the packet interface and operable to combine the switched STS-n data and the STS-MC packet/cell data into an STS-N payload for transport, where N is the sum of n and M.