A system for oversubscribing a pool of modems comprises at least one digital signal processor and a switch. The digital signal processor is configured as a variable number of high speed data modems and a variable number of low bandwidth synchronization modems. A communication bus is connected to the digital signal processor for configuring the processor, connecting the system to external devices, and communicating status information with external devices. The high speed data modems and low bandwidth synchronization modems are connected, via the switch, to customer premise equipment devices. Active data and synchronization data is transferred between the high speed data modems, the low bandwidth synchronization modems, and respective customer premise equipment devices. The synchronization modems consume significantly less power than the high speed data modems. If there are more modems than there are customer premise equipment devices, some modems are turned off completely thereby further reducing power consumption.