In a communications system having a modem pool including native modems
operating at steady state, a method is provided for modem wake-up at
steady-state including measuring modem performance, activating a foreign
modem at substantially the foreign modem's maximum data rate and at a
power level that is below the foreign modem's normal operational power
level, allocating a NEXT cancellation filter as a probe filter,
iteratively, until the foreign modem is operating at its normal
operational power level, or the modem performance of any of the native
modems has degraded subsequent to activating the foreign modem,
canceling, using the probe filter, NEXT caused to a native modem by the
foreign modem, measuring modem performance, and, if the modem performance
of any of the native modems has not degraded, increasing the foreign
modem's power level, and, if the modem performance of any of the native
modems has degraded, deactivating the foreign modem.