A full services access multiplexer is described. A master digital
subscriber line (master DSL) modem is coupled to a conductor pair. A POTS
extender also is coupled to the conductor pair and may sense the
operation of a fallback or other signal on the conductor pair. A
suppression signal may be transmitted to a master DSL modem upon
occurrence of the fallback. The suppression signal may travel over a
control circuit. Traffic over a backplane or other network segment may be
uninterrupted to a Integrated Access Device (IAD) by handling signals
inbound and outbound to the backplane via a packet assembler and
disassembler (PAD). The PAD may transmit a data stream to a vocoder and
receive a data stream from the vocoder for injection onto the backplane.
The vocoder connects duplexed traffic to the subscriber line interface
circuit (SLIC) wherein traffic between the vocoder and the SLIC are in
analog formats in or near the audible range of frequencies.