A method of transmitting signals between a source modem and a destination
modem. The method includes transmitting the signals from the source
modem, over a first switched network path, to a first interface,
encapsulating the at least some of the signals received by the first
interface into packets, transmitting the packets from the first interface
over a packet-based network to a second interface, removing the
encapsulation of the signals at the second interface; and transmitting
the data signals from the second interface over a second switched network
path to the destination modem.