US Patent 8428063 Access network architecture having dissimilar access sub-networks

A subscriber network architecture includes a packet processing node that communicates with a network backbone and with a plurality of access nodes. The access nodes communicate with a plurality of user devices. The packet processing node controls Quality of Service (QoS) levels for the subscriber devices, routes user data to devices via the access nodes and receives data from devices via the access nodes for forwarding across the network backbone.