METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MANAGING SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES WITH A CABLE MODEM

A method and system for managing network services such as subscription services from a cable modem in a data-over-cable system. The cable modem receives an initialization message on a cable television connection indicating what services are available on a data network. The cable modem uses a connection to a public switched telephone network in the data-over-cable system to send requests to and receive responses from the data network. A telephony remote access concentrator on the public switched telephone network provides an additional security mechanism by not allowing a cable modem to subscribe to unauthorized services. Using the public switched telephone network does not compromise the security of the cable television network. In addition, the public switched telephone network is used to provide administrative support to the cable television network on lower bandwidth connections by providing an administrative pathway outside of the higher bandwidth cable television connections.