Embodiments relate to an apparatus comprising means configured for: obtaining echo response data representative of the echo response of a communication line, wherein the echo response data specifies the echo response based on two dimensions and includes first dimension data and second dimension data, determining at least one property of the communication line based on processing the echo response data with a neural network, wherein the neural network comprises at least: a first convolutional branch for processing the first dimension data, a second convolutional branch for processing the second dimension data, a dense part for processing the outputs of the first and second convolutional branches.

Embodiments relate to an apparatus comprising means configured for: obtaining echo response data representative of the echo response of a communication line, wherein the echo response data specifies the echo response based on two dimensions and includes first dimension data and second dimension data, determining at least one property of the communication line based on processing the echo response data with a neural network, wherein the neural network comprises at least: a first convolutional branch for processing the first dimension data, a second convolutional branch for processing the second dimension data, a dense part for processing the outputs of the first and second convolutional branches.

Facilitating echo cancellation within communication networks is contemplated, such as but not necessarily limited to facilitating echo cancellation within full-duplex (FDX) communication networks. The echo cancellation may optionally be performed with an echo canceller included as part of or otherwise associated with an FDX node used to facilitate interfacing signaling between a digital domain and an analog domain of a FDX or other communication network.

A testing of a transmission path of a cable connection between a first position and a second position is provided. Test signals are transmitted via the transmission path, and a transfer function is determined by evaluating the test signals. In order to assess the properties of the transmission path, the transfer function is transformed to an impulse response and the echo power of the transmission path is evaluated by analyzing the impulse response.

A testing of a transmission path of a cable connection between a first position and a second position is provided. Test signals are transmitted via the transmission path, and a transfer function is determined by evaluating the test signals. In order to assess the properties of the transmission path, the transfer function is transformed to an impulse response and the echo power of the transmission path is evaluated by analyzing the impulse response.

Embodiments described herein provide echo cancellation power saving management at a cable transceiver. An echo response signal having a first number of signal components is obtained, via an echo cancellation filter. At a first iteration for calculating a first accumulative echo power, a respective echo tap that corresponds to the first iteration is identified. The first accumulative echo power is calculated for the respective iteration by summing powers of outputs from a last echo tap to the respective echo tap. It is then determined whether the first accumulative echo power, exceeds a pre-determined echo power threshold. If the first accumulative echo power exceeds the pre-determined echo power threshold, a first turn-off indication is sent to the echo cancellation filter to turn off all echo taps including and between the last echo tap to the first echo tap.

Embodiments described herein provide echo cancellation power saving management at a cable transceiver. An echo response signal having a first number of signal components is obtained, via an echo cancellation filter. At a first iteration for calculating a first accumulative echo power, a respective echo tap that corresponds to the first iteration is identified. The first accumulative echo power is calculated for the respective iteration by summing powers of outputs from a last echo tap to the respective echo tap. It is then determined whether the first accumulative echo power, exceeds a pre-determined echo power threshold. If the first accumulative echo power exceeds the pre-determined echo power threshold, a first turn-off indication is sent to the echo cancellation filter to turn off all echo taps including and between the last echo tap to the first echo tap.

A transmission-path degradation detection apparatus includes a transmission path of a transmission system and plural communication devices connected to the transmission path. A signal generation part is provided in one communication device of the plural communication devices for generating a pseudo-communication signal. A degradation detection part is provided in one communication device of the plural communication devices for detecting a degradation of the transmission path based on a reception of the pseudo-communication signal passing through the transmission path.

A transmission-path degradation detection apparatus includes a transmission path of a transmission system and plural communication devices connected to the transmission path. A signal generation part is provided in one communication device of the plural communication devices for generating a pseudo-communication signal. A degradation detection part is provided in one communication device of the plural communication devices for detecting a degradation of the transmission path based on a reception of the pseudo-communication signal passing through the transmission path.

An Ethernet transceiver includes physical-layer (PHY) circuitry and a signal-loss detector. The PHY circuitry is configured to receive a signal from a peer transceiver, to process the received signal in a series of digital PHY-level processing operations, and to output the processed signal for Medium Access Control (MAC) processing. The signal-loss detector is configured to receive, from the PHY circuitry, a digital version of the received signal, and to detect a signal-loss event based on an amplitude of the digital version of the received signal.