Method in a polling system for transmitting queue elements from multiple input queues to a single output with improved queue service performance Method for the polling of queues. A ratio table is derived from, for example, the numbers of elements in the queues at any one moment. The sum S is calculated of the ratio values R(x) to the various queues. Next, a correction factor C(x) is assigned to each queue, which correction factor is equal to S, decreased by the ratio value of that queue. Further an urgency factor U(x) is assigned to each queue. The queue to be polled next is, in each case, the queue with the highest value of U(x) or, for example where values of U(x) are equal, the first occurring queue with that value. Thereafter the urgency factor U(x) of the selected queue is reduced by the value of its correction factor C(x), whilst the urgency factor U(x) of the remaining queues is increased by their ratio value. The queue to be polled next is then again the queue with the highest value of U(x), and so forth. The method is pre-eminently applicable for ATM, eg. for the polling of subscriber terminals in a passive optical network. System and method for controlling access to a shared channel for cell transmission in shared media networks A system and method for controlling access to a shared channel for cell transmission in a shared medium network, wherein the shared medium distribution portion of said network extends from a node to a plurality of terminals within a community, having a tree-and-branch bus topology, has a downstream broadcast channel from said node to all terminals on said distribution network; a shared upstream channel from all of said terminals to said node; and a network controller at said node for central control of access of media transmissions from said terminals over said upstream channel. Media access control protocols reside in said controller and in said terminals. An asynchronous transmission mode (ATM) network element with said controller has ATM shared channel protocols to provide dynamic bandwidth allocation of said upstream channel. The system grants access to said shared upstream channel to any of said terminals utilizing a plurality of multiplexing modes of operation. A media access control cell with protocol control information is periodically inserted within broadcasts by said ATM network element on said downstream channel of said distribution portion of said network to said terminals, utilizing an ATM slotted transmission format, and dividing the channels into frames and time slots within frames. Access to said upstream shared channel is multiplexed, using a plurality of modes of operation. A reservation mode of operation provides a deterministic time reservation for time multiplexing access by a terminal for a specific number of time slots in a specific frame. A contention mode of operation provides random access to said upstream channel by any terminal during an identifiable frame. Said controller dynamically allocates such frames to each of said modes of operation. Cable television network with upstream channel specialized for sending upstream information signals The network comprises a tree specialized in sending information signals upstream, comprising optical-fibre branches. In a junction (L5), an opto-electric conversion is performed in a receiver (RPR5, RPR6) and an electro-optical conversion in a transmitter (RPE2). In the electrical part of a junction, the transmitter of the junction (RPE2) polls the receivers of the junction (RPR5, RPR6) to receive therefrom the messages coming from downstream (5 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 6 . . . ), after which a message of local origin (S) is added to those coming from downstream. Although, as a result of the polling, there is no synchronism between the retransmission and the reception of the given message, a specific process makes it possible to ensure that the messages reach an upstream receiver (RPR2) in a predetermined order (S X 5 X 6 X S X 5 X 6 . . . ), which makes it possible to recognize when all the messages have been received well. Method for providing integrated packet services over a shared-media network A method in accordance with the invention allocates bandwidth, fairly and dynamically, in a shared-media packet switched network to accommodate both elastic and inelastic applications. The method, executed by or in a head-end controller, allocates bandwidth transmission slots, converting requests for bandwidth into virtual scheduling times for granting access to the shared media. The method can use a weighted fair queuing algorithm or a virtual clock algorithm to generate a sequence of upstream slot/transmission assignment grants. The method supports multiple quality of service (QoS) classes via mechanisms which give highest priority to the service class with the most stringent QoS requirements. Protocol for data communication over a point-to-multipoint passive optical network A data transmission protocol for use in an ATM-based point-to-multipoint passive optical network having a headend facility and a plurality of downstream network units, wherein downstream data is transmitted in serial data frames comprising one hundred eighty, fifty-four byte downstream slots, including two framing slots and one hundred seventy-eight ATM cell slots, which are transmitted every 125 .mu.sec for an overall downstream bit rate of 622.08 Mbps. Upstream data transmission is provided on a "permit" basis controlled by the headend based on monitoring ATM cell queue sizes at respective network units, wherein each downstream frame slot includes a one byte MAC overhead header field for transmitting upstream transmission permits allocated over twenty bit permit fields, for a total of seventy-two upstream permits allocated per downstream frame. Upstream data is transmitted from an individual network units in five hundred forty bit upstream data slots, each upstream slot having a preamble portion and a payload portion,--i.e., with seventy-two upstream slots are transmitted every 125 .mu.sec, thereby forming upstream frames received at the headend at a data rate of 311.04 Mbps. Upstream bandwidth permits are based on a selected set of service priorities, wherein the respective permits specify which ATM service type is to be transmitted. Dynamic rate control technique for video multiplexer A video multiplexer is disclosed which incorporates a dynamic rate control feature. MPEG encoded video signals for each channel are stored in a first-in first-out (FIFO) buffer. A packetizer for each channel detects the level in the FIFO buffer and issues a request signal to the video multiplexer that the channel desires to transmit the video signals on the network. The bandwidth allocation for a channel is either preselected by the video provider or automatically selected, and tokens are issued by a counter associated with each channel to give greater network access to those channels which require a higher bandwidth. A token multiplier detects the bandwidth needs of the various channels by detecting the rate that the FIFO buffer is being filled and automatically multiplies the number of consecutive packets which the packetizer may transmit over the multiplexer during a single grant.