A Resilient Packet Ring (RPR) add/drop device to connect multiple rings, e.g. SDH/SONET rings, wavelength or fibers, to a single switch or router device is disclosed. The add/drop device according to the invention comprises two multiplexing framer devices and an Add/Drop Multiplexor-Media Access Control (ADM-MAC) device. Each of the multiplexing framer devices combine at least two RPR data signals having an input data rate into a single data stream having an output data rate being higher than the input data rate for transmission on a shared medium or vice versa. The ADM-MAC device interfaces the two multiplexing framer devices and the switch or router device.