Switched local area networks use a switch for supplying data frames between network stations, where each network node (e.g., the network switch or a network station) includes a media access controller (MAC) that connects to network media via a physical (PHY) transceiver. In the case of a network switch having multiple network switch ports, each network switch port typically has its own dedicated MAC layer that sends and receives data packets to the corresponding dedicated PHY transceiver according to Ethernet (IEEE 802.3) protocol. In addition, each MAC/PHY connection will have multiple connections for receive data, transmit data, receive clock, transmit clock, carrier sense, transmit and receive clocks, etc. Hence, a network switch having six ports will require six individual PHY devices serving the respective network switch ports operating at the MAC layer, resulting in a linear increase in the total pin count as the number of switch ports increases. For example, a 10 Mb/s quad physical layer device connected to a quad 10 Mb/s MAC device will require a total of 28 pins, whereas octal devices will require 56 pins. This problem increases substantially for 100 Mb/s connections, where a quad 100 Mb MAC/PHY interconnect will require a total of 72 pins, and octal devices will require 144 pins. Hence, the increase in the pin count results in an increase in the package size, as well as an increase in silicon and system costs.