The upcoming fourth generation of broadband access systems (4GBB) needs to address data rates of up to 1 Gbit/s over twisted-copper pairs. Physical layer techniques like dynamic spectrum management (DSM) aid in increasing the data rate by optimizing the space and frequency domain. However, there is room for improvement in the time dimension that both physical and upper layers can use to their advantage. This paper proposes a bidirectional cross-layer approach to optimize DSM using techniques like scheduling and statistical multiplexing, to mitigate crosstalk, the dominant cause of signal degradation. This in turn should lead to better data rates, more stable networks, and “greener” devices.