Patent ID: 7684496

Claim:
A method for transmitting discrete information over a communication path comprising at least an analogue communication line and a pulse-code modulation (PCM) channel in a direction of signal propagation, the method including the steps of: converting samples of a discrete signal to be transmitted into a form suitable for transmitting over the analogue communication line; utilizing a modulator to transmit the converted signal samples over the analogue communication line to the PCM channel; utilizing a forward converter to convert the signal received from the analogue communication line into a PCM channel signal; and transmitting the PCM channel signal over said PCM channel; wherein in the step of transmitting the converted signal samples over the analogue communication line, a spectrum of the signal being transmitted over the analogue communication line is selected such that an information transfer rate over said analogue communication line is equal to an information transfer rate over the PCM channel, and the number of quantization levels for samples being transmitted over the analogue communication line is the least possible for this analogue communication line; and wherein in the step of converting the signal received from the analogue communication line into a PCM channel signal, the sampling rate of this signal is decreased proportionally to a ratio of the number of quantization levels for samples being transmitted over the PCM channel to the number of quantization levels for samples being transmitted over the analogue communication line.