Patent ID: 7864756

Claim:
A system comprising: an input/output interface communicatively linked and in communication with a plurality of devices; a smart router configured to: receive an analog signal; send a ring signal to each of the plurality of devices; detect that one of the plurality of devices has been placed in an off-hook condition; determine whether the off-hook device is a digital device or an analog device; if the off-hook device is a digital device, route the analog signal to an analog-to-digital converter; and if the off-hook device is an analog device, send the analog signal to the off-hook device; the analog-to-digital converter configured to: receive the analog signal from the smart router; convert the analog signal to a digital signal; and send the digital signal to a packet builder; the packet builder configured to: receive the digital signal from the analog-to-digital converter; format the digital signal into a packet-based 802.X signal; and send the digital signal to the smart router for routing the packet-based 802.x signal to the off-hook device.