Patent ID: 6868081

Claim:
A system for providing multiline service, the system comprising: a modem for exchanging communications signals with a communications network and for exchanging an incoming digital signal and an outgoing digital signal with a statistical multiplexor; the statistical multiplexor for exchanging the incoming digital signal and the outgoing digital signal with the modem, for multiplexing a plurality of outgoing encoded telephonic call signals from a plurality of telephonic devices into the outgoing digital signal, and for demultiplexing the incoming digital signal into a plurality of incoming encoded telephonic call signals; at least one call processing element coupled to the statistical multiplexor for converting the plurality of incoming encoded telephonic call signals into a plurality of incoming phone signals, and for converting a plurality of outgoing phone signals into the plurality of outgoing encoded telephonic call signals; one or more bypassing elements positioned between the plurality of telephonic devices and the statistical multiplexor and operative to connect the plurality of telephonic devices either to the at least one call processing element or to the communications network; control circuitry; and customer premises equipment interface circuitry for providing at least one of a group comprising: D.C. power, indications of on-hook and off-hook conditions, ring current, ring-back tones or busy tones; wherein the control circuitry communicates with the at least one call processing element and controls the customer premises equipment interface circuitry.