Patent ID: 6891805

Claim:
A multi-point communications system, comprising a plurality of communication units coupled together in a series point-to-point configuration, each of said communications units comprising: a first framer operating under an E1/T1 protocol having a communications port for bi-directional point-to-point communication with a first remote communications unit and a local communications port; a second framer operating under an E1/T1 protocol having a communications port for bi-directional point-to-point data communications with a second remote communications unit and a local communications port; and control means coupled to the first and second framers for controlling the passage of communications data generated by the communications unit to said first and second framers for transmission to the coupled remote communications units and for controlling the passage of communications data received by one of said first and second framers from a remote communication unit to the other of said first and second framers for further transmission to another remote communications unit.