Patent ID: 7079500

Claim:
A method of communication comprising: generating a repetitive time frame at a base station; generating a plurality of time slots in the repetitive time frame; assigning one of the plurality of time slots on demand to a wireless communication unit for communication with the base station; establishing a call between the wireless communication unit and the base station; transmitting and receiving call information between a non-wireless unit and the base station using the wireless communication unit as an intermediary; during the call, receiving dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) tones at the wireless communication unit from the non-wireless unit; for each of the DTMF tones, formatting a plurality of direct transfer application part (DTAP) messages indicating the start and the end of the DTMF tone; for each of the DTMF tones, transmitting the plurality of DTAP messages from the wireless communication unit to the base station; conveying the DTAP messages from the base station to a remote location; and translating the DTAP messages back into DTMF tone signals at the remote location.