Patent ID: 6847636

Claim:
An apparatus for transmitting and receiving a signal between different networks, each of the networks having at least a terminal, a different coding method and a different transmission rate, the apparatus comprising: a system control means, responsive to a call setup request signal from a first terminal of a first network, for inquiring of a second network as to a coding method for encoding data signals from the first terminal so that resulting encoded data signals yield a desired result at a second terminal in the second network; a data encoding means for receiving an identity of the coding method from the second network, selecting the identified coding method, and encoding data signals from the first terminal in accordance with the coding method, thereby generating the encoded data signals; a matching means for changing a transmission rate and a data format of the encoded data signals in accordance with a transmission rate and a data format used in the second network, thereby generating rearranged data signals; and a transmitting means for transmitting the rearranged data signals from the matching means to the second terminal.