Private circuit provision in a telecommunications network

Abstract

A telecommunications network includes local switches 14, 15, 16, main switches 10 to 13 and local access lines 20, 21. A switching which takes the form of a computer with switching capability is connected to the local switch 16 on a 30 channel ISDN link. In order to provide a private circuit between a local access line 20 and a local access line 21, each of these local access lines is connected at the customer's end to an automatic answering device, for example, answering device 27 or 29, which is connected to a telephone instrument, for example, telephone instrument 28 or telephone instrument 30. The following operations are then performed by a user who may be a customer or a network operator. The user calls the switching unit 25 from a telephone instrument connected to any one of the local access lines. The user then enters a user identifier and, using the keypad on the telephone instrument, instructs the switching unit to form a private circuit between the two local access lines. The switching unit 25 then calls each of the two local access lines. At the customer end of each of the local access lines, the call is automatically answered using the automatic answering device. The switching unit 25 then forms a private circuit by connecting the two local access lines together within itself.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.