A data terminal control unit connected between a plurality of data terminal equipments and an outside line, wherein said data terminal equipments are divided into a plurality of groups, and each group has a port connecting the equipments belonging to the group to said data terminal control unit, said control unit comprising:
- a table for establishing a correspondence between a dial-in number, an extension number and a subaddress which are allotted to each of said plurality of data terminal equipments and the number of a port in said data terminal control unit connected with a corresponding group of said data terminal equipments;
- identification means for identifying in accordance with a received setup message whether an incoming call has originated from a data terminal equipment or said outside line and whether said call is terminating at a data terminal equipment or said outside line;
- extension number or dial-in number detection means for detecting the extension number or the dial-in number of a data terminal equipment to be connected in accordance with an identification result obtained by said identification means;
- table reference means for referring to said table to identify on the basis of said detected extension number or dial-in number a subaddress of the data terminal equipment whose extension number was detected by said detection means and the number of the port to which the data terminal equipment is connected;
- transmission means for transmitting to said port identified by said reference means, a setup message including the subaddress identified to call the data terminal equipment;
- wherein
- identification of the data terminal equipment is made by said reference means in accordance with information of a dial-in number included in an ISDN number in the received setup message when said call originated from the outside line or the identification is made in accordance with information of an extension number included in the ISDN number in the received setup message when said call originated from the data terminal equipment.