REMOTE ACCESS TELEPHONE CONTROL SYSTEM

摘要

A telephone control system (1) which enhances the accessibility of system subscribers by providing a variety of call-handling modes, and various ways of programming by which those subscribers can tailor the system. In operation, subscribers are each assigned a telephone number (ACCESS NUMBER) which can be dialed from any location via the Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTN) (2). The control system determines which subscriber a call is intended for, and by referring to a data base determines the method of call handling which has been preselected by that subscriber (e. g. switching a call to another telephone number ). The switching function (4) may be located in the control system itself, or located in the PSTN but under the control of the control system. Hence the ACCESS NUMBER may be used as the sole telephone number for a subscriber. Callers need not know the subscribers specific whereabouts nor the subscriber's various location-specific telephone numbers such as home, office, car phone, and so forth.