Programmable signalling buttons.

摘要

A range of supplementary services are currently provided by telecommunication network operators which it is only possible to obtain by sending a sequence of digits to the exchange. A telecommunications network has control means for providing one or more supplementary services to Customer's Premises Equipment (CPE) units connected to the network, one or more CPE units including programmable buttons (9), the operation of a button causing the transmission of a defined code to an exchange forming part of the network to access a supplementary service, there being programming means to programme the programmable buttons. The programming means may be means to transmit programming signals from the exchange to a CPE unit using Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) (2) signalling. Alternatively, the programming means may be a smartcard and a card reader connectable to the CPE unit, the smartcard being encoded with the programming information to programme the CPE unit. <IMAGE>