Telecommunications signaling arrangement for terminals without signaling capability

Abstract From the Canadian patent

An arrangement for generating and receiving standard telecommunications network signals on behalf of a terminal not equipped to generate or receive such signals. A controller shared by a plurality of such terminals receives signals from these terminals over a permanent virtual circuit (PVC) and uses the information received over the PVC to perform signaling. In a specific embodiment the terminals are set top boxes, connected to a video cable, for controlling television sets. The controller controls signaling for establishing connections between the set top box and a video vendor system, and tunes the set top box to receive signals on the proper channel. Advantageously such an arrangement …