Importance

Loading Importance Indicators...

Abstract

Customer premises equipment (11B) connected to a telephone line (13B), is arranged to be woken up remotely and then to initiate communication with a network-based service system. (20). In order to avoid the cost involved in having a dedicated phone line for the equipment, the equipment (11B) needs to be able to be woken up in a selective manner that does not have significant impact on the operation of other apparatus that may be connected to the same phone line (13B). Several different techniques are provided for waking up the equipment (11B) and initiating communication with the service system (20). In one embodiment, equipment wakeup is effected by a call with particular characteristics, the equipment (11B) once woken up calling a network access point (18) to establish communication with the service system (20). In another embodiment, a wakeup call is placed via a network access point (18) and the equipment picks up the call and uses it to establish network access. In other embodiments, the equipment is woken up by means of a wakeup indicator transmitted independently of a normal call on the line connected to the equipment, such as by signalling passed over the phone line or by radio paging.

Loading the Abstract Image...

First Claim