Telephone directory data that has been stored in a telephone exchange apparatus is retrieved by a specific extension terminal to select the dial number of a party. When an ordinary extension terminal other than the specific extension terminal calls the specific extension terminal, an outgoing call is generated in the specific extension terminal on an outside line in accordance with the retrieved dial number and the ordinary extension terminal is connected to the outside line based on the dial number. Further, when a cordless telephone accommodated in an extension of the telephone exchange is designated from the specific extension terminal and the specific extension terminal retrieves and selects a dial number, the cordless telephone calls the specific extension terminal so that a call based upon the dial number can be made from the cordless telephone.

A special feature telephone dialing and switching application system for interconnection to and interaction with the switching system of a central telephone office for converting subscriber-created telephone numbers, including a recognition sequence of one or more digits having alternative alphabetical letter significance, to standard assigned telephone numbers including a 3 digit switch sequence number and a 4 digit recognition sequence number. The recognition sequence of digits of the subscriber-created telephone numbers are followed by the # symbol digit of key dialing telephones and are preceded by a special switch sequence number assigned to the special feature application system within the number phone area code serviced by the central telephone office.

A communication apparatus and method designed to interface with a standard, twelve key, dual tone, multiple frequency telephone, which allows easy, non-verbal entry of a message. Although particularly designed for use by the hearing and/or speech impaired with a dual tone telephone, the apparatus is equally adapted for use with practically any communication network where a keyboard with a limited number of keys is utilized and ambiguity resolution necessary. Generally speaking, the apparatus is connected to the earpiece of a receiving telephone and includes a tone pickup and decoder, a pre-programmed microcomputer and a message display panel. The message sender depresses a single key which corresponds to the alphabetic letter in the word being sent - because most keys on a telephone represent three letters, such a word is ambiguous when sent. The apparatus receives the ambiguous word and resolves the ambiguity in favor of a preprogrammed word which is displayed to the person receiving the message. Although the apparatus can be programmed to recognize words, the apparatus is programmed with a vocabulary of syllabic elements which are used to reconstruct the word. This approach enables an expanded word recognition capability while minimizing memory requirements.

The invention relates to a method for implementing a service in a digital multiple-service network comprising an exchange, a first telecommunication terminal connected to the multiple-service network via a first interface and a second telecommunication terminal connected to the multiple-service network via a second interface. In the method, the service is implemented using a server connected to the multiple-service network via a third interface, and the service information is transmitted to the second telecommunication terminal using channels reserved for signalling and a signalling protocol between the terminals and the exchange and between exchanges that comprises a limited amount of information not belonging to the call.

Index letters representing different groups of dial memories are stored in an index letter memory. One of the dial memories is displayed on a display to be a starting memory, when a reference requesting signal is supplied from a key input unit to a whole memory or skip reference portion of a central processing unit, so that a whole memory or skip reference mode is carried out to refer to a dial memory indexed in each of the different groups by each of the index letters in a forward or reverse direction from the starting memory to following dial memories. In the whole memory reference mode, dial memories indexed by the index letters are referred for continuous groups of dial memories. In the skip reference mode, index letters of a number "n" are skipped in accordance with the pressing-on of a skip reference key provided in the key input unit by "n" times, so that a dial memory corresponding to an index letter following the skipped index letters is referred to be displayed on the display.