Abstract: A switching system includes a backplane having slots, each including a first set of connectors designed according to a common specification. The slots include at least one extended slot and at least two normal slots, each normal slot including the first set of connectors, each extended slot including the first set of connectors and an additional second set of connectors. The backplane has signal lines to support a data channel between first set of connectors of the normal slot and the extended slot. The backplane also has signal lines to support a data channel between first set of connectors of the normal slot and the second set of connectors of the extended slot.

Abstract: A system is described for providing a single telephone number for geographically dispersed telephony service subscribers. The system includes an automatic call distributor (ACD) coupled to receive incoming calls from a public switched telephone network (PSTN) and a plurality of gateways coupled between the ACD and the Internet. Each one of the gateways is assigned to service a defined group of subscribers. The ACD selectively interconnects an incoming telephone call from the PSTN to an appropriate one of the gateways based on at least a portion of a setup message field identifying a telephone number forwarding the incoming telephone call.