Abstract: A telecommunications system has subscriber and/or private automatic branch exchange accesses, an access signalling system, and a connectionless network signalling system. The telecommunications system employs a connectionless signalling interworking unit for controlling the access signalling system remotely from the accesses. The unit is operative for interworking the network signalling system and the access signalling system. The unit includes a transaction control and transaction monitoring function for passing information bi-directionally between network points without establishing a bearer connection between the network points.