Abstract: An improvement in providing simultaneous voice and data communication is achieved by provisioning within the public switched telephone network one or more simultaneous voice/data (SVD) modems that a) can communicate with SVD modems of the network users over a single "plain old telephone service" (POTS) connection, and b) can separate, and deliver to different destinations the voice and data channels received from an SVD modem. The SVD modems in the network can also combine voice and data traffic from separate sources for transmission together over a single POTS connection to a user's SVD modem. In one embodiment of the invention, an SVD modem pool is provided by an inter-exchange carrier. The voice and data channels of an SVD call are separated at the network side of the SVD modem pool, so that they may be routed to different destinations.

Abstract: The disruption on the data channel caused by use of the conventional call waiting feature with simultaneous voice/data (SVD) modems, when the data channel is active, is overcome by employing SVD modems in the public switched telephone network and supplying the call waiting signal over only one of the channels made available by such an SVD modem. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the call waiting signal from the public switched telephone network is supplied by coupling it into the network side of the SVD modems that are provisioned in the public switched telephone network for providing simultaneous voice and data service. Advantageously, a data call that is in progress will not be disturbed by the coupling of an audible signal into the voice channel.

Abstract: In an environment in which simultaneous voice/data (SVD) modems are provisioned in the public switched network for separating and separately routing voice and data calls from users having SVD modems, at least one user who is already employing a first connection through an SVD modem provisioned in the public switched network, for interacting with a remote destination over one of the two channels provided by an SVD modem, may have a second connection, over the second of the two channels provided by an SVD modem, automatically established for him. The second connection may be established in response to a request by one of the users. In a particular embodiment of the invention, the data channels supplied from each SVD modem of each of said users are routed to a common data application, e.g., a game, and a direct connection is established between the voice channels of the SVD modems in response to a command from the data application in response to the request of one of the users.