Abstract: A system and method for determining the connection and/or device status of a user terminal is intended primarily to permit more efficient working of operator stations, whereby said operator stations can obtain information on the connection and/or device status of a user terminal to which a call is possibly to be routed by means of a connection channel without establishing a speech channel. An interrogation notice is sent for this purpose with a connection identifier for the user terminal whose connection and/or device status is to be determined from a requesting connection to an exchange for the user terminal. The connection and/or device status of the user terminal is then determined by the exchange.