WO2006047827A1

WO2006047827A1 - Wireless linkage device for digital television receivers

Info

Publication number: WO2006047827A1
Application number: PCT/AU2005/001689
Authority: WO
Inventors: Scott Anthony Elms
Original assignee: Interax Interactive Television Solutions Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2004-11-02
Filing date: 2005-11-02
Publication date: 2006-05-11

Abstract

Provided is a wireless linkage device (10) for use in a return path to interactive digital television receivers. The device comprises a base unit (12) having at least one internal modem (26) and/or at least one interface (30)each for connection to an external modem (32) or to communications node (37) of a local or wide area network, a base radio frequency (RF) transceiver (34) and a base linkage management arrangement (62) for managing signals between the internal modem/interface and the base transceiver. The device also has one or more remote unit (16) each having a serial communications interface (18) connected of a set top box (20), a remote radio frequency (RF) transceiver (46) communicating with the base transceiver over a wireless link (24) and a remote linkage management arrangement (60) for managing signals between the STB and the transceiver in the remote unit. The remote linkage arrangement is arranged to cause the remote transceiver to establish a communications path over the wireless link with the base transceiver when a communications command signal is detected at said serial communications interface and to transfer configuration signals to the base unit for configuring said internal modem and/or external modem and/or driver for the node to operate under communications parameters corresponding to communications parameters set for the set top box.

Description

WIRELESS LINKAGE DEVICE FOR DIGITAL TELEVISION RECEIVERS

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

THIS INVENTION relates to a wireless linkage device for digital television receivers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Digital television networks typically broadcast television programs, advertisements and other information for reception by digital television receivers. The receivers have a return facility for viewers to interactively respond to any invitations that may be offered in the broadcast materials.

Many corporations are taking advantage of the interactive nature of the digital television systems to promote their businesses and offer for purchase their products and services on television. Viewers are encouraged to interactively provide responses such as making inquiries and placing orders over the communications systems.

To use the return facility, the receivers must have a link to a modulator- demodulator (modem) that is connected to a public switched telephone network (PSTN) so that viewer responses can be received by a remote data collection centre connected to the telephone network. In most homes, television receivers are located in living rooms, and telephone connection sockets for connection to the PSTN are located away from the living rooms. If interactive response signals are to be sent over the PSTN, telephone extension lines need to be installed to allow telephone sockets to be positioned close to the television receivers. Each extension line is for a specific receiver. A home with two receivers therefore require two extension lines.

A qualified technician is required to install an extension line or a new telephone line, and to configure a modem to be linked to a receiver. To avoid the costs of engaging a technician, some viewers simply run a cord from a modem across the floor to the television receiver. This is unsightly and is dangerous as viewers may trip over the cord. OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to alleviate or to reduce to a certain level one or more of the above disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one aspect therefore, the present invention resides in a wireless linkage device for digital television receivers. The device comprises a base unit having at least one internal modem and/or at least one interface each for connection to an external modem or to communications node of a local or wide area network, a base radio frequency (RF) transceiver and a base linkage management arrangement for managing signals between said internal modem and/or external modem and said base transceiver; and at least one remote unit each having a serial communications interface arranged for connection to a compatible communications port of a digital television receiver, a remote radio frequency (RF) transceiver arranged to communicate with said base transceiver over a wireless link and a remote linkage management arrangement for managing signals between said television receiver and said remote transceiver. The remote linkage arrangement is arranged to cause the remote transceiver to establish a communications path overthe wireless link with the base transceiver when a communications command signal is detected at said serial communications interface and to transfer configuration signals to said base unit for configuring said internal modem and/or external modem to operate under communications parameters corresponding to communications parameters set for the television receiver. The internal and/or external modem are configured to communicate with one or more communications terminals on a communications network.

The communications network may be a wired or wireless telephone network, or a local or wide area network. The wireless telephone network may include a network operating under General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) standards or Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) standards or Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA) standards or RS485 standards, or a hybrid of two or more of any of the above standards. The base linkage management arrangement may be arranged to convert the received configuration signals into compatible configuration signals for configuring said at least one internal modem and/or at least one external modem to operate under communications parameters that are compatible to communications parameters set for the television receiver.

In preference, each of the base linkage management arrangement and the remote linkage management include a processor associated with storage means containing linkage handling processes for controlling the associated processor. The base linkage arrangement may have a communications handler configured to handle signal communications with said at least one internal modem and/or at least one external modem, and a radio link handle configured to handle signal communications with said base transceiver. The remote linkage arrangement may have a communications handler configured to handle signal communications with said television receiver and a radio link handle configured to handle signal communications with said remote transceiver.

Preferably, the base unit includes a plurality of internal modems and/or a plurality of external modems. Each one of said modems are configured to operate under a specific communications network standard so that a user may selectively connect one of the modems for connection to a communications network that is compatible the specific standard of the connected modem . The base handling linkage arrangement includes a detection process for detecting the connected modem, and a converter for converting the configuration signals to corresponding signals for configuring the connected modem to operate under communications parameters corresponding to communications parameters set for the television receiver.

The or each said at least one remote unit may be arranged to receive power from a power source. The power source may be a DC source, or derived from said communications port or from an adaptor connected to an AC source. The communications port may be a serial port (such as RS 232 port), or a USB port, or a SKART port, or a RJ45 port, or an Ethernet port. The external modem may be incorporated in a computer or accessed via a local or wide area network. Preferably, said external modem is an ADSL or cable modem.

The television receiver may be built into a television set or configured as a set top box (STB) for connection to a television set.

The or each said at least one remote unit may have an identification code and the base linkage management arrangement is configured to transmit said identification code with each session of communication with the or each said at least one remote unit. The remote linkage management arrangement may be configured to compare the identification code with that in received signals so that only received signals with a matching code are communicated to the receiver.

The base linkage management arrangement may include a registration process for registering the identification code of the or each said at least one remote unit. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the present invention can be more readily understood and be put into practical effect reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate embodiments of the present invention and wherein:-

Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram showing one embodiment of the wireless linkage device according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram of a remote unit of the device shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a schematic block diagram of a base unit of the device shown in Figure 1 ; Figure 4 is a general link management scheme for the device shown in

Figure2 1 to 3;

Figure 5 is a diagram showing details of the link management shown in Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a block diagram showing components of the remote unit shown in Figure 2;

Figure 7 is a block diagram showing components of the base unit shown in Figure 3; Figure 8 is a schematic block diagram showing a second embodiment of the wireless linkage device for a PSTN gateway according to the present invention;

Figure 9 is a schematic block diagram showing a third embodiment of the wireless linkage device for a GRPS gateway according to the present invention; Figure 10 is a schematic block diagram of a remote unit of the device shown in Figure 9;

Figure 11 is a schematic block diagram showing a fourth embodiment of the wireless linkage device for an Ethernet gateway according to the present invention;

Figure 12 is a schematic block diagram of a remote unit of the device shown in Figure 11 ;

Figure 13 is a schematic block diagram showing a fifth embodiment of the wireless linkage device for use in a multi dwelling building according to the present invention;

Figure 14 is a schematic block diagram of a base access unit of the device shown in Figure 13;

Figure 15 is a schematic block diagram of a bridge unit of the device shown in Figure 13; Figure 16 is a flow diagram showing details of the link management of the device shown in Figure 13;

Figure 17 is a schematic block diagram showing a sixth embodiment of the wireless linkage device having multiple gateway connections according to the present invention; and Figure 18 is a flow diagram showing details of the link management of the device shown in Figure 17.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the Figures and initially to Figure 1 there is shown a wireless linkage device 10 having a base unit 12 for connection to a switched public telephone network (PSTN) 14 and a mobile unit 16 having a serial interface 18 for connection to a serial port (not shown) of a set top box (STB) 20. The STB

20 is tuned to receive programs on available television channels and delivers the programs to a digital television set. The STB 20 is also used to send viewer responses and requests over the PSTN to a TV data collection centre (not shown) which collects the responses and requests and deliver them to appropriate organisations. The remote unit 16 in this embodiment has a power selector 22 for selecting mains power or power from the serial or RS 232 port of the STB. The unit 16 communicates with the base unit 12 over a wireless radio frequency (RF) link 24.

The base unit 12 has a power pack or adaptor 25 for connection to mains power and a built in modem 26 with a RJ connector 27 which connects via a telephone line to the PSTN for communications with a dial-in modem bank 28 of the collection centre. The unit 12 also has an Ethernet port 30 to which an external ADSL modem 32 can be employed to communicate with the modem bank 28. Referring to Figures 2 and 7, the base unit 12 also has a radio frequency

(RF) transceiver 34 operating with an oscillator circuit 35, and a microprocessor 36 for a base linkage management arrangement for handling signal communications between the modem 26 and the transceiver 34. The microprocessor 36 handles the communications link according to processes in a control logic program 31 stored in a memory 38. The transceiver 36 is controlled by the microprocessor 34 to switch between a transmission mode and a reception mode on a 2.4GHz link as shown in box 38. A power amplifier is employed to modify signal levels during communication. The memory38 is also used as a buffer for data in communications. The microprocessor 36 is also programmed to control a voltage regulator

40 for regulating voltages supplied to various components of the base unit 12 and status LEDs 42 (see Figure 7).

Referring to Figures 3 and 6, the remote unit 16 is connected to the serial port of the STB 20. STB 20 has a universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter (UART) processor for communicating signals from and to the RS 232 interface 18. The set top box is connected to a television set which is usually located in a sitting room in a residential building. As for the base unit 12, the remote unit 16 also has a RF transceiver 46 operating with an oscillator circuit 47 and a microprocessor 48, and memory 54 for handling communications management between the transceiver 46 and the UART, for controlling power amplifier and

TX/RX switching 50 of the transceiver 46, and for controlling a voltage regulator 52. The control program53 is stored in memory 54 which also acts as a buffer.

The device 10 has an overall link management arrangement 17 for controlling and coordinating transmission and reception of data between the serial interface 18 in the remote unit 16 and the modem 26/32 of the base unit

12 (see Figure 4). The link management 17 has a base unit management part 60 and a remote unit management part 62, each including a serial link handler 64 and a radio link handler 66. The base serial link handler 64 is arranged to manage the link of data to and from the serial interface 18 and the reception and transmission data in the buffer. The base radio link handler 66 of the base unit 12 is arranged to manage the link of data to and from the remote unit 16 and the reception and transmission data in the buffer.

Similarly, the remote serial link handler 64 is arranged to manage the link of data to and from the modem 14,26 and the reception and transmission data in the buffer. The remote radio link handler 66 is arranged to manage the link of data to and from the base unit 16 and the reception and transmission data in the buffer.

When a user sends a response or request, the STB 20 sends an AT command request to its serial port and by way of the serial interface 18 of the remote unit 16 to the bas unit 12 for establishing a wireless path over the wireless link 24. A set of modem configuration signals is also sent. The base linkage managements, on receiving the AT command, would set up the wireless path and configure the modem 26 or 32 according to the configuration signals.

The memory 38 stores an interface control programme (ICP) for controlling an interface between the remote unit 12and the Set Top Box (STB)

20. The ICP can be defaulted to be compatible with a normal PSTN modem. This is done through the use of a minimal number of AT commands.

The reason for using this type of approach is that the PSTN access point modem will work directly from the STB using this ICP without the need for any extra conversion. Any conversion of this ICP for use with any other type of modem is handled by the access point itself. The purpose of this is to have one single interface control implemented across the entire range of STB's in the field while still allowing the provider the ability to seamlessly change modem type in the field without it affecting the remote unit 16. However, the base unit 12 can be set for use with a particular modem access point by pre-configuring at factory.

Alternatively, an automatic configuring process can be built into the base unit 12 so that the device 10 can be used in any popular communications standards.

The modem 26 or 32 typically operates in three states - initialisation, offline and online.

1.1. INITIALISATION

In this state, the modem is detected by the STB and initialised ready for use.

1. The STB will send an AT to detect if the RF Link is established. If the link is established, the STB will receive and "OK". If the link is not established, the STB application must handle the non- acknowledgement through use of a software timeout.

2. On detection of an "OK", the STB may need to send a series of AT commands to configure the MODEM. These commands will do things such as set the dial speed, configure the modem DAA for region/locale settings.

For an Australian connected unit, the initialisation strings to send to the MODEM are as follows:

AT+GCI=9

AT-STE=07 AT+PCW=1

1.2. OFFLINE

In this mode, the modem is idle and waiting for a call from the STB. 1.3. ONLINE

1. When the user of the STB initiates a transaction, it sends a modem setup command (this initialization string sets up the modem with its operational parameters, and region settings), then an ATDT<number> where <number> is the telephone number of the transaction server.

2. The PSTN modem responds with "CONNECT 14400". The modem is now connected to the host computer at 14,400 bps. If the PSTN modem does not respond in 30 seconds with "CONNECT 14400" then the STB hangs up with an ATH. The STB cannot attempt to re- establish a call within 5 minutes. If the PSTN port is not plugged in, it may return a "NO DIAL

TONE" error.

3. The STB makes the transaction and then transmits an +++ command followed by an ATH command to hang up the PSTN modem. The "+++" string must be sent after a small time delay (after sending the last data packet). The wait time after the last packet is sent is to be AT LEAST

100ms. 1.4 EXCEPTIONAL HANDLING

The PSTN modem supports phone pickup detection. The PSTN phone user gets priority over the STN transaction. The modem then enters into ' the OFFLINE mode and waits for another ATDT command. The STB thus aborts and would attempt to restart. This exception can happen for other reasons such as temporary loss of telephone cable or RF link. The device 10 thus emulates a cable link between STB 20 and the modem 26 or 32. This allows the user of the STB to avoid the need to have the PSTN port co- located with the STB in their home.

The embodiment of the device 10 shown in Figure 8 has a single dedicated PSTN modem 26. The microprocessor 36 is programmed to pass the AT commands from the remote unit 16 to the PSTN modem for its configuration. In the remote unit 16, the ICP is implemented in a serial converter or driver 19. The device 10 emulates a piece of wire with approximately a 20ms latency and is configured to operate with a buffer size of 24 characters and a serial port speed of 14,400baud. Each "packet" of data takes 16.67milliseconds to collect.

A few milliseconds is allowed to transmit this packet over the wireless link 24 and experiments show that a latency of around 20milliseconds is appropriate for the transmission of data. For installation, the user connects the base unit 12 to a PSTN line. An external RJ45 "Y" adapter can be used to allow parallel connection with a telephone. Following connection of the power plug-pack, the base unit 12 can be switched on. The user then confirms that it is functioning correctly by observing the LED 42. The microprocessor's function is to establish and maintain the link under interference conditions. Once the link is established, it transparently transfers data between the remote unit 16 and the modem 26. In normal operation of the device 10, the following steps take place:

Transaction Initiation

The user selects a movie or undertakes some interactive sequence. The STB 20 initiates a call to the modem 26 using AT commands. The remote unit 16 detects this and establishes a link to the base unit 12. The remote unit serial port works as per the ICP. Any information or errors received at the modem are transferred to the serial port.

During Transaction When the base unit 12 detects a request for activation, its microcontroller attempts to loop the PSTN line. It dials and connects to one of the modems at the interactive server 28, whereby creating a transparent bidirectional path to the

STB serial port.

Transaction Completion At the end of the transaction, the STB serial port generates a "+++" command to return the modem 26 to the command mode. This is then followed by an

"ATH" hang-up command from the STB. The base unit 12 detects this and resets the RF link back to idle.

Where the STB user wants to make an interactive TV transaction while the phone line is in use, the remote unit 12 will report back to the STB serial port an error code such as "no dial tone". Where the STB user is in an interactive transaction and someone lifts the receiver of a connected PSTN phone, the base unit 12 detects an extension pick up and aborts the transaction immediately. When extension pick up is detected, the link is purged of any data and the link is reset awaiting the next AT command from the STB.

Where the STB user is making an interactive TV transaction however the phone line has call-waiting turned on and the transaction is interfered with by the call waiting tones and the transaction is unsuccessful or times-out, the remote unit 16 will report back to the STB serial port an error code such as "failed transmission" and returns the STB 20 to the off hook state to allow a redial. This will also allow the caller-waiting to get through as the waiting call will then begin to ring the telephone as the STB has abandoned the line.

Where the STB user wants to make an interactive TV transaction, however the Interax devices are either not powered up or not in range, the STB should see the line as broken (e.g. no connection/no reporting from the device 10) if the device 10 is broken, not powered-up or faulty

Where the STB user wants to configure an extra remote unit 16 to the network, by pressing the buttons on the base unit 12 and the remote unit 16, an additional remote unit 16 can be configured to operate with any base unit 12. Once configured, each STB should operate in the same manner as a single point-to-point installation. If an interactive transaction is underway with one STB, all other devices 10 will be held off until the transaction is complete.

Each of the base unit 12 and the remote unit(s) 16 are provided with an LED programmed to indicate status of the corresponding units. For example, the LED indicates when the units are communicating or an RF link is established. This indication assists the installer to know if the unit is functioning correctly. The following LED indication is implemented which is similar to a familiar Link/Activity LED on an Ethernet port:

A LED is also used for indication in the configuration mode and it operates as follows:

The units 12 and 16 have a small button switch to enable the user to place the device 10 into configuration mode. The remote unit 16 will only stay in configuration mode for 30 seconds. If a base unit 12 is not found within this time, the STB will revert to its normal operating mode. Configuration mode can be cancelled by a second press of the configuration button.

In the embodiment of the device 10 shown in Figure 9, the base unit 12 has a GPRS modem 26 instead of a PSTN modem. The GPRS modem 26 as shown in Figure 10 is connected to an antenna 29 and has a sim card 33 which stores user identification and account details. The base unit 12 can thus be connected wirelessly to a GPRS mobile telephone communications network. When the base unit 12 detects a request for activation, its microcontroller 36 intercepts the AT commands and converts the commands into appropriate configuration signals for configuring the GPRS modem 26. Subsequently, the base unit 12 attempts to make a GPRS connection to a web service at the interactive server, thus creating a transparent bidirectional path to the STB serial port. The remote unit 16 operates as for the embodiment shown in Figure 8. Accordingly, only the base unit needs to be replaced should the user switches from a PSTN account to a mobile telephone account. It is understood that the base unit 12 can incorporate a GSM modem where a user's mobile telephone account is with a provider of a GSM communications network.

For a multiple dwelling building, the base unit 12 of the device 10 can be arranged as an access point to a local or wide area network which connects a plurality of the remote units 16 in different dwellings to an interactive TV server via the Internet. Figure 11 shows an embodiment of the device 10 which emulates a communication path between a set top box (STB) 20 and a local or wide area network access point. This allows interactive television receivers to connect to the interactive server 28 via an ethemet link by way of base unit 12 and a broadband router 37. The advantage of this is that, with the expansion of always on broadband services such as ADSL and cable, there is little or no transaction cost to the user. In a multiple dwelling unit (MDLJ) configuration, the base unit 12 can be used to concentrate multiple users onto a single device. This avoids the need for each owner of the interactive television receivers in the building to have a PSTN telephone line or other communications link into their premises. As shown in Figure 11 , the base unit 12 has an ethernet access arrangement 39 with a port for connection to the router 37 which is linked to a cable or DSL modem in the network 14. Figure 12 shows certain important elements in the base unit 12. When the base unit 12 detects a request for activation, its microcontroller 36 attempts to establish a connection via its Ethernet port 39. When the connection is established, it connects the STB 20 to a web service at the interactive server 28, thus creating a transparent bidirectional path to the STB serial port. Figure 13 shows another embodiment of the device 10 adapted for a multiple dwelling building. This device 10 in this embodiment has a base unit 12 with a RS485 converter for connection to an access point unit 70 which may be another base unit. The access point unit 70 is linked to a bridge unit 72 arranged to access the interactive TV server 28 via a communications network 14. The bridge unit 72 is used to concentrate multiple STB users onto a single device. This avoids the need for each STB owner to have a PSTN telephone line or other third party communications infrastructure in their premises. The access point unit 70 can be connected to another access point unit 70 or an bridge unit 72. The bridge allows connection between the access points and a broadband modem or GPRS modem. The bridge 72 also has a RF link 74 for the remote units 16 to have a direct wireless link to the bridging unit 72 for accessing the server 28 via a GSM or GPRS modem 26. This means that for smaller installations e.g. 6 units in one block, a single Bridge can be used without the need for an Access point.

The base unit 12 in the Figure 13 embodiment wirelessly connects to multiple remote units 16. This unit 12 may be placed in a service duct of a multiple dwelling unit. It receives transactions from the remote units 16and relays them to the bridge unit 72. Referring to Figure 14, the base unit 12 as shown is similar to that of the preceding embodiments except that it has a RS485 serial driver 39 instead of a modem or ethernet driver. The base, unit 12 is for connection to the bridge unit 72 details of which are shown in Figure 15.The bridge unit 72 has a transceiver 74 operating under control of a microcontroller 76. A memory 78 is provided as a buffer for data and to store programs for the microcontroller 76. The microcontroller 76 controls the transceiver 74 to transfer data between a base unit 12 connected to its RS485 serial port 80 and the server 28 via its GSM/GPRS module 26A or its ethernet module 26B. Figure 16 is a flow diagram showing a linkage management arrangement 17 for the device 10 shown in Figure 14.The arrangement has base unit linkage management part 60 and a remote unit unit management part 62 as described and shown in Figure 5. This linkage management arrangement 17 further includes a bridge unit management part 90 for coordinating transmission and reception of data between the transceiver 74 and the interfaces 26A and 26B.The management part 90 has a radio link handler 91 for handling data to and from the transceiver 74, a serial link handler 92 for handling data to and from the handler 64 of the base unit 12, an ethernet link handler 83 for handling data to and from the ethernet interface 26B, and a GSM/GPRS link handler for handling data to and from the GSM/GPRS interface 26A.

The device 10 in the embodiment shown in Figure 17 has a remote unit 16 which is the same as those in the embodiments described earlier. The base unit 12, however, has three different types of communications interfaces PSTN modem 26, GPRS/GSM modem 26A and ethernet 26B, selectively connectable for communication with the interactive TV server 28. The interfaces can be linked to one of the compatible communications networks, the PSTN network 14, the GPRS/GSM network 14A, and the broadband network 14B.Thus the device 10 can still be used should a user relocates to a premise where a different communications network must be accessed. The base unit 12 of this embodiment has a detection arrangement for detecting connection to one of its interfaces, and a configuration arrangement for selecting a configuration process in accordance with the detected connection. Figure 18 shows a flow diagram of a link management arrangement 17 for the device 10 shown in Figure 17. The remote unit management part 62 is the same as those described and shown in the preceding embodiments. The base unit management part 60 has an auto discovery arrangement 98 for detecting power or signals at any one of the interfaces, PSTN modem 26, GPRS/GSM modem 26A and ethemet 26B and retrieves the corresponding configuration process for use during initialisation of modem/ethernet driver. The remote unit 16 has a configurable unique identification code stored in its memory 54. The code is also stored in the base memory 38 and may be default to a factory set code so that the device can be used without user configuration.

The device 10 is a low cost plug and play device which has a remote unit 16 that plugs into the digital type connection on the rear of the STB 20 and then wirelessly transmits the return path information to a base unit 12 unit which is simply self-installed by plugging into the PSTN connection and powering the unit up. The device 10 requires no user configuration, no technician visits and no specialised installation. The wireless link does not leave wires running across floors. There is no requirement to engage a technical person and therefore the logistics problems of the installer are no longer present.

Whilst the above has been given by way of illustrative example of the present invention many variations and modifications thereto will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the broad ambit and scope of the invention as herein set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. A wireless linkage device for digital television receivers comprises a base unit having at least one internal modem and/or at least one interface each for connection to an external modem or to communications node of a local or wide area network, a base radio frequency (RF) transceiver and a base linkage management arrangement for managing signals between said internal modem and/or external modem and said base transceiver; and at least one remote unit each having a serial communications interface arranged for connection to a compatible communications port of a digital television receiver, a remote radio frequency (RF) transceiver arranged to communicate with said base transceiver over a wireless link and a remote linkage management arrangement for managing signals between said television receiver and said remote transceiver, the remote linkage arrangement is arranged to cause the remote transceiver to establish a communications path over the wireless link with the base transceiver when a communications command signal is detected at said serial communications interface and to transfer configuration signals to said base unit for configuring said internal modem and/or external modem and/or a driver for linking to said local or wide area network to operate under communications parameters corresponding to communications parameters set for the television receiver, the internal and/or external modem and/or the driver are configured to communicate with one or more communications terminals on a communications network.

2. The device according to claim 1 wherein the communications network is a wired or wireless telephone network, or a local or wide area network.

3. The device according to claim 2 wherein the wireless telephone network includes a network operating under General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) standards or Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) standards or Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA) standards or RS485 standards, or a hybrid of two or more of any of the above standards.

4. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the base linkage management arrangement is arranged to convert the received configuration signals into compatible configuration signals for configuring said at least one internal modem and/or at least one external modem and/or the driver to operate under communications parameters that are compatible to communications parameters set for the television receiver.

5. The device according to claim 4 wherein each of the base linkage management arrangement and the remote linkage management include a processor associated with storage means containing linkage handling processes for controlling the associated processor.

6. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein further including a bridge unit arranged to access one or more communications networks, and said base unit and/or said at least one remote being arranged to access the communications networks through said bridge unit.

7. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the base linkage arrangement has a communications handler configured to handle signal communications with said at least one internal modem and/or at least one external modem and/or the driver, and a radio link handle configured to handle signal communications with said base transceiver, and the remote linkage arrangement has a communications handler configured to handle signal communications with said television receiver and a radio link handle configured to handle signal communications with said remote transceiver.

8. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein the base unit includes a plurality of internal modems and/or a plurality of external modems and/or a plurality of drivers, each one of said modems and/or drivers being configured to operate under a specific communications network standard so that a user may selectively connect one of the modems/drivers for connection to a communications network that is compatible the specific standard of the connected modem, the base handling linkage arrangement including a detection process for detecting the connected modem or driver, and a converter for converting the configuration signals to corresponding signals for configuring the connected modem/driver to operate under communications parameters corresponding to communications parameters set for the television receiver.

9. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the or each said at least one remote unit may be arranged to receive power from a power source or to derive power from said communications port or from an adaptor connected to an AC source.

10. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein the communications port is a serial port (such as RS 232 port), or a USB port, or a SKART port, or a RJ45 port, or an Ethernet port.

11. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 10 wherein the external modem may be incorporated in a computer or accessed via a local or wide area network.

12. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 11 wherein the television receiver is built into a television set or configured as a set top box (STB) for connection to a television set.

13. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 12 wherein the or each said at least one remote unit having an identification code and the base linkage management arrangement is configured to transmit said identification code with each session of communication with the or each said at least one remote unit, the remote linkage management arrangement being configured to compare the identification code with that in received signals so that only received signals with a matching code are communicated to the receiver.

14. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 13 wherein the base linkage management arrangement includes a registration process for registering the identification code of the or each said at least one remote unit.