A docking station, which connects a cellular telephone with one or more landline
telephones, includes a connection switch configured to detect a condition of at
least one landline of a premises and to establish a connection with a landline
based on a detected condition, an interface configured to connect with any of a
plurality of types of cellular telephones, and a processor configured to control
a plurality of functions of the docking station and to communicate with each of
the plurality of types of cellular telephones. An electrical characteristic of
a cable or a wireless module connected to the cellular-telephone interface is used
by the processor to identify a type of a cellular telephone connected to the docking
station. The processor is programmed to enable a landline telephone connected to
the docking station to send or to receive calls via the cellular telephone connected
to the docking station, based on an identified type of the cellular telephone connected
to the docking station.