An arrangement which includes a telephone and an interface unit, which
interfaces the telephone to both a standard switched telephone
communications network and an Internet communications network, is
disclosed. The interface unit includes an input coupled to the telephone
to receive audio information and two output ports configured to be
respectively coupled to the standard switched telephone communications
network and the Internet communications network. A processing unit
couples the audio information received from the telephone to the first
output port when the telephonic communication is to be performed using
the standard switched telephone communications network. Alternatively,
the processing unit processes the audio information received from the
telephone in accordance with standard Internet transfer protocols and
couples the processed audio information to the second output port when
the telephonic communication is to be performed using the Internet
communications network and the standard protocols.