A communication system fulfils the function of a private branch exchange (PBX) and includes a broad band highway in the form of an electrically conducting hard-wired loop (38). The loop (38) is capable of transmitting voice and data signals to a plurality of base stations (40, 42) around the loop, with each base station being capable of communicating by radio with terminal user equipment, such as portable handsets (16) in a cordless telephone system, facsimile machines, word processors or computers.