In a digital telecommunications system having common 64 kbit/s communications channels in which an additional 8 kbit/s signal channel lying outside of the respective 64 kbit/s common channel is available for outslot signaling only on partial segments of a connection line, for example, only on a subscriber extension circuit, the outslot signaling being carried out on the other connection segments in a subchannel of the 64 kbit/s common channel.