A communications device that combines transmissions from several I/O devices into one line is a:
A communications device that combines transmissions from several I/O devices into one line is a multiplexer.
A multiplexer is a device that selects one of several analog or digital input signals and forwards the selected input into a single line. A multiplexer of inputs has select lines, which are used to select which input line to send to the output. A multiplexer of 2n inputs has n select lines that will be used to select input line to send to the output.
Multiplexingbasically involves taking multiple signals and combining them into one signal for transmission over a single medium, such as a telephone line.