Complementary VoIP service

• US 20060034261A1
• Filed: 08/12/2005
• Published: 02/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arlington Technologies, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Avaya Technology Corporation Miami Lakes FLA US
• Inventors: Benveniste, Mathilde
• Granted Patent: US 7,894,590 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42102 Making use of the called party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42263 where the same subscriber uses different terminals, i.e. nomadism
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42314 in private branch exchanges
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42331 Direct inward dialling
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/54 Arrangements for diverting calls for one subscriber to another predetermined subscriber based on the calling party profile H04M3/42059; based on location H04M3/42348; based on presence H04M3/42365; to voice mail H04M3/53308
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1205 where the types of switching equipement comprises PSTN/ISDN equipment and switching equipment of networks other than PSTN/ISDN, e.g. Internet Protocol networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/123 where the packet-switched network is an Internet Protocol Multimedia System-type network
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/128 Details of addressing, directories or routing tables

Abstract

A technique is disclosed that enables a voice call to be initiated on the Public Switched Telephone Network and directed to a VoIP telephone on the Internet without the association of a unique telephone number to the VoIP telephone. In accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the present invention, a user who has a PSTN wireline telephone or a PSTN cell phone associates his or her VoIP telephone with the telephone number of the PSTN wireline telephone or the PSTN cell phone or with both numbers. In other words, the VoIP telephone is not assigned its own telephone number but shares the telephone number of the PSTN telephones of its owner.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a call set-up message for a voice telephone call that has been forwarded from an originally-called telephone number, wherein said originally-called telephone number is an address in the address space of the Public Switched Telephone Network; and

attempting to establish said voice telephone call with a device that has an address in the address space of the Internet;

wherein said address of said device is found from said originally-called telephone number.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said address of said device is found directly from said originally-called telephone number.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said address of said device is found indirectly from said originally-called telephone number and further comprising:

finding said address of said device from an Internet telephony address; and

finding said Internet telephony address from said originally-called telephone number.

4. A gateway comprising:

a receiver for receiving a call set-up message for a voice telephone call that has been forwarded from an originally-called telephone number, wherein said originally-called telephone number is an address in the address space of the Public Switched Telephone Network; and

a transmitter for attempting to establish said voice telephone call with a device that has an address in the address space of the Internet;

wherein said address of said device is found from said originally-called telephone number.

5. The gateway of claim 4 wherein said address of said device is found directly from said originally-called telephone number.

6. The gateway of claim 4 wherein said address of said device is found indirectly and further comprising a Subscriber identification database for finding a Internet telephony address from said originally-called telephone number.

7. The gateway of claim 5 further comprising a proxy server for finding said Internet telephony address from said originally-called telephone number.

8. A method comprising:

receiving a call set-up message for a voice telephone call that has been forwarded from an originally-called telephone number;

finding an Internet telephony address from said originally-called telephone number;

finding an IP address of a device from said Internet telephone address; and

attempting to establish said voice telephone call with said device using said IP address.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said originally-called telephone number is an address within the address space of the Public Switched Telephone Network;

and

wherein said IP address is an address in the address space of the Internet.

10. A system comprising:

a receiver for receiving a call set-up message for a voice telephone call that has been forwarded from an originally-called telephone number;

a Subscriber identification database for finding an Internet telephony address from said originally-called telephone number;

a proxy server for finding an IP address of a device from said Internet telephone address; and

a transmitter for attempting to establish said voice telephone call with said device using said IP address.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein said originally-called telephone number is an address within the address space of the Public Switched Telephone Network;

and

wherein said IP address is an address in the address space of the Internet.