Service exchange in a VoIP to telephony bridging network

• US 20070201451A1
• Filed: 03/22/2006
• Published: 08/30/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies General IP PTE Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bennett, James
• Application Number:
  US11/386,586
• Publication Number:
  US 20070201451A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/356
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1026 at the edge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1036 at the edge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1095 Inter-network session transfer or sharing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1225 Details of core network interconnection arrangements

Abstract

An infrastructure that supports both Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony via the Internet and Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) telephony via the PSTN. A plurality of client telephony bridging devices communicatively couple to both the Internet and to the PSTN and are operable to bridge calls between the Internet and the PSTN. Server processing circuitry communicatively couples to the plurality of client telephony bridging devices and is operable to receive a voice call setup request from a calling voice terminal via the Internet or PSTN. The server processing circuitry is operable to select a servicing telephony bridging device from the plurality of client telephony bridging devices. The servicing client telephony bridging device is operable to bridge an incoming call for the calling voice terminal between the Internet and the PSTN.

Claims

1. In an infrastructure supporting both Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony via the Internet and Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) telephony via the PSTN, a system comprising:

a plurality of client telephony bridging devices communicatively coupled to both the Internet and to the PSTN and operable to bridge calls between the Internet and the PSTN;

server processing circuitry communicatively coupled to the plurality of client telephony bridging devices and operable to enact access rules for the plurality of client telephony bridging devices and for a plurality of subscribers, the server operable to;

receive a voice call setup request from a calling voice terminal via the Internet, the voice call setup request identifying a subscriber;

obtain access rules for the subscriber; and

based upon the access rules for the subscriber and the access rules for the plurality of client telephony bridging devices, select a servicing telephony bridging device from the plurality of client telephony bridging devices; and

the servicing client telephony bridging device operable to bridge an incoming call for the calling voice terminal between the Internet and the PSTN.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the server processing circuitry resides within a server communicatively coupled to the plurality of client telephony bridging devices via the Internet.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the server processing circuitry resides within at least one of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the access rules comprise bartering arrangement rules respective to subscribers corresponding to the plurality of client telephony bridging devices.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the server processing circuitry is further operable to:

monitor client telephony bridging device usage by a subscriber; and

alter access rules for the subscriber based upon the usage by the subscriber.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the server processing circuitry is further operable to:

monitor usage of a client telephony bridging device; and

alter access rules for the client telephony bridging based upon the usage.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein:

a client telephony bridging device is operable to report to the server processing circuitry its usage by a subscriber; and

based upon the reported usage, the server processing circuitry operable to alter access rules corresponding to the subscriber to limit access by the subscriber to the plurality of client telephony bridging devices.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of client telephony bridging devices have associated therewith:

at least one Internet Protocol (IP) address; and

PSTN local connectivity information.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the PSTN local connectivity information comprising:

a local area code; and

a local exchange prefix number.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein:

a client telephony bridging device is operable to;

receive a use request by a local subscriber while bridging a voice call for a non-local subscriber; and

report to the server processing circuitry that a local subscriber use request has been received; and

based upon the report, the server processing circuitry operable to initiate handover of the voice call to a differing client telephony bridging device.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein a client telephony bridging device is operable to:

receive a use request by a local subscriber while bridging a voice call for a non-local subscriber;

provide an indication to the non-local subscriber that voice call bridging service will be terminated;

terminate the voice bridging service for the non-local subscriber; and

provide access to the local subscriber.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein a client telephony bridging device is operable to:

receive a use request by a local subscriber while bridging a voice call for a non-local subscriber;

send a message to the server processing circuitry indicating that the local subscriber has requested use;

receive a response from the server processing circuitry; and

based upon the response, denying use to the local subscriber.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein access rules for a particular client telephony bridging device have:

a first level of access for a local subscriber; and

a second level of access for a non-local subscriber.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein access rules for a particular client telephony bridging device have:

a first level of access for during a first period of time; and

a second level of access for a second period of time that differs from the first period of time.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein a first client telephony bridging device is operable to:

determine that its local PSTN connection cannot support a PSTN call;

send a request to the server processing circuitry, requesting access to the PSTN via a second client telephony bridging device; and

access the PSTN via the Internet and the second client telephony bridging device.

16. A client telephony bridging device comprising:

a user interface;

a packet data interface operable to support Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony and communicatively coupled to the Internet;

a Public Switched Telephone Network Telephony (PSTN) interface operable to support PSTN telephony and communicatively coupled to the PSTN; and

processing circuitry communicatively coupled to the user interface, the packet data interface, and the PSTN interface and operable to;

receive a request via the user interface to initiate a PSTN voice call to a PSTN telephone number;

send a PSTN voice call request that includes the PSTN telephone number via the packet data network interface;

receive a response via the packet data network interface that includes an Internet Protocol (IP) address of a remote client telephony bridging device; and

send a voice call servicing request that includes the PSTN telephone number via the packet data network interface to the remote client telephony bridging device; and

service the PSTN voice call via the user interface, the packet data network interface, and the remote client telephony bridging device.

17. The client telephony bridging device of claim 16, wherein the processing circuitry is further operable to:

monitor client telephony bridging device usage by a non-local subscriber; and

report to a remote server the client telephony bridging usage by the non-local subscriber.

18. The client telephony bridging device of claim 16, wherein the processing circuitry is further operable to:

monitor usage of a remote client telephony bridging device by a local subscriber; and

report to a remote server the usage of the remote client telephony bridging device by the local subscriber.

19. The client telephony bridging device of claim 16, wherein the processing circuitry is further operable to:

receive a use request by a local subscriber while bridging a voice call for a non-local subscriber;

send a message to the server processing circuitry indicating that the local subscriber has requested use;

receive a response from the server processing circuitry; and

based upon the response, deny use to the local subscriber.

20. A client telephony bridging device comprising:

a user interface;

a packet data interface operable to support Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony and communicatively coupled to the Internet;

a Public Switched Telephone Network Telephony (PSTN) interface operable to support PSTN telephony and communicatively coupled to the PSTN; and

processing circuitry communicatively coupled to the user interface, the packet data interface, and the PSTN interface and operable to;

receive a request via the user interface to initiate a PSTN voice call to a PSTN telephone number;

determine that access to the PSTN via the PSTN interface is not available;

send a PSTN voice call request that includes the PSTN telephone number via the packet data network interface;

receive a response via the packet data network interface that includes an Internet Protocol (IP) address of a remote client telephony bridging device; and

send a voice call servicing request that includes the PSTN telephone number via the packet data network interface to the remote client telephony bridging device; and

service the PSTN voice call via the user interface, the packet data network interface, and the remote client telephony bridging device.

21. The client telephony bridging device of claim 20, wherein access to the PSTN via the PSTN interface is not available because the client telephony bridging device is providing voice telephony bridging for a remote subscriber.

22. The client telephony bridging device of claim 20, wherein access to the PSTN via the PSTN interface is not available because the PSTN is inoperable.

23. Telephony circuitry used in a first telephony device of a communication infrastructure, the communication infrastructure supporting a second telephony device via a packet switched network and a third telephony device via a circuit switched network, one of the second telephony device and the third telephony device comprising a calling telephony device, another of the first telephony device and the second telephony device comprising a receiving telephony device, the telephony circuitry comprising:

first interface circuitry that supports a pathway to the calling telephony device;

second interface circuitry that supports a pathway to the receiving telephony device;

user interface circuitry;

processing circuitry operable to respond to a first call setup indication received from the calling telephony device via the first interface circuitry by delivering an announcement signal to the user interface circuitry, and, upon receiving a first pick up indication from the user interface circuitry, supporting communication between the calling telephony device and the user interface circuitry; and

the processing circuitry operable to respond to a second call setup indication received from the calling telephony device via the first interface circuitry by delivering a call setup request to the receiving telephony device via the second interface circuitry, and, upon receiving a second pick up indication from the receiving telephony device via the second interface, bridge communications between the calling telephony device and the receiving telephony device.

24. The telephony circuitry of claim 23, wherein:

the first interface circuitry is a packet data network interface communicatively coupled to the Internet; and

the second interface circuitry is a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) interface communicatively coupled to the PSTN.

25. The telephony circuitry of claim 23, wherein:

the first interface circuitry is a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) interface communicatively coupled to the PSTN; and

the second interface circuitry is a packet data network interface communicatively coupled to the Internet.

26. The telephony circuitry of claim 23, the processing circuitry further operable to:

receive a call initiation request from a user via the user interface;

determine that the call request conflicts with a currently bridged call serviced by the first interface and the second interface;

when first override control applies, interrupt the currently bridged call to service the call initiation request; and

when second override control applies, deny the call initiation request.

27. The telephony circuitry of claim 23, wherein the processing circuitry is further operable to:

interact with the calling telephony device to obtain call setup information from the calling telephony device; and

use the call setup information obtained from the calling telephony device in preparing the call setup request delivered to the receiving telephony device.

28. The telephony circuitry of claim 27, wherein the call setup information includes an Internet Protocol address of the receiving telephony device.

29. The telephony circuitry of claim 27, wherein the call setup information includes a PSTN number of the receiving telephony device.

30. The telephony circuitry of claim 23, wherein the processing circuitry is further operable to:

determine whether the calling telephony device has permission to use the telephony circuitry for call bridging;

when the calling telephony device has permission to use the telephony circuitry for call bridging, deliver the call setup request to the receiving telephony device; and

when the calling telephony device does not have permission to use the telephony circuitry for call bridging, do not deliver the call setup request to the receiving telephony device.

31. The telephony circuitry of claim 23, wherein the processing circuitry is further operable to establish a three-way call with the user interface, the first interface circuitry with the calling telephony device, and the second interface with the receiving telephony device.

32. The telephony circuitry of claim 23, wherein the processing circuitry is further operable to:

receive bridging instructions via the user interface circuitry regarding bridging of calls; and

based upon the bridge instructions, bridge at least one incoming call via the first interface circuitry and the second interface circuitry.

33. The telephony circuitry of claim 32, wherein based upon the bridging instructions, the processing circuitry is further operable to redirect a call arriving via the first interface circuitry or the second interface circuitry.

34. The telephony circuitry of claim 23, wherein the processing circuitry is further operable to prevent a user from listening to the bridged communication via the user interface circuitry.

35. The telephony circuitry of claim 23, wherein the processing circuitry is further operable to:

receive a bridging disable indication via the user interface; and

preclude bridging of communications between the first interface circuitry and the second interface circuitry based upon the bridging disable indication.

36. The telephony circuitry of claim 23, wherein the processing circuitry is further operable to:

receive time based bridging rules via the user interface; and

preclude bridging of communications between the first interface circuitry and the second interface circuitry based upon the time based bridging rules.

37. The telephony circuitry of claim 23, wherein the processing circuitry is further operable to prevent a local user from listening to bridged communications via the user interface circuitry.

38. The telephony circuitry of claim 23, wherein the processing circuitry is further operable to:

monitor a duration of the bridged communications; and

report the duration of the bridged communications to remotely located server circuitry.

39. A method for operating telephony circuitry comprising:

responding to a first call setup indication received from a calling telephony device via a first interface by delivering an announcement signal to user interface circuitry;

upon receiving a pick up indication via the user interface circuitry, supporting communication between the calling telephony device and the user interface circuitry;

responding to a second call setup indication received from the calling telephony device via the first interface circuitry by delivering a call setup request to a receiving telephony device via the second interface circuitry; and

upon receiving a second pick up indication from the receiving telephony device via the second interface, bridging a call between the calling telephony device and the receiving telephony device.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the first call setup indication is received via the Internet;

and

the call setup request is delivered to the receiving telephony device via the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).

41. The method of claim 39, wherein:

the first call setup indication is received via the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN); and

the call setup request is delivered to the receiving telephony device via the Internet.

42. The method of claim 39, further comprising:

receiving a call initiation request from a user via the user interface;

determining that the call request conflicts with the currently bridged call;

when first override control applies, interrupting the currently bridged call to service the call initiation request; and

when second override control applies, denying the call initiation request.

43. The method of claim 39, further comprising:

interacting with the calling telephony device to obtain call setup information from the calling telephony device; and

using the call setup information obtained from the calling telephony device in preparing the call setup request delivered to the receiving telephony device.

44. The method of claim 39, further comprising:

determining whether the calling telephony device has permission to use the telephony circuitry for call bridging;

when the calling telephony device has permission to use the telephony circuitry for call bridging, delivering the call setup request to the receiving telephony device; and

when the calling telephony device does not have permission to use the telephony circuitry for call bridging, not delivering the call setup request to the receiving telephony device.

45. The method of claim 39, further comprising establishing a three-way call with a user via the user interface, the calling telephony device via the first interface circuitry, and the receiving telephony device via the second interface.

46. The method of claim 39, further comprising:

receiving bridging instructions via the user interface circuitry regarding bridging of calls; and

based upon the bridge instructions, bridging at least one incoming call via the first interface circuitry and the second interface circuitry.

47. The method of claim 39, further comprising redirecting a call arriving via the first interface circuitry or the second interface circuitry.

48. The method of claim 39, further comprising preventing a user from listening to the bridged communication via the user interface circuitry.

49. The method of claim 39, further comprising:

receiving a bridging disable indication via the user interface; and

precluding bridging of communications between the first interface circuitry and the second interface circuitry based upon the bridging disable indication.

50. The method of claim 39, further comprising:

receiving time based bridging rules via the user interface; and

precluding bridging of communications between the first interface circuitry and the second interface circuitry based upon the time based bridging rules.

51. The method of claim 39, further comprising preventing a local user from listening to bridged communications via the user interface circuitry.

52. The method of claim 39, further comprising:

monitoring a duration of the bridged call; and

reporting the duration of the bridged call to remotely located server circuitry.