VOICE OVER DATA TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK ARCHITECTURE

• US 20080025294A1
• Filed: 07/20/2007
• Published: 01/31/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Level 3 Communications LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Level 3 Communications LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Baker, Bruce, Wang, Jin-Gen, Peterson, Jon, Stearns, Harold, Zimmerer, Eric, Mitchell, Jonathan, Owen, Kraig, Dugan, Andrew, Lewis, Shawn, Elliott, Isaac, Higgins, Steven, Terpstra, Rich, Steele, Rick, Hernandez, Robert, Waibel, Ray
• Granted Patent: US 8,036,214 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/356
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/6472 Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1026 at the edge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1036 at the edge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1043 Gateway controllers, e.g. media gateway control protocol [MGCP] controllers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1083 In-session procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1106 Call signalling protocols; H.323 and related
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/401 wherein the services involve a main real-time session and one or more additional parallel real-time or time sensitive sessions, e.g. white board sharing or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/765 intermediate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/085 specially adapted for interworking of IP-based networks with other networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42 Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers specially adapted for wireless communication networks H04W4/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1245 where a network other than PSTN/ISDN interconnects two PSTN/ISDN networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1255 where the switching fabric and the switching logic are decomposed such as in Media Gateway Control
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0025 : Provisions for signalling
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0045 : involving hybrid, i.e. a mixture of public and private, or multi-vendor systems

Abstract

The present invention describes a system and method for communicating voice and data over a packet-switched network that is adapted to coexist and communicate with a legacy PSTN. The system permits packet switching of voice calls and data calls through a data network from and to any of a LEC, a customer facility or a direct IP connection on the data network. The system includes soft switch sites, gateway sites, a data network, a provisioning component, a network event component and a network management component. The system interfaces with customer facilities (e.g., a PBX), carrier facilities (e.g., a LEC) and legacy signaling networks (e.g., SS7) to handle calls between any combination of on-network and off-network callers. The soft switch sites provide the core call processing for the voice network architecture. The soft switch sites manage the gateway sites in a preferred embodiment, using a protocol such as the Internet Protocol Device Control (IPDC) protocol to request the set-up and tear-down of calls. The gateway sites originate and terminate calls between calling parties and called parties through the data network. The gateway sites include network access devices to provide access to network resources. The data network connects one or more of the soft switch sites to one or more of the gateway sites. The provisioning and network event component collects call events recorded at the soft switch sites. The network management component includes a network operations center (NOC) for centralized network management.

Claims

1. A method for provisioning telecommunications calls over a packet-switched network, the method comprising:

receiving a signaling message from a facility associated with an entity, the signaling message comprising a trunk ID assigned to the entity and associated with at least one telecommunications call initiated by a subscriber of the entity;

querying a configuration database and using the trunk ID to identify therefrom call processing logic from a plurality of call processing logic, wherein the identified call processing logic represents a plan for servicing telecommunications calls associated with the entity over the packet-switched network;

implementing the identified call processing logic to thereby select a termination gateway for terminating the at least one telecommunications call on the packet-switched network based at least in part on the plan; and

connecting the at least one telecommunications call between an originating gateway operable to receive media associated with the at least one telecommunications call from the facility and the termination gateway.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the identified call processing logic includes trunk group service profile summaries.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the implementing step comprises using topology information of the packet-switched network stored in the configuration database to select the termination gateway.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the entity includes at least one of a telecommunications carrier and a customer.

5. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

querying the configuration database using an automatic number identification (ANI) of the calling party to identify additional call processing logic to apply to the at least one telecommunications call.

6. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the implementing step comprises:

initializing connections between components in the packet-switched network to accommodate for the transfer of media.

7. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the packet-switched network comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) network.

8. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the plan comprises a list of allowed international destinations, the implementing step comprising:

determining whether a called party associated with the at least one telecommunications call resides in an allowed international destination and, if so, selecting a termination gateway operable to terminate the at least one telecommunications call in the international destination.

9. A system for provisioning telecommunications calls over a packet-switched network, the system comprising:

a softswitch operable to receive a signaling message from a facility associated with an entity, the signaling message comprising a trunk ID assigned to the first facility and associated with at least one telecommunications call initiated by a subscriber of the entity;

a configuration server communicably coupled to the softswitch via the packet-switched network and operable to;

receive a query by the softswitch including the trunk ID;

reference a configuration database using the trunk ID; and

extract from the configuration database a call processing logic based on the trunk ID, wherein the call processing logic represents a plan for servicing telecommunications calls associated with the entity over the packet-switched network;

wherein execution of the call processing logic by the softswitch provisions the at least one telecommunications call across the packet-switched network by;

selecting a termination gateway for terminating the at least one telecommunications call on the packet-switched network operable in accordance with the plan; and

connecting the at least one telecommunications call between an originating gateway operable to receive media associated with the telecommunications call from the first facility and the termination gateway.

10. A system as recited in claim 9, wherein the plan includes trunk group service profile summaries.

11. A system as recited in claim 9, wherein the configuration server is operable to query the configuration database using an automatic number identification (ANI) of the calling party to identify additional call processing logic to apply to the telecommunications call.

12. A system as recited in claim 9, wherein execution of the call processing logic by the softswitch initializes connections between components in the packet-switched network to accommodate for the transfer of media.

13. A system as recited in claim 9, wherein entity includes at least one of a telecommunications carrier and a customer.

14. A system as recited in claim 9, wherein the packet-switched network comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) network.

15. A system as recited in claim 9, wherein the media comprises voice traffic.

16. A computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium on which is stored control logic that, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform operations comprising:

receiving a signaling message from a facility associated with an entity, the signaling message comprising a trunk ID assigned to the entity and associated with at least one telecommunications call initiated by a subscriber of the entity;

querying a configuration database and using the trunk ID to identify therefrom call processing logic from a plurality of call processing logic, wherein the identified call processing logic represents a plan for servicing telecommunications calls associated with the entity over the packet-switched network;

implementing the first call processing logic to thereby select a termination gateway for terminating the at least one telecommunications call on the packet-switched network based at least in part on the plan; and

connecting the at least one telecommunications call between an originating gateway operable to receive media associated with the at least one telecommunications call from the facility and the termination gateway.

17. A computer program product as recited in claim 16, wherein the identified call processing logic includes trunk group service profile summaries.

18. A computer program product as recited in claim 16, wherein the implementing step comprises using topology information of the packet-switched network stored in the configuration database to select the termination gateway.

19. A computer program product as recited in claim 16, wherein the entity includes at least one of a telecommunications carrier and a customer.

20. A computer program product as recited in claim 16, wherein the plan comprises a list of allowed international destinations, the implementing step comprising:

determining whether a called party associated with the at least one telecommunications call resides in an allowed international destination and, if so, selecting a termination gateway operable to terminate the at least one telecommunications call in the international destination.