Method and apparatus for placing a long distance call based on a virtual phone number

• US 20080226057A1
• Filed: 05/20/2008
• Published: 09/18/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vonage Business Inc (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Original Assignee: Vonage Network LLC (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Inventors: Holder, Louis
• Granted Patent: US 7,680,262 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/221.15
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/00 Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/56 for VoIP communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8044 Least cost routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8055 Selecting cheaper transport technology for a given service
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/202 VoIP; Packet switched telephony
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/42 Least cost routing, i.e. provision for selecting the lowest cost tariff
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/745 Least cost routing, e.g. Automatic or manual, call by call or by preselection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7464 Select transport technology for a given service, e.g. use for data connection WLAN rather than GSM/UMTS/GPRS or use company's communication network rather than a public network
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/523 with call distribution or queueing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/122 where the PSTN/ISDN access is used as an access to networks other than PSTN/ISDN access arrangements to networks other than PSTN/ISDN H04M7/0066; access arrangements to public data networks H04L12/2856
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 379/901 Virtual networks or virtual private networks

Abstract

A method and apparatus for reducing the cost of long distance phone calls is disclosed. Accordingly, an originating phone network is operatively connected to a first intermediate point, and a receiving phone network is operatively connected to a second intermediate point. Each intermediate point is operatively connected to communicate via a data network. Users on the originating and destination phone networks may communicate based on virtual numbers. The virtual number is preferably within the local calling area of the originating phone network. The first and second intermediate points route calls to any geographic location, regardless of distance, over the data network based on the virtual number. This provides the advantage of allowing a user on the originating phone network to access a user at a distant location for a price that is substantially similar to the price of a local call.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting information between two or more points, comprising:

receiving a virtual number at a first intermediate point from at least one originating point, the at least one originating point operatively connected to an originating network, and the first intermediate point operatively connected to a packet-based network;

converting the virtual number into at least one physical number;

determining a second intermediate point based on the at least one physical number, the second intermediate point operatively connected to the packet-based network;

determining at least one destination point based on the at least one physical number; and

,

transmitting information between the at least one originating point and the at least one destination point;

wherein the originating network is selected from the group consisting of;

the public switched telephone network and a packet-based network.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the receiving comprises establishing a communication path via a router between the first intermediate point and the at least one originating point.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the converting further comprises:

interpreting the virtual phone number at the router;

communicating with a routing table, and;

determining a physical number from the routing table.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the determining at least one destination point further comprises:

selecting a destination router based on the routing table;

determining routing instructions corresponding to the destination router based on the routing table, and;

establishing a communication path between the router and the destination router.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the destination router is in a local calling area of the at least one destination point.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the receiving comprises establishing a communication path via an analog-to-digital converter between the first intermediate point and the at least one originating point.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the converting further comprises converting analog voice data into packets using a standard network protocol.

8. The method according to claim 7 wherein the standard network protocol is Internet Protocol.

9. A method for transmitting information between two or more points, comprising:

receiving a virtual number at a first intermediate point from at least one originating point, the first intermediate point operatively connected to a packet-based network;

converting the virtual number into at least one physical number;

determining a second intermediate point based on the at least one physical number, the second intermediate point operatively connected to the packet-based network;

determining at least one destination point based on the at least one physical number; and

,

transmitting information between the at least one originating point and the at least one destination point;

wherein the at least one destination point is operatively connected to a network selected from the group consisting of;

a public switched telephone network and a packet-based network.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the determining at least one destination point comprises establishing a communication path via a router between the at least one destination point and the second intermediate point.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the determining at least one destination point further comprises:

communicating with a routing table;

selecting the router based on the routing table;

determining routing instructions corresponding to the router based on the routing table, and;

establishing a communication path between the first intermediate point and the router.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the router is in a local calling area of the at least one destination point.

13. The method according to claim 9, wherein the determining at least one destination point comprises establishing a communication path via a digital-to-analog converter between the at least one destination point and the second intermediate point.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the transmitting comprises converting packets into analog voice data using the digital to analog converter.

15. An apparatus for transmitting information between at least two points, comprising:

a first intermediate point operatively connected to at least one originating point to receive a virtual number, wherein the virtual number is converted into at least one physical number;

a second intermediate point capable of communicating with the first intermediate point over a computer network;

at least one destination point operatively connected to the second intermediate point, wherein the second intermediate point is determined based on its proximity to the at least one destination point; and

,

wherein the virtual number comprises a toll-free number.

16. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the at least one physical number comprises a country code, wherein the country code is outside a local calling area of the at least one originating point and within a local calling area of the at least one destination point.

17. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the second intermediate point is within the local calling area of the at least one destination point.

18. The apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising a memory operatively connected to the first and second intermediate points, wherein the memory stores an assignment of the virtual number to the second intermediate point, the at least one physical number and the at least one destination point.

19. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the memory is a routing table.

20. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the first and second intermediate points comprise routers.

21. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the first and second intermediate point routers are accessible to a plurality of virtual numbers.

22. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein information is transmitted over the computer network based on packets.

23. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein information is transmitted to and from the originating and destination points based on analog signals.

24. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the first and second intermediate points are capable of analog to digital conversion and digital to analog conversion.

25. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the at least one originating point and the at least one destination point comprise telephones operatively connected to the public switching telephone network.

26. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the at least one originating point and the at least one destination point comprise telephones operatively connected to a packet network.