Method and Apparatus for integrated telephone and internet services

• US 20090048909A1
• Filed: 10/17/2008
• Published: 02/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Who's Calling Holding Corporation
• Original Assignee: Who's Calling Holding Corporation
• Inventors: Crandell, Todd J., Shell, Michael D., Heathcock, O. Wayne
• Granted Patent: US 7,646,859 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/367 involving electronic purses or money safes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0205 Location or geographical consideration
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4872 Non-interactive information services

Abstract

A system and method for providing integrated telephony and Internet services is described. An embodiment of the present invention comprises passively collecting incoming and/or outgoing call information from communications links communicatively coupled to a first party. The call information is extracted and customer information, such as demographic information, is retrieved. The customer information may be, for example, retrieved from a data provider or may have been previously collected or gathered. Thereafter, reports, charts, graphs, maps, and the like may be made available. In an embodiment, the reports, charts, graphs, maps, and the like are made available via a network such as the Internet.

Claims

1-114. -114. (canceled)

115. A method of providing customer information to a company, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) automatically extracting a first caller identifier from an incoming call wherein the step of automatically extracting is performed by passively monitoring a plurality of incoming telecommunications links to the company;

(b) comparing the first caller identifier with a list of previously received caller identifiers from a call database;

(c) retrieving customer information from a data provider wherein the customer information corresponds to the first caller identifier, when the first caller identifier does not match a caller identifier included in the list of previously received caller identifiers;

(d) automatically extracting call information from the incoming call;

(e) storing the call information and the customer information in a call record in the call database wherein the call record corresponds to the first caller identifier;

(f) performing steps (a)-(e) a plurality of times for a plurality of callers to generate a plurality of call records in the call database; and

(g) generating a report based on the call information and the customer information stored in the plurality of call records in the call database.

116. The method of claim 115 wherein the first caller identifier is a caller identifier associated with the incoming call.

117. The method of claim 115 wherein the first caller identifier is a MAC address or a computer address.

118. The method of claim 115 wherein the call information includes one or more of a caller identifier, a call duration, a call time, a call result, a call date, a business or residential line indicator, a mobile phone or pay phone indicator, a MAC address, a computer address, a port status, and a termination identifier.

119. The method of claim 115 wherein the customer information comprises demographic information associated with the first caller identifier.

120. The method of claim 119 wherein the demographic information is an age bracket, an income bracket, or an address.

121. The method of claim 119 further comprising making the report available via an Internet web page.

122. The method of claim 119 wherein step (a) is performed by extracting the first caller identifier from a PBX.

123. The method of claim 119 wherein step (b) comprises uploading the first caller identifier from a database located at a customer site to a central database.

124. The method of claim 123 wherein the data provider is a third-party data provider.

125. The method of claim 119 wherein step (g) comprises providing information that includes generating one or more reports comprising return-on investment, calls placed, calls received, demographic information, calls per hour, call details, call status, call results, or SMDR reports.

126. The method of claim 119 further comprising recording the incoming call to generate an audio recording and storing the audio recording in the call database.

127. The method of claim 119 further comprising recording DTMF interactions during the incoming call and storing the DTMF interactions in the call database.

128. The method of claim 119 wherein step (d) occurs throughout the duration of the incoming call.

129. An apparatus to provide call information to a company, the apparatus comprising:

a telephone network connector configured to communicatively couple to a communications link, the communications link being communicatively coupled to a telephone network wherein the telephone network connector is configured to passively monitor traffic on the communications link;

an Internet connector configured for providing Internet access; and

a call processor configured to;

automatically extract caller information from an incoming call on the communications link, the caller information including a first caller identifier, wherein the step of automatically extracting is performed by passively monitoring the plurality of incoming telecommunications links to the company;

retrieve customer information corresponding to the first caller identifier from a call database;

automatically extract call information from the incoming call;

store the call information and the customer information in a call record in the call database wherein the call record corresponds to the first caller identifier;

generate a report based on the plurality of call records in the call database; and

provide access to the report on the Internet via the Internet connector.

130. The apparatus of claim 129, wherein the processor is configured to retrieve the customer information from a third-party data provider.

131. The apparatus of claim 129, wherein the processor is configured to retrieve the customer information from a local database.

132. The apparatus of claim 129, wherein the telephone network connector comprises a PBX.

133. The apparatus of claim 129, wherein the call information includes one or more of a caller identifier, a call duration, a call time, a call result, a call date, a business or residential line indicator, a mobile phone or pay phone indicator, a MAC address, a computer address, a port status, and a termination identifier.

134. The apparatus of claim 129, wherein the processor is further configured to extract outgoing call information for outgoing calls.

135. The apparatus of claim 134, wherein the outgoing call information includes one or more of a caller identifier, a call duration, a call time, a call result, a call date, a business or residential line indicator, a mobile phone or pay phone indicator, a MAC address, a computer address, a port status, and a termination identifier.

136. The apparatus of claim 129, wherein the processor is configured to retrieve the call information from a third-party provider via the Internet connector.

137. The apparatus of claim 129, wherein the processor is further configured to extract call information from a voice over IP call.

138. The apparatus of claim 129 wherein the customer information comprises demographic information associated with the first caller identifier.

139. The apparatus of claim 138 wherein the demographic information is an age bracket, an income bracket, or an address.

140. The apparatus of claim 129 wherein the report comprises data from one or more of return-on investment, calls placed, calls received, demographic information, calls per hour, call details, call status, call results, or SMDR reports.

141. The apparatus of claim 129 wherein the processor is further configured to record the incoming call to generate an audio recording and storing the audio recording in the call database.

142. The apparatus of claim 129 wherein the processor is further configured to record DTMF interactions during the incoming call and storing the DTMF interactions in the call database.