SYSTEM AND METHOD OF MAINTAINING COMMUNICATIONS POLICY SETTINGS IN A WIRELESS NETWORK
First Claim
1. A method of maintaining a communication policy in a voice telephony network having a policy server and a plurality of subscriber devices comprising the steps of:
- maintaining, in a memory of said policy server, a communication policy comprising at least one identifier representing whether reception of a voice call having said at least one identifier is permissible at said subscriber devices;
maintaining, in said memory of said policy server, a trust policy comprising an indicator representing one of at least three levels of trust respective to each one of said subscriber devices;
each of said levels of trust representing a different allowability of modifying said communication policy;
receiving, at a network interface associated with said policy server, a request to modify said communication policy from said one of said subscriber devices;
retrieving, at said policy server, said indicator respective to said one of said subscriber devices from said trust policy maintained in said memory;
selecting, at said policy server, from a plurality of modification-procedures maintained in said memory, a modification-procedure for said communication policy according to said request and said indicator.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a system and method of modifying policy settings in a network having a plurality of subscriber devices. An embodiment includes a plurality of base stations, each capable of wirelessly transmitting across a geographic region and a server. A cell-phone, capable of roaming between regions, is operable to establish a wireless link with the base stations and through the base stations, with the server. The network contains a communication policy determining from which other communication devices a subscriber device can receive voice calls. The communication policy is updated, by the server, based on requests from the subscriber devices. Once a request is received from a subscriber device, the determination whether to update the communication policy can be based on a record of rejections respective to the caller requested to be blocked. Alternatively, the communication policy can be updated according to a trust policy maintained on the server respective to the subscriber device making the request; the trust policy represents the procedure to follow when a request is received from that subscriber device.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. A method of maintaining a communication policy in a voice telephony network having a policy server and a plurality of subscriber devices comprising the steps of:
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maintaining, in a memory of said policy server, a communication policy comprising at least one identifier representing whether reception of a voice call having said at least one identifier is permissible at said subscriber devices; maintaining, in said memory of said policy server, a trust policy comprising an indicator representing one of at least three levels of trust respective to each one of said subscriber devices;
each of said levels of trust representing a different allowability of modifying said communication policy;receiving, at a network interface associated with said policy server, a request to modify said communication policy from said one of said subscriber devices; retrieving, at said policy server, said indicator respective to said one of said subscriber devices from said trust policy maintained in said memory; selecting, at said policy server, from a plurality of modification-procedures maintained in said memory, a modification-procedure for said communication policy according to said request and said indicator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A policy server comprising:
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a network interface for communicating with a plurality of subscriber devices via a voice telephony network interconnecting said devices and said interface; at least one persistent storage device for maintaining a communication policy comprising at least one identifier representing whether reception of a voice call having said at least one identifier is permissible at said subscriber devices in said network; said at least one persistent storage device additionally for maintaining a trust policy comprising an indicator representing one of at least three levels of trust respective to each one of said subscriber devices;
each one of said levels of trust representing a different allowability of modifying said communication policy;a processor interconnecting said interface and said at least one persistent storage devices;
said processor for receiving a request to modify said communication policy from said one of said subscriber devices via said interface;said processor operable to retrieve said indicator for said one of said subscriber devices from said trust policy; and
,said processor operable to select from a plurality of modification-procedures, a modification-procedure for said communication policy according to said request and said indicator.
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12. A computer-readable medium storing a plurality of programming instructions;
- said programming instructions implementing a method of maintaining a communication policy in a voice telephony network having a policy server and a plurality of subscriber devices;
said method performing the steps of;maintaining, in a memory of said policy server, a communication policy comprising at least one identifier representing whether reception of a voice call having said at least one identifier is permissible at said subscriber devices in said network; maintaining, in a memory of said policy server, a trust policy comprising an indicator representing one of at least three levels of trust respective to each one of said subscriber devices;
each of said levels of trust representing a different allowability of modifying said communication policy;receiving, at a network interface associated with said policy server, a request to modify said communication policy from said one of said subscriber devices; retrieving, at said policy server, said indicator from said trust policy maintained in said memory; selecting, at said policy server, from a plurality of modification-procedures maintained in said memory, a modification-procedure for said communication policy according to said request and said indicator.
- said programming instructions implementing a method of maintaining a communication policy in a voice telephony network having a policy server and a plurality of subscriber devices;
Specification