JURISDICTIONALLY OPTIMIZED CALL ROUTING

• US 20100220852A1
• Filed: 02/27/2009
• Published: 09/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: WILLMAN, John G.
• Granted Patent: US 8,848,887 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/265.110
• 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 15/80 Rating or billing plans; Tariff determination aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8044 Least cost routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/90 using Intelligent Networks [IN] or Advanced Intelligent Networks [AIN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/016 Billing using Intelligent Networks [IN] or Advanced Intelligent Networks [AIN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/74 Rating aspects, e.g. rating parameters or tariff determination apects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/745 Least cost routing, e.g. Automatic or manual, call by call or by preselection
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13138 Least cost routing, LCR
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13141 Hunting for free outlet, circuit or channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13144 Searching path through number of switching stages or nodes, e.g. revertive blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13148 Maximum profit routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13353 Routing table, map memory
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0029 Provisions for intelligent networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/66 Traffic distributors

Abstract

A device receives ordered call routing lists, receives information about a call, from an originating location, to a terminating location of a network, and determines a jurisdictional index for the call based on the originating and terminating locations and based on jurisdiction definitions of carriers associated with the network. The device also selects a route list from the ordered call routing lists based on the determined jurisdictional index and based on the terminating location, selects a route from the selected route list, and provides routing instructions to network elements associated with the selected route, where the call is routed to the terminating location via the selected route and based on the routing instructions.

Claims

1. A computing device-implemented method, comprising:

receiving, by a memory of the computing device, ordered call routing lists;

receiving, by a processor of the computing device, information about a call, from an originating location, to a terminating location of a network;

determining, by the processor, a jurisdictional index for the call based on information about the originating and terminating locations and based on jurisdiction definitions of carriers associated with the network;

selecting, by the processor, a route list from the ordered call routing lists based on the determined jurisdictional index and based on the terminating location;

selecting, by the processor, a route from the selected route list; and

providing, by the processor, routing instructions to network elements associated with the selected route, where the call is routed to the terminating location via the selected route and based on the routing instructions.

2. The computing device-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the selected route is available for routing the call; and

providing the routing instructions to the network elements associated with the selected route when the selected route is determined to be available.

3. The computing device-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the selected route is unavailable for routing the call;

selecting another route from the selected route list; and

providing routing instructions to network elements associated with the other selected route, where the call is routed to the terminating location via the other selected route and based on the routing instructions.

4. The computing device-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining the routing instructions based on the selected route.

5. The computing device-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing, in the memory, information associated with the selected route.

6. The computing device-implemented method of claim 5, where the information associated with the selected route comprises one or more of:

information associated with the call,

information associated with the network elements of the selected route,

information associated with the routing instructions, or

information associated with the selected route list.

7. The computing device-implemented method of claim 1, where the ordered call routing lists are ordered based on jurisdictional information associated with a network.

8. The computing device-implemented method of claim 7, where the jurisdictional information is determined based on how carriers, associated with the network, determine jurisdictions for calls.

9. The computing device-implemented method of claim 1, where the selected route list includes a list of potential routes, for the call, that are ranked based on cost.

10. The computing device-implemented method of claim 1, where the route list is selected from the ordered call routing lists based on one or more of:

whether a carrier associated with the route list considers the call to be a marked call or an unmarked call,

whether the carrier geocodes unmarked calls,

whether routing the call by the carrier will cause the carrier to exceed an unmarked call threshold, or

whether, for geocoded calls, the carrier has trunk group interconnections on the network.

11. The computing device-implemented method of claim 1, where the jurisdictional index for the call is determined based on one or more of:

whether the call is a marked call or an unmarked call,

whether a valid calling party number is associated with the call,

whether a valid charge number is associated with the call,

whether a valid automatic number identification (ANI) is associated with the call, or

whether a valid Jurisdiction Information Parameter (JIP) code is associated with the call and the call is a mobile call.

12. The computing device-implemented method of claim 1, where the computing device comprises an intelligent call processing platform (INCP).

13. A device, comprising:

a memory to store a plurality of instructions and ordered call routing lists; and

a processor to execute instructions in the memory to;

receive information about a call, from an originating location, to a terminating location of a network,

determine a jurisdictional index for the call based on the originating and terminating locations and based on jurisdiction definitions of carriers associated with the network,

select a route list from the ordered call routing lists based on the determined jurisdictional index and based on the terminating location,

select a route from the selected route list,

determine routing instructions for network elements associated with the selected route, and

provide the routing instructions to the network elements associated with the selected route, where the call is routed to the terminating location via the selected route and based on the routing instructions.

14. The device of claim 13, where the device comprises an intelligent call processing platform (INCP).

15. The device of claim 13, where the processor further executes instructions in the memory to:

determine whether the selected route is available for routing the call, and

provide the routing instructions to the network elements associated with the selected route when the selected route is determined to be available.

16. The device of claim 13, where the processor further executes instructions in the memory to:

determine that the selected route is unavailable for routing the call,

select another route from the selected route list,

determine other routing instructions for network elements associated with the other selected route, and

provide the other routing instructions to network elements associated with the other selected route, where the call is routed to the terminating location via the other selected route and based on the other routing instructions.

17. The device of claim 13, where, when determining a jurisdictional index for the call based on the originating and terminating locations, the processor executes instructions in the memory to one of:

determine whether the call is an interstate call based on the originating and terminating locations or based on geocoding,

determine whether the call is an intrastate call based on the originating and terminating locations or based on geocoding, or

determine whether the call is a marked call.

18. The device of claim 13, where the processor further executes instructions in the memory to:

store, in the memory, information associated with the selected route.

19. The device of claim 18, where the information associated with the selected route comprises one or more of:

information associated with the call,

information associated with the network elements of the selected route,

information associated with the routing instructions, or

information associated with the selected route list.

20. The device of claim 13, where the ordered call routing lists are ordered based on carrier costs for all possible jurisdictional indices.

21. The device of claim 20, where the jurisdictional information is determined based on how carriers, associated with the telecommunications network, determine jurisdictions for calls.

22. The device of claim 13, where the selected route list includes a list of potential routes, for the call, that are ranked based on cost.

23. The device of claim 13, where the jurisdictional index for the call is determined based on one or more of:

whether the call is a marked call or an unmarked call,

whether a valid calling party number is associated with the call,

whether a valid charge number is associated with the call,

whether a valid automatic number identification (ANI) is associated with the call, or

whether a valid Jurisdiction Information Parameter (JIP) code is associated with the call and the call is a mobile call.

24. The device of claim 13, where the route list is selected from the ordered call routing lists based on one or more of:

whether a carrier associated with the route list considers the call to be a marked call or an unmarked call,

whether the carrier geocodes unmarked calls,

whether routing the call by the carrier will cause the carrier to exceed an unmarked call threshold, or

whether the carrier has network elements for routing the call to the terminating location.

25. A system, comprising:

means for generating a jurisdictional index table, for carriers associated with a network, based on criteria used by the carriers to determine jurisdictions for calls;

means for generating carrier rate tables associated with the carriers;

means for retrieving rates in the carrier rate tables based on the jurisdictional index table;

means for sorting carriers based on the rates;

means for constructing ordered call routing lists based on the sorted carriers;

means for receiving a call, from an originating location, to a terminating location;

means for determining a jurisdictional index for the call based on information about the originating and terminating locations;

means for selecting a route list from the ordered call routing lists based on the determined jurisdictional index;

means for selecting a route from the selected route list; and

means for providing routing instructions to network elements associated with the selected route, where the call is routed to the terminating location via the selected route and based on the routing instructions.