System and Method for Coordinating between Multiple Telephony Channels

• US 20100254373A1
• Filed: 03/29/2010
• Published: 10/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ARRIS Enterprises LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ARRIS Group, Inc. (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Krein, Todd, Perlman, Stephen G., Young, Steven J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,634,409 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1026 at the edge
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0057 Services where the data services network provides a telephone service in addition or as an alternative, e.g. for backup purposes, to the telephone service provided by the telephone services network
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0069 comprising a residential gateway, e.g. those which provide an adapter for POTS or ISDN terminals

Abstract

A system comprising: an IP telephony interface communicatively coupled to an IP telephony service; a secondary telephony interface communicatively coupled to a secondary telephony service; and a telephone connection module to select between the IP telephony service and the secondary telephone service based on one or more specified telephony connection conditions.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

automatically detecting at a server whether an IP telephony service or a secondary telephony service is available to a client; and

selecting between the IP telephony service and a secondary telephony service based on one or more specified telephony connection conditions;

transmitting from the server a multimedia signal based on audio received from the selected telephony service;

wherein a plurality of clients are communicatively coupled to the transmission and operable to receive the transmission and play back the multimedia signal for a subscriber.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the secondary service is the public switched telephone network.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein detecting comprises:

sensing that power required to support the IP telephony service is below a predetermined threshold value; and

responsively selecting the secondary telephony service in lieu of the IP telephony service.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein selecting comprises coupling the secondary telephony service to a home telephone network.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein coupling comprises physically coupling.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein coupling comprises an electrical coupling.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

if the IP telephony service is available, then transmitting packets from the IP telephony over a home telephone network.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising:

converting from a network protocol employed on the iP telephony network to a network protocol employed on the home telephony network.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the protocol employed on the home telephone network is the Home Phoneline Network Alliance protocol.

18. The one or more computer readable media of claim 8, wherein the protocol employed on the home telephone network is the Home Phoneline Network Alliance protocol.

10. One or more computer-readable media having instructions stored thereon, the one or more computer readable media, when executed by a processor, causing the processor to perform operations comprising:

automatically detecting at a server whether an IP telephony service or a secondary telephony service is available to a client; and

selecting between the IP telephony service and a secondary telephony service based on one or more specified telephony connection conditions;

transmitting from the server a multimedia signal based on audio received from the selected telephony service;

wherein a plurality of clients are communicatively coupled to the transmission and operable to receive the transmission and play back the multimedia signal for a subscriber.

11. The one or more computer readable media of claim 10, wherein the secondary service is the public switched telephone network.

12. The one or more computer readable media of claim 10, wherein detecting comprises:

sensing that power required to support the IP telephony service is below a predetermined threshold value; and

responsively selecting the secondary telephony service in lieu of the IP telephony service.

13. The one or more computer readable media of claim 12, wherein selecting comprises coupling the secondary telephony service to a home telephone network.

16. The one or more computer readable media of claim 10, further comprising causing the processor to perform operations comprising:

if the IP telephony service is available, then transmitting packets from the IP telephony over a home telephone network.

17. The one or more computer readable media of claim 16, further comprising causing the processor to perform operations comprising:

converting from a network protocol employed on the iP telephony network to a network protocol employed on the home telephony network.

14. The one or more computer readable media of claim 14 wherein coupling comprises physically coupling.

15. The one or more computer readable media of claim 14, wherein coupling comprises an electrical coupling.

19. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

automatically detecting at a server whether an IP telephony service or a secondary telephony service is available to a client; and

sensing one or more specified telephony connection conditions;

selecting between the IP telephony service and a secondary telephony service based on one or more specified telephony connection conditions;

wherein the IP telephony service and the secondary telephony service are simultaneously coupled to a home telephone network via the same transmission medium, the IP telephony service and the secondary telephony service operating at different frequency ranges.