System and Method for Broadcasting Packetized Voice Messages

• US 20130028402A1
• Filed: 07/25/2012
• Published: 01/31/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Reynolds, Douglas F., Brandt, Jeffrey Lewis, Bangor, Aaron, Sullivan, Marc Andrew
• Granted Patent: US 8,605,866 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/93.24
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/611 for multicast or broadcast systems for broadcast or conference H04L12/18; arrangements for broadcast or distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/00; arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time H04H60/00; selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS], H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/205 Broadcasting
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/04 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42

Abstract

A particular method includes initiating outbound calls associated with at least two recipients that are to receive a notification message. The outbound calls include a first call to a first telephone address associated with a first recipient of the at least two recipients. The method further includes, in response to a determination that the first call is unanswered, initiating a second call to a second telephone address associated with the first recipient and initiating generation of an email message to an electronic mail address associated with the first recipient.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

initiating outbound calls associated with at least two recipients that are to receive a notification message, wherein the outbound calls include a first call to a first telephone address associated with a first recipient of the at least two recipients; and

in response to a determination that the first call is unanswered;

initiating a second call to a second telephone address included in contact information associated with the first recipient; and

concurrently initiating generation of an email message to an electronic mail address associated with the first recipient.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the outbound calls are initiated simultaneously, and wherein the outbound calls comprise voice over internet protocol calls.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising delivering notification messages during the first call responsive to a determination that the first call is answered.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving an event trigger to initiate the outbound calls, wherein the event trigger is associated with the notification message and is associated with identification of the at least two recipients.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising identifying the at least two recipients and identifying the notification message based on the event trigger.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the event trigger includes a location code, an emergency type code, and a notification message identifier.

7. A notification system comprising:

a switch operable to;

support a plurality of simultaneous connections associated with a plurality of recipients; and

initiate a first call to a first telephone address associated with a first recipient of the plurality of recipients that are to receive a notification message, wherein the first call is provided via one of the plurality of simultaneous connections;

a notification mechanism operable to determine whether the first call is answered; and

a call log engine operable to, when the notification mechanism determines that the first call is unanswered;

initiate a second call to a second telephone address associated with the first recipient; and

concurrently initiate generation of an email message to an electronic mail address associated with the first recipient.

8. The notification system of claim 7, wherein the switch comprises a voice over Internet protocol switch.

9. The notification system of claim 7, further comprising:

a network interface operable to;

receive a first notification signal; and

provide a trigger signal to the switch based on the first notification signal, wherein the first call is initiated based at least in part on the trigger signal.

10. The notification system of claim 7, wherein the first notification signal is formatted according to an emergency alert system protocol.

11. The notification system of claim 7, wherein the call log engine is further operable to track a metric associated with delivery of the notification message to the first recipient.

12. The notification system of claim 7, wherein the switch is further operable to:

determine a device type of a recipient device associated with the first telephone address;

determine, based on the device type, whether the recipient device is configured to receive and play a specialized ring tone; and

initiate the first call including the specialized ring tone to the first telephone address responsive to determining that the recipient device is configured to receive and play the specialized ring tone.

13. The notification system of claim 7, wherein the switch includes a simultaneous connections limit, and wherein the switch is further operable to initiate calls to the plurality of recipients via the plurality of simultaneous connections, wherein the plurality of simultaneous connections comprises at least seventy-five percent of the simultaneous connections limit.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

initiate outbound calls associated with at least two recipients that are identified to receive a notification message, wherein the outbound calls include a first call to a first telephone address associated with a first recipient of the at least two recipients; and

in response to a determination that the first call is unanswered;

initiate a second call to a second telephone address included in contact information associated with the first recipient; and

concurrently initiate generation of an email message to an electronic mail address associated with the first recipient.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, further comprising instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to receive an event trigger identifying the notification message and including an indication of a time period when the notification message is valid.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the first telephone address is different from the second telephone address.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the first telephone address comprises a first voice over internet telephone number, and wherein the second telephone address comprises a second voice over internet telephone number.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the second call is initiated after expiration of a time interval subsequent to determining whether the first call is answered, wherein the time interval is randomly selected.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, further comprising instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to generate the email message, wherein the generated email message includes the notification message.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, further comprising instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to, in response to the determination that the first call is unanswered, place one or more additional calls to the first telephone address prior to initiating the second call to the second telephone address.