Arrangement for outbound telecommunications

• US 5,206,899 A
• Filed: 09/05/1991
• Issued: 04/27/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T, Inc.
• Inventors: Gupta, Alok K., Seip, Barry S., Saleh, Patricia D.
• Primary Examiner(s): SCHREYER, STAFFORD
• Application Number:
  US07/755,407
• Time in Patent Office: 600 Days
• Field of Search: 379/127, 379/243, 379/350, 379/201, 379/211, 379/119, 379/120
• US Class Current: 379/120
• 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 15/16 according to connection obtained
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/22 Automatic class or number identification arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/382 using authorisation codes or passwords
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42059 Making use of the calling party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42229 Personal communication services, i.e. services related to one subscriber independent of his terminal and/or location diverting calls from one subscriber to another subscriber, i.e. two different subscriptions H04M3/54; selecting arrangements in intelligent networks H04Q3/005
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4228 in networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13091 CLI, identification of calling line
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13098 Mobile subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13103 Memory
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13109 Initializing, personal profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/1313 Metering, billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13134 Coin boxes, payphone, prepaid
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/1324 Conference call
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13331 Abbreviated dialling
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13345 Intelligent networks, SCP
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13547 subscriber, e.g. profile, database, database access
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0033 customer-controlled
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/72 Finding out and indicating number of calling subscriber

Abstract

A subscriber can dynamically provision, i.e., assign desired characteristics to any "target station", which is an active phone accessible to a telecommunications network. A call thereafter originated from the target station (including a pay phone or a mobile phone) then can use customized features (for example, speed calling, conferencing, account code dialing) and take advantage of special corporate billing arrangements (for example, SDN, WATS and MEGACOM). The identity of the target station with respect to the communications network (e.g., the Automatic Number Identification (ANI) of the station) is not changed. Initially, a service profile is created and stored for each subscriber, containing information describing desired features and billing options. Thereafter, the characteristics of a particular target station are changed by an activation process that can be initiated from any location, whereby the ANI associated with the target station is entered into the ANI trigger table in an intelligent switch on which that station is homed, and the service profile is loaded into a database. When a call is originated in the target station, information in the database is applied to the switch to provide the desired characteristics.

Claims

1. In a telecommunications system, apparatus for altering the features provided to outbound telephone calls originating from a target station and routed to a destination via a switch, said apparatus comprising:

a database arranged to store a record indicative of the features to be applied to calls originated from said target station and processed in said switch,

means in said switch responsive to automatic number identification (ANI) information associated with a call originated from said target station for retrieving said record from said database and applying said features to said call, and

means for updating said record in said database in response to a call initiated from a station other than said target station.

2. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein said features include dialing attributes of said call originated from said target station.

3. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein

said switch includes means for formulating a billing record for said call, and

said features include attributes specified in said billing record.

4. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein said retrieving and applying means is arranged to retain the ANI associated with said target station.

5. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein said updating means includes means for identifying said switch from among a plurality of switches based upon selected digits in the telephone number of said target station.

6. In a telecommunications system, apparatus for altering the characteristics of outbound telephone calls originated in one of a plurality of target stations and routed to a destination via a telecommunications network including a plurality of switches, each of said target stations being homed on a particular one of said switches, said apparatus comprising:

means for storing a plurality of records, each record indicative of the characteristics to be applied to calls processed in said switches;

means for transferring, in response to a call initiated from a location remote from a particular one of said target stations, one of said records to the one of said switches on which said one target station is homed; and

means in each of said switches including an ANI trigger table responsive to ANI information in a call originated from said target station, for applying characteristics to said call in accordance with said transferred one of said stored records.

7. The invention defined in claim 6 wherein said transferring means includes means for identifying said one of said switches based upon selected digits in the telephone number of said particular one of said target stations.

8. A system for customizing billing records generated in connection with telephone calls originating from a particular telephone instrument, said particular telephone instrument being connected to a toll switch in a communication network via a local switch, said local switch arranged to pass an indication of the origination number of said particular telephone instrument to said toll switch, said system comprising:

a trigger table in said toll switch arranged to generate a query in response to receipt of a telephone call from a particular telephone instrument only if the origination number of said particular telephone instrument is stored in said trigger table;

a database for retrieving and applying to said toll switch, in response to said query, a particular one of a plurality of records stored in said database, said record indicating the characteristics to be applied to billing records generated in connection with said telephone call; and

means for updating from a remote location, originating numbers stored in said trigger table and records stored in said database.

9. A system for generating a billing record for a long distance call originated in a telephone station and routed to destination via a toll switch, said system comprising:

a database for storing profiles containing information indicative of desired billing characteristics to be applied to long distance calls;

means for retrieving one of said profiles from said database in response to receipt of a call originated from said telephone station, said one profile being selected as a function of the telephone number of said telephone station;

means in said toll switch for receiving said retrieved profile, and responsive thereto for generating a billing record for said long distance call having said desired billing characteristics.

10. Apparatus for customizing calling characteristics for calls placed by subscriber from a telephone station and routed through a telecommunications network including a plurality of intelligent switches, said apparatus comprising:

database means for storing a profile containing desired calling characteristics for said subscriber;

means responsive to designation of a particular telephone station by said subscriber for transferring said profile to a selected one of said switches on which said particular station is homed; and

means including an ANI trigger table in said selected switch for accessing said transferred profile in response to a call originated in said particular telephone station so as to complete calls made from said particular telephone station in accordance with characteristics contained in said profile.

11. In a telecommunications system, a method for altering the features provided to outbound telephone calls originating from a target station and routed to a destination via a switch, said method comprising the steps of:

storing in a database a record indicative of the features to be applied to calls originated from said target station and processed in said switch,

retrieving said record from said database in response to automatic number identification (ANI) information associated with a call originated from said target station;

applying characteristics to said call as specified in said retrieved record, and

updating said record in said database in response to a call initiated from a station other than said target station.

12. The method defined in claim 11 wherein said features include dialing attributes of said call originated from said target station.

13. The method defined in claim 11 wherein

said applying step includes formulating a billing record for said call, and

wherein said features include attributes specified in said billing record.

14. The method defined in claim 11 wherein said applying step includes retaining the ANI associated with said target station.

15. The method defined in claim 11 wherein said updating step includes identifying said switch from among a plurality of switches based upon selected digits in the telephone number of said target station.

16. In a telecommunications system, a method for altering the characteristics of outbound telephone calls originated in one of a plurality of target stations and routed to a destination via a telecommunications network including a plurality of switches, each of said target stations being homed on a particular one of said switches, said method comprising the steps of:

storing a plurality of records, each record indicative of the characteristics to be applied to calls processed in said switches;

transferring, in response to a call initiated from a location remote from a particular one of said target stations, one of said records to the one of said switches on which said one target station is homed; and

responsive to ANI information in a call originated from said target station, processing said call in said one of said switches on which said one target station is homed in accordance with characteristics specified in said transferred one of said stored records.

17. The method defined in claim 16 wherein said transferring step includes identifying said one of said switches based upon selected digits in the telephone number of said particular one of said target stations.

18. A method for customizing billing records generated in connection with telephone calls originating from a particular telephone instrument, said particular telephone instrument being connected to a toll switch in a communications network via a local switch, said local switch arranged to pass an indication of the origination number of said particular telephone instrument to a trigger table in said toll switch, said method comprising:

generating a query in response to receipt of a telephone call from a particular telephone instrument only if the origination number of said particular telephone instrument is stored in said trigger table;

retrieving and applying to said toll switch, in response to said query, a particular one of a plurality of profiles stored in a database, said particular profile indicating the characteristics to be applied to billing records generated in connection with said telephone call;

generating a billing record in said toll switch in accordance with information contained in said particular one of said profiles; and

periodically updating from a remote location, originating numbers stored in said trigger table and profiles stored in said database.

19. A method for generating a billing record for a long distance call originated in a telephone station and routed to a destination via a toll switch, said system comprising:

storing in a database, profiles containing information indicative of desired billing characteristics to be applied to long distance calls;

retrieving one of said profiles from said database in response to receipt of a call originated from said telephone station, said one profile being selected as a function of the telephone number of said telephone station; and

processing said retrieved profile in said toll switch so as to generate a billing record for said long distance call having said desired billing characteristics.

20. A method of customizing calling characteristics for calls placed by a subscriber from a telephone station and routed through a telecommunications network including a plurality of intelligent switches, said method comprising:

storing in a database, a profile containing desired calling characteristics for said subscriber;

transferring said profile, in response to designation of a particular telephone station by said subscriber, to a selected one of said switches on which said particular station is homed; and

processing information contained in said profile in said selected switch so as to service calls made from said particular telephone station in accordance with characteristics contained in said profile.