Service and information management system for a telecommunications network
First Claim
1. A method of measuring an amount of time which elapses between a calling party dialing a phone number of a called party and the calling party hearing a ringback tone indicating that the called party has been alerted to a telephone call, comprising:
- transmitting from a first telecommunications element in the geographic area of the calling party to an originating network element in the geographic area of the calling party a first message indicating that the phone number of the called party was dialed by the calling party;
copying the first message;
appending transaction information to the copied first message having a time stamp indicating when the first message was received by the originating network element, so that the appended information and the copied first message form a first information packet;
forwarding the first information packet from the originating network element to a communications unit;
transmitting to the originating network element a second message indicating that the called party was alerted to the call;
copying the second message;
appending transaction information to the copied second message having a time stamp indicating when the second message was received by the originating network element, so that the appended information and the copied second message form a second information packet;
forwarding the second information packet from the originating network element to the communications unit; and
subtracting the value of the time stamp in the first information packet from the value of the time stamp in the second information packet to obtain a first component of delay.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system for service control and operations for a telecommunications network. In particular, an architecture and method for a service control and operations element system. The system communicates with a plurality of interconnected telecommunications network elements via a switching and signaling subsystem. The system provides and controls the functions of the telecommunications network, including a method of measuring delay between the time a customer dials a phone number of a called party and the time the customer hears a ringback tone indicating that the called party was alerted to the call, a method of synchronizing clocks located at individual network elements with a centralized time source, and a method of time-of-day clock surveillance.
45 Citations
8 Claims
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1. A method of measuring an amount of time which elapses between a calling party dialing a phone number of a called party and the calling party hearing a ringback tone indicating that the called party has been alerted to a telephone call, comprising:
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transmitting from a first telecommunications element in the geographic area of the calling party to an originating network element in the geographic area of the calling party a first message indicating that the phone number of the called party was dialed by the calling party; copying the first message; appending transaction information to the copied first message having a time stamp indicating when the first message was received by the originating network element, so that the appended information and the copied first message form a first information packet; forwarding the first information packet from the originating network element to a communications unit; transmitting to the originating network element a second message indicating that the called party was alerted to the call; copying the second message; appending transaction information to the copied second message having a time stamp indicating when the second message was received by the originating network element, so that the appended information and the copied second message form a second information packet; forwarding the second information packet from the originating network element to the communications unit; and subtracting the value of the time stamp in the first information packet from the value of the time stamp in the second information packet to obtain a first component of delay. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method of measuring time elapsed until a calling party hears a ringback tone indicating that a called party has been alerted to a telephone call placed by the calling party, comprising:
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transmitting from a first telecommunications element in the geographic area of the calling party to a first originating network element in the geographic area of the calling party a first message indicating that a telephone number in the geographic area of the called party was dialed; copying the first message; appending transaction information to the copied first message having a time stamp indicating when the first message was received by the first originating network element, so that the appended information and the copied first message form a first information packet; forwarding the first information packet from the first originating network element to a communications unit; transmitting to the first originating network element a second message indicating that the called party was alerted to the telephone call; copying the second message; appending transaction information to the copied second message having a time stamp indicating when the second message was received by the first originating network element, so that the information and the copied second message form a second information packet; forwarding the second information packet from the first originating network element to the communications unit; subtracting the value of the time stamp in the first information packet from the value of the time stamp in the second information packet to obtain a first component of delay; transmitting from a second telecommunications element in the geographic area of the called party to a second originating network element in the geographic area of the called party a third message indicating that a telephone number in the geographic area of the calling party was dialed; copying the third message; appending transaction information to the copied third message having a time stamp indicating when the third message was received by the second originating network element, so that the appended information and the copied third message form a third information packet; forwarding the third information packet from the second originating network element to the communications unit; transmitting to the second originating network element a fourth message indicating that the called party was alerted to the telephone call; copying the fourth message; appending transaction information to the copied fourth message having a time stamp indicating when the fourth message was received by the second originating network element, so that the appended information and the copied fourth message form a fourth information packet; forwarding the fourth information packet from the second originating network element to the communications unit; subtracting the value of the time stamp in the third information packet from the value of the time stamp in the fourth information packet to obtain a second component of delay; adding the first component of delay to the second component of delay to obtain a double value of delay; and subtracting from the double value of delay the time it takes a message to travel from the first originating network element to the second originating network element and back to the first originating network element to obtain the total time elapsed until a calling party hears a ringback tone indicating that a called party has been alerted to a telephone call placed by the calling party. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8)
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Specification