Method for routing calls from a terminal in a first telecommunication network to any terminal in an external telecommunication network

• US 6,366,576 B1
• Filed: 09/25/1998
• Issued: 04/02/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Haga, Børge
• Primary Examiner(s): Hsu, Alpus H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HO, DUC CHI
• Application Number:
  US09/160,930
• Time in Patent Office: 1,285 Days
• Field of Search: 370/230, 370/231, 370/235, 370/236, 370/259, 370/260, 370/351, 370/352, 370/400, 370/401, 379/202, 455/414, 455/416, 455/445
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/12 Shortest path evaluation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/10 of different types
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/45 Network directories; Name-to-address mapping
• 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 7/006 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

The present invention relates to a method for routing calls from a terminal in a first telecommunication network, for example an intranet, to any terminal in an external telecommunication network, the interworking between said networks taking place through one of several interworking units or so-called gateways (GW), and in order to provide a method which in a more effective manner can optimise such interworking between such networks, it is according to the present invention suggested that there is used at least one routing entity which routes the call or calls through a gateway (GW1, GW2) giving the most optimal route, for example the most cost effective or resource effective route.

Claims

1. A system for routing calls from a first terminal in a first telecommunications network to a second terminal in an external telecommunications network having a plurality of geographical regions, said system comprising:

a plurality of gateways, each of said plurality of gateways being for routing calls from said packet network to an associated geographical region of said plurality of geographical regions of said external telecommunications network; and

a routing entity for selecting one of said plurality of gateways for routing a particular call from the first terminal in said packet network to the second terminal in said external telecommunications networkbased upon predetermined criteria, and for routing the call from the first terminal to the second terminal through the selected one of said plurality of gateways, said routing entity including a routing table containing predetermined information about the plurality of geographical regions, said predetermined information including at least a portion of telephone numbers reflecting codes for each of said plurality of geographical regions and cost levels for each of said plurality of geographical regions, and a quality of service table reflecting quality of service for each of said plurality of gateways, wherein said predetermined criteria include a criterion reflecting said codes for each of said plurality of geographical regions a criterion reflecting cost levels for each of said plurality of geographical regions, and a quality of service criterion reflecting available ports at any particular one of said plurality of gateways and whether a call is an audio call, an audio and video call or a data call.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined criteria are updated each time a gateway is added to or removed from said plurality of gateways.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein said at least a portion of telephone numbers reflecting codes for each of said plurality of geographical regions includes a country code and/or an area code.

4. A system for routing calls from a first terminal in a packet network to a second terminal in an external telecommunications network having a plurality of geographical regions, said system comprising:

a plurality of gateways, each of said plurality of gateways being for routing calls from said packet network to an associated geographical region of said plurality of geographical regions of said external telecommunications network; and

a routing entity for selecting one of said plurality of gateways for routing a particular call from the first terminal in said packet network to the second terminal in said external telecommunications network based upon predetermined criteria, and for routing the call from the first terminal to the second terminal through the selected one of said plurality of gateways, said routing entity including a routing table containing predetermined information about the plurality of geographical regions, said predetermined information including at least a portion of telephone numbers reflecting codes for each of said plurality of geographical regions and cost levels for each of said plurality of geographical regions, and an available resource table reflecting available resources for each of said plurality of gateways, said available resources including available port resources at each of said plurality of gateways, wherein said predetermined criteria include a criterion reflecting said codes for each of said plurality of geographical regions a criterion reflecting cost levels for each of said plurality of geographical regions, and a criterion reflecting available ports at any particular gateway, and wherein said routing entity selects a gateway with optimum port resource availability based upon the call being an audio call, an audio and video call or a data call.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein said predetermined criteria are updated each time a gateway is added to or removed from the plurality of gateways.

6. And The system according to claim 4, wherein said at least a portion of telephone numbers reflecting codes for each of said plurality of geographical regions includes a country code and/or an area code.

7. A system for routing calls from a first terminal in a packet network to a second terminal in an external telecommunications network having a plurality of geographical regions, said system comprising:

a plurality of gateways, each of said plurality of gateways being for routing calls from said packet network to an associated geographical region of said plurality of geographical regions of said external telecommunications network; and

a routing entity for selecting one of said plurality of gateways for routing a particular call from the first terminal in said packet network to the second terminal in said external telecommunications network based upon predetermined criteria, and for routing the call from the first terminal to the second terminal through the selected one of said plurality of gateways, said routing entity including a routing table containing predetermined information about the plurality of geographical regions, said predetermined information including at least a portion of telephone numbers reflecting codes for each of said plurality of geographical regions, and a cost level table reflecting cost levels of each of the plurality of geographical regions, and wherein said predetermined criteria include a criterion reflecting said codes for each of said plurality of geographical regions a criterion reflecting cost levels for each of said plurality of geographical regions, and a criterion reflecting the cost levels of each of said plurality of geographical regions, wherein said routing entity selects a gateway to connect with the geographical region that supplies a most cost-effective external connection for the call from the first terminal to the second terminal.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein said predetermined criteria are updated each time a gateway is added to or removed from said plurality of gateways.

9. The system according to claim 7, wherein said at least a portion of telephone numbers reflecting codes for each of said plurality of geographical regions includes a country code and/or an area code.