Apparatus and method for internet telephony routing

• US 6,597,686 B1
• Filed: 04/21/1998
• Issued: 07/22/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hanger Solutions, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Telcordia Technologies Incorporated (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Inventors: Smyk, Darek A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kizou, Hassan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pezzlo, John
• Application Number:
  US09/063,684
• Time in Patent Office: 1,918 Days
• Field of Search: 370/217, 370/218, 370/232, 370/236, 370/237, 370/238, 370/352-356, 370/389, 370/912, 370/400, 370/401, 370/252, 379/221
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/6472 Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/6475 N-ISDN, Public Switched Telephone Network [PSTN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1095 Inter-network session transfer or sharing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• 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 15/56 for VoIP communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/745 Customizing according to wishes of subscriber, e.g. friends or family
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8005 Flat-fee
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8044 Least cost routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8055 Selecting cheaper transport technology for a given service
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0108 Customization according to wishes of subscriber, e.g. customer preferences, friends and family, selecting services or billing options, Personal Communication Systems [PCS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/202 VoIP; Packet switched telephony
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/745 Least cost routing, e.g. Automatic or manual, call by call or by preselection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7464 Select transport technology for a given service, e.g. use for data connection WLAN rather than GSM/UMTS/GPRS or use company's communication network rather than a public network
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/382 using authorisation codes or passwords
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42289 with carrierprovider selection by subscriber
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1285 Details of finding and selecting a gateway for a particular call
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0045 : involving hybrid, i.e. a mixture of public and private, or multi-vendor systems

Abstract

An apparatus and method for automatically designating a telephone call route through a telephone network including a circuit switched telephone network (STN) and a packet switched network, such as the Internet. The method includes the steps, executed by a network element, of receiving a telephone number corresponding to a called party receiving the telephone call, reviewing preference information pertaining to a calling party'"'"'s telephone service, determining from the preference information and the telephone number whether the telephone call can be routed to the called party through the packet switched network, and assigning a route for the telephone call through one of either the packet switched network or the STN to the called party based on whether the call is routable through the packet switched network. A network element (NE) includes the databases and call processing records necessary to route a call and perform these steps.

Claims

1. A method for enabling a telephone subscriber to initiate a telephone call to a called party either from the subscriber'"'"'s registered telephone or a non-registered telephone and through a telephone network comprising a plurality of circuit switched networks and a plurality of packet switched networks, said method comprising the steps of:

storing in a telephone network a subscriber profile indicating for each international call made by the subscriber a preferred one of said packet switched networks that the call is to be routed through and a preference ranking of packet switched networks if the call cannot be routed through the preferred one of said packet switched networks and further indicating for each domestic call made by the subscriber a pre-selected one of the circuit switched networks that the call is to be routed through,

determining by the telephone network, based on the subscriber profile, how the call is to be routed, said determining step including computing a billing rate for the call if the call is from a non-registered telephone and querying the subscriber for approval, and

establishing the connection by the telephone network to the called party in accordance with the determining step.

2. The method in accordance with claim 1 wherein said establishing step further comprises establishing the connection for an international call through the pre-selected circuit switched network if none of the packet switched networks identified in the subscriber profile serves the called party.

3. A telephone communications system for a telecommunications network, said network comprising a plurality of circuit switched telephone networks and a plurality of packet switched telephone network, said system comprising:

means for maintaining a subscriber profile that determines that all calls of a first class made by the subscriber are to be sent over one of said packet switched networks chosen from among a list of pre-selected packet switched networks ordered in a preference ranking, and that further determines that calls made by the subscriber and not of said first class are to be sent over a pre-selected one of the circuit switched networks,

means for receiving a called party'"'"'s telephone number generated by the subscriber,

means for analyzing the called number and the subscriber profile to determine whether a connection to the called number can be routed over one of the pre-selected packet networks in accordance with the preference ranking specified by the subscriber profile, said means for analyzing computing a billing rate for the connection and querying the subscriber for approval if the connection is to be made from other than a registered telephone of the subscriber, and

means for establishing the connection to the called party over one of the pre-selected packet switched networks if the called number is of the first class and the analyzing means determines the connection can be routed over one of the pre-selected packet switched networks and for establishing the connection over a pre-selected circuit switched network if the called number is not of the first class.

4. The telephone communications system of claim 3 wherein if the called number is of the first class and the analyzing means determines the connection cannot be routed over one of the pre-selected packet switched networks, said establishing means establishes the connection over the pre-selected circuit switched network.

5. The telephone communications system of claim 3 further comprising a gateway associated with each of said packet switched networks, and wherein said connection establishing means further includes means for communicating with a gateway to establish the connection to the called party through a packet switched network.

6. A telephone communications system for a telecommunications network, said network comprising a plurality of circuit switched telephone networks and a plurality of packet switched network, said system comprising:

means for maintaining a subscriber profile that determines that all calls of a first class made by the subscriber are to be sent over one of said packet switched networks chosen from among a list of pre-selected packet switched networks ordered in a preference ranking, and that further determines that calls made by the subscriber and not of said first class are to be sent over a pre-selected one of the circuit switched networks,

means for receiving a called party'"'"'s telephone number generated by the subscriber wherein said telephone number is intercepted by the telecommunications network and then forwarded by the telecommunications network to said receiving means,

means for analyzing the called number and the subscriber profile to determine whether a connection to the called number can be routed over one of the pre-selected packet networks in accordance with the preference ranking specified by the subscriber profile, and

means for establishing the connection to the called party over one of the pre-selected packet switched networks if the called number is of the first class and the analyzing means determines the connection can be routed over one of the pre-selected packet switched network and for establishing the connection over a pre-selected circuit switched network if the called number is not of the first class.