Multiple routing options in a telecommunications service platform
First Claim
1. In a platform for providing services on behalf of a subscriber, a method comprising the steps of:
- providing a first routing option for routing an incoming call to the subscriber, said first routing option placing a call by the platform to successive phone numbers in a sequence of numbers for reaching the subscriber until a live answer to the call is realized;
providing a second routing option for routing an incoming call to the subscriber wherein different phone numbers are used to reach the subscriber based on a time schedule;
receiving an incoming call from a caller for the subscriber at the platform;
receiving a personal identification number (PIN) from the caller;
selecting between the first routing option and the second routing option based on the personal identification number (PIN); and
applying the selected option to reach the subscriber.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A platform provides access to multiple telecommunications services via a single telephone number. These services may include call routing options. In a first call routing option, calls are routed to each phone number in a sequence of phone numbers until a live answer of the call is realized. In a second routing option, the routing of the call is based upon a schedule. Thus, a current time, current day of the week or current date may determine what phone number is called when an incoming call is routed. Routing may also be associated with personal identification numbers (PINs). In such an instance, a caller enters a PIN to identify the caller and the PIN is used to determine what routing profile to apply.
97 Citations
17 Claims
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1. In a platform for providing services on behalf of a subscriber, a method comprising the steps of:
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providing a first routing option for routing an incoming call to the subscriber, said first routing option placing a call by the platform to successive phone numbers in a sequence of numbers for reaching the subscriber until a live answer to the call is realized;
providing a second routing option for routing an incoming call to the subscriber wherein different phone numbers are used to reach the subscriber based on a time schedule;
receiving an incoming call from a caller for the subscriber at the platform;
receiving a personal identification number (PIN) from the caller;
selecting between the first routing option and the second routing option based on the personal identification number (PIN); and
applying the selected option to reach the subscriber. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16)
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10. A telecommunications service platform, comprising:
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a first routing process for routing an incoming call to a subscriber to successive phone numbers in a sequence of phone numbers until a live answer for the call is realized;
a second routing process for routing an inbound call to the subscriber based on a time schedule such that the schedule dictates what phone number is called to route the inbound call by the second routing process; and
a selector for selecting between which of the first routing process and the second routing process to use in routing a received call from a caller to the subscriber based on a personal identification number (PIN) received from the caller. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
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13. A method for providing services on behalf of a subscriber, the method comprising:
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receiving an incoming call from a caller for the subscriber at a platform;
selecting between a first routing option and a second routing option for routing the incoming call to the subscriber based on a personal identification number (PIN) received from the caller, the first routing option placing a call by the platform to successive phone numbers until a live answer to the call is realized, and the second routing option being based on a time schedule; and
routing the call to the caller in accordance with the selected one of the first routing option and the second routing option. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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Specification