System and method for providing an away-from-home calling service

• US 6,950,508 B1
• Filed: 06/28/2000
• Issued: 09/27/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Griffiths, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsang, Fan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Escalante, Ovidio
• Application Number:
  US09/604,963
• Time in Patent Office: 1,917 Days
• Field of Search: 379/201.02, 379/201.03, 379/201.05, 379/201.12, 379/207.12, 379/219, 379/220.01, 379/221.02, 379/221.08, 379/207.02
• US Class Current: 379/201.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/12 intelligent networks
• 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 3/42272 whereby the subscriber registers to the terminals for personalised service provision

Abstract

An away from home calling service allows users to use telephones other than their home telephone as if they were using their home telephone. When traveling away from home, subscribers access the service and are prompted to provide authentication and validation information, as well as call completion information. The away-from-home calling service obtains the services provisioned on the subscriber'"'"'s home telephone line and completes the call according to the subscriber'"'"'s home services.

Claims

1. A system for providing away-from-home calling service in which a subscriber makes a telephone call from a subscriber telephone;

comprising;

a switch coupled to the subscriber telephone on which a trigger is provisioned to intercept telephone calls intending to use the calling service;

a service control point coupled to the switch provisioned to receive authentication information from the switch, wherein the authentication information is entered by the subscriber through a telephone keypad;

a line database storing authentication information and services information associated with the authentication information regarding home telephone services provisioned on the subscriber'"'"'s home telephone line, wherein after the service control point acquires the authentication information from the subscriber through the switch, the service control point performs a look-up of the received authentication information within the line database to find the authentication information and the associated services information stored in the line database, and provides the information regarding the home telephone services that is found by the look-up to the switch if the received authentication information and the authentication information obtained from the line database matches, and wherein the switch completes the telephone call using the telephone services provisioned on the subscriber'"'"'s home telephone line returned to the switch.

2. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the telephone subscriber is prompted to enter call completion information after being authenticated.

3. The system recited in claim 2, wherein the call completion information comprises a called party telephone number.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the line database further includes billing parameters associated with the authentication information that specify that bills go to an account corresponding to the home telephone of the subscriber such that the completed call is billed to the account corresponding to the home telephone.

5. A method for providing an away from home calling service, comprising the steps of:

dialing an access number by a caller to access the away from home calling service, wherein the dialing triggers a switch;

prompting the caller for authentication information, wherein the caller'"'"'s authentication information is entered by the caller through a telephone keypad;

performing a look-up of the entered authentication information within a line database to find authentication information and to find home services information associated with the authentication information that is stored in the database;

authenticating the caller at a service control point by comparing the authentication information received from the caller with the authentication information found in the database;

delivering the home service information found in the database to the switch if the authentication information received from the caller matches with the stored authentication information;

prompting the caller for call completion information; and

completing the telephone call using the telephone services provisioned on the subscriber'"'"'s home telephone line.

6. The method recited in claim 5, further comprising the step of prompting the caller for call completion information.

7. The method recited in claim 5, further comprising the step obtaining a PIN from the caller.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the line database further includes billing parameters associated with the authentication information that specify that bills go to an account corresponding to the home telephone of the caller, the method further comprising obtaining the billing parameters from the look-up of the entered authentication information to bill the call to the account corresponding to the home telephone.

9. A system for allowing a telephone subscriber to make a telephone call from a remote telephone using services provisioned on the telephone subscriber'"'"'s home telephone comprising:

means for receiving a telephone call from a caller;

a trigger provisioned to respond to the received telephone call by sending a message to a service control point;

means for prompting the caller to enter authentication information, wherein the authentication information is entered by the subscriber through a keypad of the remote telephone;

means for sending the authentication information to the service control point, wherein the service control point receives the entered authentication information, performs a look-up of the received authentication information within a line database to find authentication information and home services provisioned on the caller'"'"'s home telephone line that are associated with the authentication information and compares the received authentication information with authentication information stored in the line database;

means for receiving a message containing the home services provisioned on the caller'"'"'s home telephone line that is sent from the service control point once the received authentication information has been matched with the authentication information from the line database;

means for prompting the caller for call completion information; and

means for completing the call in accordance with the call completion information and home services information.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the authentication and validation information comprises a PIN.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the authentication information comprises an account number.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the line database further includes billing parameters associated with the authentication information that specify that bills go to an account corresponding to the home telephone of the caller such that the completed call is billed to the account corresponding to the home telephone.

13. A method for providing telephone services provisioned on a subscriber'"'"'s home telephone line when the subscriber is away from home, comprising the steps of:

provisioning a trigger on a switch that is encountered when a subscriber attempts to use home telephone line services while away from home;

requesting authentication information from the subscriber when the trigger is encountered, wherein the authentication information is entered by the subscriber through a keypad of a remote telephone;

transmitting the authentication information to a service control point;

performing by the service control point a look-up of the transmitted authorization information within a line database to find authentication information and telephone services provisioned on the subscriber'"'"'s home telephone line associated with the authentication information;

confirming the subscriber at the service control point is a valid user on the basis of comparison of the authorization information from the subscriber to the authentication information of the line database;

returning the telephone services provisioned on the subscriber'"'"'s home telephone line to the switch if the subscriber is a valid user; and

completing a telephone call using the telephone services provisioned on the subscriber'"'"'s home telephone line.

14. The method recited in claim 13, further comprising the step of obtaining call completion information from the subscriber after the subscriber has been validated.

15. The method recited in claim 13, further comprising the step of obtaining a PIN from the subscriber as part of the authentication information.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the line database further includes billing parameters associated with the authentication information that specify that bills go to an account corresponding to the home telephone of the subscriber, the method further comprising obtaining the billing parameters from the look-up of the transmitted authentication information to bill the call to the account corresponding to the home telephone.

17. A computer readable medium having instructions that when performed by one or more computers results in provisioning of an away-from-home telephone service, the acts comprising:

intercepting a telephone call from a subscriber of the away-from-home telephone service intending to use the away-from-home calling service;

receiving an authentication information, wherein the authentication information is entered by the subscriber through a telephone keypad;

performing a look-up of the received authentication information within a line database to find the authentication information and services information associated with the authentication information that are stored in the line database and determining whether the received authentication information matches the stored authentication information;

upon finding that that received authentication information and the stored authentication information matches, completing the telephone call using the telephone services provisioned on the subscriber'"'"'s home telephone line that are specified by the services information found during the look-up of the received authentication information.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein the acts further comprise prompting the subscriber to enter call completion information after being authenticated.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein the call completion information comprises a called party telephone number.