Systems and methods for providing portable voicemail services
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for providing voicemail services, comprising:
- receiving, by a voicemail system, a call forwarded from a first local exchange carrier associated with a called party via a long distance network, the call being from a calling party and intended for the called party and wherein the voicemail system is not affiliated with the first local exchange carrier;
providing a prompt to the calling party;
storing a voicemail message from the calling party;
identifying a subscriber loop associated with the called party;
identifying a central office associated with the subscriber loop; and
transmitting a message to the central office associated with the subscriber loop, the message indicating that a message waiting indicator is to be provided to the called party,wherein the voicemail system comprises a plurality of network devices configured to receive voicemail messages, the method further comprising;
providing the first local exchange carrier with a plurality of toll free telephone numbers to which calls to subscribers of the voicemail system are to be forwarded after a predetermined number of rings, the providing comprising;
assigning the toll free numbers to subscriber loops in a round robin fashion such that calls to the subscribers of the voicemail system are distributed over the plurality of network devices.
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Abstract
A system for providing voicemail services includes a network device that receives voicemail messages intended for subscribers. The subscribers may be associated with a number of different local telephone service providers. The network device also stores the voicemail messages for later retrieval by the subscribers.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method for providing voicemail services, comprising:
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receiving, by a voicemail system, a call forwarded from a first local exchange carrier associated with a called party via a long distance network, the call being from a calling party and intended for the called party and wherein the voicemail system is not affiliated with the first local exchange carrier; providing a prompt to the calling party; storing a voicemail message from the calling party; identifying a subscriber loop associated with the called party; identifying a central office associated with the subscriber loop; and transmitting a message to the central office associated with the subscriber loop, the message indicating that a message waiting indicator is to be provided to the called party, wherein the voicemail system comprises a plurality of network devices configured to receive voicemail messages, the method further comprising; providing the first local exchange carrier with a plurality of toll free telephone numbers to which calls to subscribers of the voicemail system are to be forwarded after a predetermined number of rings, the providing comprising; assigning the toll free numbers to subscriber loops in a round robin fashion such that calls to the subscribers of the voicemail system are distributed over the plurality of network devices. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A system, comprising:
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a plurality of network devices, each of the network devices being configured to; receive calls forwarded from one of a plurality of local exchange carriers via a long distance network, provide a message to calling parties instructing each of the calling parties to leave a voice message, receive voice messages from the calling parties, and store the voice messages, wherein the plurality of network devices are affiliated with a long distance service provider or a competitive local exchange provider; and a server configured to; assign a plurality of toll free numbers to subscriber loops of the plurality of local exchange carriers in a round robin fashion to distribute voice messaging traffic among the plurality of network devices. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
wherein the server is configured to; transmit message waiting indicator information to the central office indicating that the message waiting indicator is to be provided to each of the plurality of called parties, and the central office is configured to; receive the message waiting indicator information from the server, and transmit a request to a first local exchange carrier in response to the received message waiting indicator information.
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15. The system of claim 14, wherein when transmitting the request, the central office is configured to:
transmit a transaction capabilities application part (TCAP) message.
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16. The system of claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of network devices is configured to receive calls forwarded from the plurality of local exchange carriers.
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17. A system, comprising:
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means for receiving a call from a calling party and intended for a called party, the call being forwarded from a local service provider not associated with the system; means for prompting the calling party to leave a message; means for receiving a message from the calling party; means for storing the message; means for providing a plurality of toll free numbers to a plurality of local service providers, each of the plurality of toll free numbers being associated with a plurality of parties subscribing to a voicemail service; means for assigning the plurality of toll free numbers to subscriber loops in a round robin fashion such that calls to parties subscribing to the voicemail service are evenly distributed over a plurality of means for receiving calls; means for identifying a central office associated with a local service provider providing telephone service for the called party; and means for informing the local service provider that a message waiting indicator is to be provided to the called party.
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18. A system, comprising:
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at least one network device configured to; receive voicemail messages intended for subscribers, wherein the subscribers are associated with a plurality of different local telephone service providers, and store the voicemail messages; and a processing device configured to; provide the plurality of different local telephone service providers with a plurality of telephone numbers to which calls to the subscribers are to be forwarded after a predetermined number of rings, wherein each of the plurality of telephone numbers is assigned to a plurality of subscriber loops and each of the subscriber loops is associated with a plurality of the subscribers. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification