Methods, apparatus and computer program products for associating local telephone numbers with emergency phone calls in a packet switched telephone system

• US 7,586,902 B2
• Filed: 05/10/2004
• Issued: 09/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Epley, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Gauthier; Gerald
• Application Number:
  US10/842,491
• Publication Number:
  US 20050249193A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,947 Days
• Field of Search: 379/45, 379/114.21, 379/37, 379/88.03, 379/88.25, 379/207.15, 379/220.01, 370/352, 370/354, 455/456.3, 455/466, 340/539.18, 439/540.1, 701/213
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/102 Gateways arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways, H04L12/66
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1063 Application servers providing network services systems providing special services to telephonic subscribers H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/04 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5116 for emergency applications
• 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

A packet switched telephone system includes a packet switched routing apparatus. The packet switched routing apparatus selectively associates a local telephone number with a phone call based on a called telephone number, and routes the phone call based on the called telephone number. The local telephone number may be substituted for a calling telephone number when the called telephone number corresponds to a predefined number, such as an emergency number. When the called telephone number corresponds to an emergency number, the phone call may be routed with the substituted local telephone number to a Public Safety Access Point (PSAP) that services the local area of the subscriber.

Claims

1. A method of routing phone calls in a packet switched telephone system, the method comprising:

in response to a phone call being directed to a called telephone number corresponding to an emergency number, substituting a local telephone number of a subscriber for a calling telephone number associated with the phone call, wherein the calling telephone number is different than the local telephone number, wherein the substitution of the local telephone number for the calling telephone number is carried out within a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) server; and

routing the phone call with the substituted local telephone number based on the called telephone number to a Public Safety Access Point (PSAP), wherein the substituted local telephone number can be dialed by an operator at the PSAP to return the phone call to the subscriber through a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).

2. The method of claim 1, wherein routing the phone call comprises routing the phone call with the substituted local telephone number in response to the called telephone number corresponding to the emergency number, and routing the phone call with the calling telephone number and without substitution of the local telephone number in response to the called telephone number not corresponding to the emergency number.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

associating the local telephone number and a packet switched telephone number with the subscriber; and

associating the local telephone number with location information for the subscriber.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the packet switched telephone number comprises a VoIP subscriber telephone number.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein substituting a local telephone number for a calling telephone number comprises selectively associating one of:

1) the packet switched telephone number with the phone call in response to the called telephone number corresponding to the emergency number and;

     2) the local telephone number with the phone call in response to the called telephone number not corresponding to the emergency number.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein:

routing the phone call comprises routing the phone call with the local telephone number as the calling telephone number in response to the called telephone number corresponding to the emergency number and routing the phone call with the packet switched telephone number as the calling telephone number in response to the called telephone number not corresponding to the emergency number.

7. A packet switched telephone system, comprising:

a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) server that is configured to associate a local telephone number with a subscriber, to respond to a phone call having a calling telephone number of the subscriber by substituting the local telephone number for the calling telephone number in response to the called telephone number corresponding to an emergency number, and to route the phone call with the substituted local telephone number based on the called telephone number to a Public Safety Access Point (PSAP);

wherein the calling telephone number is different than the local telephone number, and

wherein the substituted local telephone number can be called by an operator at the PSAP to return the phone call to the subscriber through a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).

8. The packet switched telephone system of claim 7, wherein:

the VoIP server that is further configured to associate the local telephone number and a packet switched telephone number with the subscriber, and to route the phone call with the substituted local telephone number as the calling telephone number in response to the called telephone number corresponding to the emergency number and to route the phone call with the packet switched telephone number as the calling telephone number in response to the called telephone number not corresponding to the emergency number.

9. The packet switched telephone system of claim 7, further comprising:

an Automatic Location Information (ALI) database that is configured to associate subscriber location information with subscriber local telephone numbers and

the PSAP is configured to retrieve subscriber location information from the ALI database that is associated with the local telephone number matching the calling number associated with the phone call.

10. A computer program product for routing calls in a packet switched telephone system, the computer program product comprising:

a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code comprising;

computer readable program code that is configured to be executed by a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) server to substitute a local telephone number of a subscriber for a calling telephone number associated with a phone call in response a called telephone number to which the phone call is directed corresponding to an emergency number, wherein the calling telephone number is different than the local telephone number; and

computer readable program code that is configured to be executed by the VoIP server to route the phone call with the substituted local telephone number based on the called telephone number to a Public Safety Access Point (PSAP), wherein the substituted local telephone number can be dialed by an operator at the PSAP to return the phone call to the subscriber through a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).

11. The computer program product according to claim 10, further comprising:

computer readable program code that is configured to route the phone call with the substituted local telephone number in response to the called telephone number corresponding to the emergency number, and to route the phone call with the calling telephone number and without substitution of the local telephone number in response to the called telephone number not corresponding to the emergency number.

12. The computer program product according to claim 10, further comprising:

computer readable program code that is configured to associate the local telephone number and a packet switched telephone number with the subscriber; and

program code that is configured to respond to the calling telephone number of the phone call corresponding to the subscriber by routing the phone call with the substituted local telephone number as the calling telephone number in response to the called telephone number corresponding to the emergency number and by routing the phone call with the packet switched telephone number as the calling telephone number in response to the called telephone number not corresponding to the emergency number.