Method and apparatus for processing multiple services per call

• US 7,657,015 B1
• Filed: 12/28/2005
• Issued: 02/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Peters, Robert, Ratcliffe, Mark A., Brown, John C., Samarasinghe, Harish, Chong, Koan S.
• Primary Examiner(s): PATEL, HEMANT SHANTILAL
• Application Number:
  US11/322,099
• Time in Patent Office: 1,497 Days
• Field of Search: 379/221.08, 379/207.12, 379/201.02, 379/207.02, 379/207.11, 379/221.05, 379/243, 370351-356, 709201-205
• US Class Current: 379/201.02
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/104 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1096 Supplementary features, e.g. call forwarding or call holding systems providing special services or facilities to telephony subscribers H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4217 Managing service interactions
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0041 involving techniques for avoiding interaction of call service features

Abstract

A method and apparatus for enabling multiple services to be invoked in a specific precedence per call are disclosed. For example, the present method allows a subscriber to interact with a plurality of services provided by a service provider on a single call.

Claims

1. A method for providing a plurality of services on a single call in a communication network, comprising:

receiving a request for a plurality of services in a single call from a subscriber, wherein said request is received by a service broker, wherein said service broker determines whether a signaling history is presently associated with said request, wherein if said service broker determines that said signaling history is presently associated with said request, then a list of derived services and customer identifications (IDs) are generated, and wherein said plurality of services is compared to said list of derived services and customer identifications (IDs), and wherein a matched service between said plurality of services and said list of derived services is removed, and any services not in said list of derived services is compared to a precedence level of other services and a next highest precedence service is determined and where lower precedence services not yet processed are listed as other matches; and

providing said plurality of services to said subscriber in accordance with the precedence level associated with each one of said plurality of services in said single call.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein if there are no additional service matches, then said single call is delivered to a network routing engine (NRE) for routing.

3. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon a plurality of instructions, the plurality of instructions including instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform steps of a method for providing a plurality of services on a single call in a communication network, comprising:

receiving a request for a plurality of services in a single call from a subscriber, wherein said request is received by a service broker, wherein said service broker determines whether a signaling history is presently associated with said request, wherein if said service broker determines that said signaling history is presently associated with said request, then a list of derived services and customer identifications (IDs) are generated, and wherein said plurality of services is compared to said list of derived services and customer identifications (IDs), and wherein a matched service between said plurality of services and said list of derived services is removed, and any services not in said list of derived services is compared to a precedence level of other services and a next highest precedence service is determined and where lower precedence services not yet processed are listed as other matches; and

providing said plurality of services to said subscriber in accordance with the precedence level associated with each one of said plurality of services in said single call.