Internet long distance telephone service
First Claim
1. A method of telecommunication over a wide area packet switched network, the method comprising:
- sending from a calling party a called number, corresponding to a called party and including an area code, to a first central office connected to a first telephone system;
forwarding the called number from the first central office to a first telephony server, connected to the first telephone system and in communication with the wide area packet switched network, via a signaling channel of the first telephone system;
identifying a second telephony serve, in communication with the wide area packet switched network and serving said called party in a second telephone system, from a routing and administration database by using at least said area code, the identifying comprising;
sending a routing request via the wide area packet switched network from the first telephony server to a routing and administration server having said routing and administration database, the routing request including said area code, andreceiving from the routing and administration server via the wide area packet switched network a routing response including the identity of said second telephony server and a predetermined communication path corresponding to the second telephony server, and;
sending the called number from the first telephony server to the second telephony server via said wide area packet switched network;
allocating a resource on the wide area packet switched network sufficient to provide a guaranteed level of service through the wide area packet switched network; and
selectively establishing a communication link, via the resource at least the guaranteed level of service, between the first telephony server and the second telephony server through the wide area packet switched network, to establish communication between the calling and called parties.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Long distance communications service between two communications systems is established by using a wide area packet switched network, for example the Internet, to transport signaling data and digitized communication traffic. Each communications system uses an interface server to encapsulate communication traffic and signaling data into data packets suitable for transport over the wide area packet switched network. The interface server accesses a routing and administration database to determine a destination address of a destination interface server based on the area code of the called number. Upon receiving the destination address and a prescribed bandwidth from the routing and administration database, the telephony server inserts the destination address to the data packets for a destination server for a second communications system. The packets are then output to the Internet, and subsequently routed to the destination server serving as an interface for the second communications system. Routing of packets is preferably performed using reserved virtual paths to guarantee quality of service.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method of telecommunication over a wide area packet switched network, the method comprising:
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sending from a calling party a called number, corresponding to a called party and including an area code, to a first central office connected to a first telephone system; forwarding the called number from the first central office to a first telephony server, connected to the first telephone system and in communication with the wide area packet switched network, via a signaling channel of the first telephone system; identifying a second telephony serve, in communication with the wide area packet switched network and serving said called party in a second telephone system, from a routing and administration database by using at least said area code, the identifying comprising; sending a routing request via the wide area packet switched network from the first telephony server to a routing and administration server having said routing and administration database, the routing request including said area code, and receiving from the routing and administration server via the wide area packet switched network a routing response including the identity of said second telephony server and a predetermined communication path corresponding to the second telephony server, and; sending the called number from the first telephony server to the second telephony server via said wide area packet switched network; allocating a resource on the wide area packet switched network sufficient to provide a guaranteed level of service through the wide area packet switched network; and selectively establishing a communication link, via the resource at least the guaranteed level of service, between the first telephony server and the second telephony server through the wide area packet switched network, to establish communication between the calling and called parties. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of telecommunication over a wide area packet switched network, the method comprising:
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sending from a calling party a called number, corresponding to a called party and including an area code, to a first central office connected to a first telephone system; forwarding the called number from the first central office to a first telephony server, connected to the first telephone system and in communication with the wide area packet switched network, via a signaling channel of the first telephone system; identifying a second telephony server, in communication with the wide area packet switched network and serving said called party in a second telephone system, from a routing and administration database by using at least said area code, the identifying comprising accessing said routing and administration database within said first telephony server to obtain the identity of said second telephony server and a guaranteed level of service corresponding to the calling party; sending the called number from the first telephony server to the second telephony server via said wide area packet switched network; allocating a resource on the wide area packet switched network sufficient to provide the guaranteed level of service through the wide area packet switched network; and selectively establishing a communication link, via the resource at least the guaranteed level of service, between the first telephony server and the second telephony server through the wide area packet switched network, to establish communication between the calling and called parties.
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18. A method of telecommunication over a wide area packet switched network, the method comprising:
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sending from a calling party a called number, corresponding to a called party and including an area code, to a first central office connected to a first telephone system; forwarding the called number from the first central office to a first telephony server, connected to the first telephone system and in communication with the wide area packet switched network, via a signaling channel of the first telephone system; identifying a second telephony server, in communication with the wide area packet switched network and serving said called party in a second telephone system, from a routing and administration database by using at least said area code; sending the called number from the first telephony server to the second telephony server via said wide area packet switched network; allocating a resource on the wide area packet switched network sufficient to provide a guaranteed level of service through the wide area packet switched network; and selectively establishing a communication link, via the resource at least the guaranteed level of service, between the first telephony server and the second telephony server through the wide area packet switched network, to establish communication between the calling and called parties, the selectively establishing comprising; setting the communication link along a predetermined communication path within said wide area packet switched network; and changing a data rate of the communication link based on traffic on the predetermined communication path.
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19. A method of telecommunication over a wide area packet switched network, the method comprising:
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in a first telephony server connected to a first telephone system, receiving via a wide area packet switched network a first data packet transmitted by a second telephony server of a second telephone system, the first data packet having (1) a destination address corresponding to the first telephony server, (2) a session identifier, and (3) a destination number having an area code served by the first telephony server; initiating a query by the first telephony server for determining via a signaling communication network of the first telephone system a condition of the destination number from a first central office serving the destination number; sending a second data packet carrying said session identifier and said condition from the first telephony server to the second telephony server; allocating at least one network resource to support a guaranteed level of service through the wide area packet switched network; and selectively establishing a communication link via the resource to provide the guaranteed level of service between the first telephony server and the second telephony server through the wide area packet switched network, to enable communication between the destination number and a station served by the second telephony server;
wherein the selectively establishing comprises;establishing the link on a predetermined communication path in the wide area packet switch network, and changing a data rate of the communication link based on traffic on the predetermined communication path. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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22. A method of telecommunication over a wide area packet switched network, the method comprising:
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sending from a calling party a called number, corresponding to a called party, to a first central office connection to a first telephone system; forwarding the called number from the first central office to a first telephony server, connected to the first telephone system and in communication with the wide area packet switched network, via a signaling channel of the first telephone system; identifying a second telephony server, in communication with the wide area packet switched network and serving said called party in a second telephone system, from a routing and administration database by; sending a routing request message via the wide area packet switched network from the first telephony server to a routing and administration server having said routing and administration database, the routing request message including at least part of the called number, and receiving from the routing and administration server via the wide area packet switched network a routing response including the identity of said second telephony server and the identity of a predetermined communication path through the wide area packet switched network to the second telephony server capable of providing a guaranteed level of service; generating a session identifier identifying a call attempt between the calling party and the called party; sending a signaling message from the first telephony server to the second telephony server via said wide area packet switched network, the signaling message comprising the called number and the session identifier; and communicating a plurality of packets containing audio information between the first and second telephony servers through the wide area packet switched network, to establish telephone communication between the calling and called parties, wherein at least some of the packets containing audio information also contain the session identifier. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25)
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26. A method of telecommunication over a wide area packet switched network, the method comprising:
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sending from a calling party a called number, corresponding to a called party, to a first central office connected to a first telephone system; forwarding the called number from the first central office to a first telephony server, connected to the first telephone system and in communication with the wide area packet switched network; identifying a second telephony server, in communication with the wide area packet switched network and serving said called party in a second telephone system, from a routing and administration database by using at least part of the called number, the identifying including sending a routing request via the wide area packet switched network from the first telephony server to a routing and administration server having said routing and administration database; and receiving from the routing and administration server via the wide area packet switched network a routing response including the identity of said second telephony server and an identification corresponding to a predetermined communication path to the second telephony server; sending the called number from the first telephony server to the second telephony server via said wide area packet switched network; establishing a communication link between the first telephony server and the second telephony server, wherein the establishing step comprises setting the communication link along a predetermined communication path within said wide area packet switched network; and communicating telephone information between the calling and called parties via the servers and the predetermined communication path. - View Dependent Claims (27)
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Specification