Voice over data telecommunications network architecture

• US 8,089,958 B2
• Filed: 07/20/2007
• Issued: 01/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Level 3 Communications LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Level 3 Communications LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Elliott, Isaac K., Higgins, Steven P., Dugan, Andrew John, Peterson, Jon, Hernandez, Robert L., Steele, Rick D., Baker, Bruce W., Terpstra, Rich, Mitchell, Jonathan S., Wang, Jin-Gen, Stearns, Harold, Zimmerer, Eric, Waibel, Ray, Owen, Kraig, Lewis, Shawn M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Harper, Kevin C
• Application Number:
  US11/781,098
• Publication Number:
  US 20080025295A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,628 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/356
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/6472 Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1026 at the edge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1036 at the edge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1043 Gateway controllers, e.g. media gateway control protocol [MGCP] controllers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1083 In-session procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1106 Call signalling protocols; H.323 and related
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/401 wherein the services involve a main real-time session and one or more additional parallel real-time or time sensitive sessions, e.g. white board sharing or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/765 intermediate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/085 specially adapted for interworking of IP-based networks with other networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42 Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers specially adapted for wireless communication networks H04W4/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1245 where a network other than PSTN/ISDN interconnects two PSTN/ISDN networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1255 where the switching fabric and the switching logic are decomposed such as in Media Gateway Control
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0025 : Provisions for signalling
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0045 : involving hybrid, i.e. a mixture of public and private, or multi-vendor systems

Abstract

The present invention describes a system and method for communicating voice and data over a packet-switched network that is adapted to coexist and communicate with a legacy PSTN. The system permits packet switching of voice calls and data calls through a data network from and to any of a LEC, a customer facility or a direct IP connection on the data network. The system includes soft switch sites, gateway sites, a data network, a provisioning component, a network event component and a network management component. The system interfaces with customer facilities (e.g., a PBX), carrier facilities (e.g., a LEC) and legacy signaling networks (e.g., SS7) to handle calls between any combination of on-network and off-network callers.

The soft switch sites provide the core call processing for the voice network architecture. The soft switch sites manage the gateway sites in a preferred embodiment, using a protocol such as the Internet Protocol Device Control (IPDC) protocol to request the set-up and tear-down of calls. The gateway sites originate and terminate calls between calling parties and called parties through the data network. The gateway sites include network access devices to provide access to network resources. The data network connects one or more of the soft switch sites to one or more of the gateway sites. The provisioning and network event component collects call events recorded at the soft switch sites. The network management component includes a network operations center (NOC) for centralized network management.

Claims

1. A system for servicing telecommunications calls over a packet-switched network, the system comprising:

a soft switch operable to receive a signaling message associated with a telecommunications call between a calling party and a called party, wherein the signaling message comprises a trunk ID identifying a trunk group assigned to a telecommunications carrier to which the calling party has subscribed for the provision of telecommunication services;

a configuration server communicably coupled to the soft switch, wherein the configuration server is operable to receive a query comprising the trunk ID from the soft switch and identify call processing logic for use in communicating telecommunications calls received from the telecommunications carrier across the packet-switched network in accordance with specific options associated with the trunk group; and

wherein the soft switch is operable to receive the call processing logic from the configuration server and implement the call processing logic to thereby control provisioning of the telecommunications call across the packet-switched network based at least in part on the specific options.

2. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the softswitch is further operable to select an egress port between which the telecommunications call is routed across the packet-switched network based, at least in part, on the specific options.

3. A system as recited in claim 2, wherein the specific options comprise a list of allowed international destinations and the softswitch is operable to determine whether the called party resides in an allowed international destination and, if so, select an egress port operable to terminate the telecommunications call in the international destination.

4. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the configuration server and the softswitch are communicatively coupled via the packet-switched network.

5. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the call processing logic is based at least in part on configuration information including network topology of the packet-switched network stored in the configuration database.

6. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the call processing logic initializes connections between components for the telecommunications call and provides call processing during the telecommunications call.

7. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the packet-switched network comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) network.

8. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the telecommunications call comprises voice media.