Central call platform
First Claim
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1. A system for providing telephone services to a secure facility, the system comprising:
- a call processing center that includes a plurality of computing clusters, the call processing center being configured to route voice communications to and from a router located at the secure facility wherein the voice communications to and from the router originate from authenticated users;
each of the plurality of computing clusters comprising;
at least one database node comprising a database that stores a plurality of recordings of telephone calls and voicemail messages based on the voice communications;
a call processing node configured to route the received voice communications to and from a destination telephone based on a previously-determined association between the authenticated users; and
an application node configured to provide a plurality of authorized users access to the plurality of recordings on the database nodes of at least two of the plurality of computing clusters,wherein the plurality of computing clusters are geographically dispersed at a plurality of geographic locations, andwherein the call processing center stores a cluster identifier associated with each database node and stores information regarding the plurality of geographic locations where data regarding the voice communications can and cannot be stored.
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Abstract
A system and method for providing telephone services to a secure facility from an external, centralized call platform. An embodiment of the system includes a call processing center that is external to the facility and includes a plurality of computer clusters, and is configured to route communications to and from a router located at the secure facility. Having a majority of the system located outside the facility reduces equipment requirements at each individual facility, improves security and uptime, and provides more efficient management and expansion of the call platform.
60 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A system for providing telephone services to a secure facility, the system comprising:
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a call processing center that includes a plurality of computing clusters, the call processing center being configured to route voice communications to and from a router located at the secure facility wherein the voice communications to and from the router originate from authenticated users; each of the plurality of computing clusters comprising; at least one database node comprising a database that stores a plurality of recordings of telephone calls and voicemail messages based on the voice communications; a call processing node configured to route the received voice communications to and from a destination telephone based on a previously-determined association between the authenticated users; and an application node configured to provide a plurality of authorized users access to the plurality of recordings on the database nodes of at least two of the plurality of computing clusters, wherein the plurality of computing clusters are geographically dispersed at a plurality of geographic locations, and wherein the call processing center stores a cluster identifier associated with each database node and stores information regarding the plurality of geographic locations where data regarding the voice communications can and cannot be stored. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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12. A system for providing telephone services to a plurality of secure facilities, the system comprising:
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a call processing center that includes a plurality of computing clusters, the call processing center being configured to route voice communications to and from a plurality of routers located at the plurality of secure facilities wherein the voice communications to and from the plurality of routers originate from authenticated users; each of the plurality of computing clusters comprising; a database node comprising a database that stores a plurality of recordings of telephone calls and voicemail messages based on the voice communications; a call processing node configured to route the received voice communications to and from destination telephones at each of the plurality of secure facilities based on a previously-determined association between authenticated users; and an application node configured to provide a plurality of authorized users access to the plurality of recordings on the database node of at least two of the plurality of computing clusters via a web interface, wherein the plurality of secure facilities are geographically dispersed, wherein the call processing center stores a cluster identifier associated with each database node and stores rules that define whether voice communication data corresponding to a secure facility can be replicated at other computing clusters, and wherein the call processing center replicates data corresponding to a facility by storing data in a plurality of database nodes based on the stored rules.
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13. A method of providing voice communications to a secure facility, the method comprising:
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providing a plurality of computing clusters that are geographically dispersed at a plurality of geographic locations; receiving and sending, via the Internet, at a location outside the secure facility, voice communications in the form of internet protocol (IP) packets wherein the voice communications originate from authenticated users that have previously been associated with another authenticated user; converting the IP packets to a plain old telephone service (POTS) signal; routing the POTS signal to and from one of a plurality of telecommunications providers based on at least one of time of day, a current rate of each of the telecommunications providers, and load on a network of each of the telecommunications providers; storing an identifier associated with a computing cluster and storing rules that define the geographic locations where data regarding the voice communications can and cannot be stored; recording the voice communications at the location outside the secure facility based on the stored rules; and providing access to the recorded voice communications via a web interface hosted on a web server. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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Specification