Apparatus and method for managing priority communication

• US 9,020,123 B2
• Filed: 08/26/2008
• Issued: 04/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Chung, Li-Jin, Kung, Yu-Lein, Stein, Jeffrey, Shieh, Ching-Chyuan
• Primary Examiner(s): Elahee, Md S
• Application Number:
  US12/198,722
• Publication Number:
  US 20100054437A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,436 Days
• Field of Search: 37921002-21003, 379/9.03, 379/188, 455/405
• US Class Current: 379/210.02
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/06 Recording class or number of calling , i.e. A-party or called party , i.e. B-party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/41 Billing record details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure of call data record [CDR]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/56 for VoIP communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/85 characterised by the type of condition triggering a notification
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/851 Determined tariff
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0164 Billing record, e.g. Call Data Record [CDR], Toll Ticket[TT], Automatic Message Accounting [AMA], Call Line Identifier [CLI], details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/202 VoIP; Packet switched telephony
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/815 Notification when a specific condition, service or event is met
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/04 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/50 for emergency connections

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a server having a controller to obtain billing data associated with a plurality of calls over a Voice Over Internet Protocol network, determine special service calls being made based on the billing data, monitor for the special service calls being associated with at least one of one calling number or one network node, and determine an undesired condition based at least in part on the special service calls being made from the one calling number or through the one network node exceeding a threshold. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A tangible computer-readable storage device, comprising computer instructions, which, when executed, cause a machine to perform operations comprising:

determining whether a portion of a plurality of calls over a voice over internet protocol network are to an emergency call center based on billing data;

monitoring, for an undesired condition, the portion of the plurality of calls routed through a network node, the undesired condition comprising a quantity of blocked calls exceeding a threshold, the monitoring based at least in part on a geographic region associated with the network node; and

presenting an alert when the undesired condition is detected.

2. The tangible computer-readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise parsing called numbers and network nodes associated with each of the plurality of calls.

3. The tangible computer-readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the undesired condition further comprises when at least one of a quantity of cutoff calls exceeds a first threshold, a quantity of busy signals exceeds a second threshold, or a quantity of unanswered calls comprising a ring without an answer exceeds a third threshold.

4. The tangible computer-readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the operations comprise determining a billing entity associated with the billing data and parsing the billing data based on parsing rules associated with the billing entity.

5. The tangible computer-readable storage medium device of claim 1, wherein the portion of the plurality of calls is associated with at least one of a telephone number associated with a public safety answering point or a public service access point, or an internet protocol national security and emergency preparedness number.

6. The tangible computer-readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of calls are from the same calling number.

7. A server comprising:

a processor; and

a memory comprising machine readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

monitoring a plurality of calls routed through a network node over a voice over internet protocol network to an emergency call center to detect unsuccessful calls made from one calling number, the monitoring based at least in part on a geographic region associated with the network node; and

determining an undesired condition when a quantity of the unsuccessful calls made from the one calling number exceeds a threshold.

8. The server of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise parsing call records to determine calling numbers and called numbers of the plurality of calls.

9. The server of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise parsing the call records based on parsing rules associated with entities generating the call records.

10. The server of claim 9, wherein the call records comprise billing data.

11. The server of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise presenting alerts based on a determined undesired condition.

12. The server of claim 7, wherein the unsuccessful calls include at least one of blocked calls, cutoff calls, busy signals or calls that ring without an answer.

13. A server comprising:

a processor; and

a memory comprising machine readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

monitoring a plurality of calls over a voice over internet protocol network to an emergency call center to detect unsuccessful calls made through one network node, the monitoring based at least in part on a geographic region associated with the one network node; and

determining an undesired condition when a quantity of the unsuccessful calls made through the one network node exceeds a threshold.

14. The server of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise parsing call records to determine network nodes through which the plurality of calls communicated.

15. The server of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise parsing call records to determine calling numbers and called numbers of the plurality of calls.

16. The server of claim 15, wherein the call records comprise billing data, and wherein the operations further comprise parsing billing data based on parsing rules associated with entities generating the billing data.

17. The server of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise adjusting the threshold.

18. The server of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise presenting alerts based on a determined undesired condition.

19. The server of claim 13, wherein the unsuccessful calls include at least one of blocked calls, cutoff calls, busy signals or calls that ring without an answer.

20. A method comprising:

monitoring, via a logic circuit, for unsuccessful calls to an emergency call center in a plurality of calls over a voice over internet protocol network, the unsuccessful calls being associated with at least one of one calling number and one network node, the monitoring based at least in part on a geographic region associated with the one network node; and

determining, via the logic circuit, an undesired condition when a quantity of the unsuccessful calls made from the one calling number or through the one network node exceeds a threshold.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the unsuccessful calls include at least one of blocked calls, cutoff calls, busy signals or calls that ring without an answer.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising parsing billing data to determine at least one of network nodes through which the plurality of calls communicated, calling numbers of the plurality of calls and called numbers of the plurality of calls.

23. The method of claim 20, further comprising adjusting the threshold.

24. A method, comprising:

monitoring, via a logic circuit, a portion of a plurality of calls over a voice over internet protocol network to an emergency call center for an undesired condition, the portion of the plurality of calls at least one of being from one calling number and being through one network node, the undesired condition comprising a quantity of blocked calls exceeding a threshold, the monitoring based at least in part on a geographic region associated with the one network node; and

presenting an alert when the undesired condition is detected.