System and method for determining characteristics of international calls

• US 7,602,891 B2
• Filed: 08/13/2002
• Issued: 10/13/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Knowledge Ventures, L.P. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Berelian, Elias, Halpern, Jackie A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kuntz, Curtis
• Assistant Examiner(s): Phan, Joseph T
• Application Number:
  US10/217,743
• Publication Number:
  US 20040203650A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,618 Days
• Field of Search: 379/220.01, 379/221.02, 379/221.14, 379/217.14, 379/115.03, 379/207.02, 379/201.01, 379/112, 379/114.22, 379/114.28, 379/115.01, 455/406, 455/408, 455/433, 455/432.1
• US Class Current: 379/115.03
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/206 composed of PSTN and wireless network
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4931 Directory assistance systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/00 Arrangements for interconnection between switching centres
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13097 Numbering, addressing
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13102 Common translator
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13103 Memory
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13141 Hunting for free outlet, circuit or channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/66 Traffic distributors

Abstract

A telecommunications system utilizes a central database to determine characteristics for international calls, to facilitate call routing for international calls, or both. The central database includes termination information for telephone numbers in multiple nations outside the North American Numbering Plan. In one aspect, an interexchange switch receives a termination number for an international call from a local exchange carrier and uses information from the central database to help complete the call. In another aspect, the central database receives a telephone number from a remote user such as interexchange carrier (IXC) and, in response, transmits termination information to the remote user to identify whether the telephone number uses wireless termination. The remote user may then charge a customer for wireless termination, if appropriate, possibly even before the remote user receives an invoice that reflects wireless termination charges from a foreign wireless carrier.

Claims

1. An automated method of determining characteristics of a terminating number for an international call, the method comprising:

receiving a request for termination information from a remote user via a secure network connection, wherein the request includes a terminating number for an international call;

in response to receiving the request for termination information, automatically consulting a telephone number prefix table in a centralized database of termination characteristics to identify a match for the terminating number, wherein the centralized database includes terminating numbers for multiple nations outside the North American Numbering Plan (NANP);

in response to identifying the match for the terminating number, automatically consulting the centralized database to retrieve location information associated with the match, wherein the location information indicates whether the terminating number uses wireless termination or wireline termination, and wherein the location information includes a carrier name for at least one of the terminating numbers that use wireless termination;

responding to the request for termination information with a response that indicates whether the terminating number uses wireline termination or wireless termination, such that the response enables the remote user to distinguish between calls with wireline termination and calls with wireless termination for rating purposes; and

including the carrier name in the response when the location information associated with the match includes the carrier name.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the operation of receiving a request for termination information via a secure network connection comprises receiving the request via a network connection selected from the group consisting of:

a connection in a private network;

a connection in a virtual private network; and

a secure Web connection.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to receiving the terminating number determining whether the terminating number uses wireless termination, by searching a table of telephone number prefixes to determine a prefix that matches the received terminating number; and

in response to determining whether the terminating number uses wireless termination, automatically transmitting termination information to a remote user, indicating whether the terminating number uses wireless termination.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein:

the remote user comprises a carrier;

the operation of receiving the terminating number comprises receiving multiple terminating numbers from the carrier;

the operation of determining comprises automatically querying the centralized database to determine which of the multiple terminating numbers use wireless termination; and

the operation of automatically transmitting termination information comprises sending termination data to the carrier identifying which of the multiple terminating numbers used wireless termination.

5. A method according to claim 3, wherein:

the remote user comprises an interexchange carrier (IXC);

the operation of receiving the terminating number comprises receiving a set of call records from the IXC;

the operation of determining comprises automatically querying the centralized database to determine which of the call records involve calls that used wireless termination; and

the operation of automatically transmitting termination information comprises sending termination data to the IXC identifying which of the call records involve calls that used wireless termination.

6. A method for obtaining termination information for an international telephone number, the method comprising:

transmitting a request for termination information for a termination telephone number for an international call to a remote centralized database of international termination characteristics, wherein the remote centralized database associates international telephone number prefixes for multiple termination telephone numbers from multiple nations with termination characteristics indicating which of the international telephone number prefixes correspond with wireless termination telephone numbers wherein said transmitting comprises communicating with the remote centralized database to identify which of the international calls were terminated with wireless carriers;

receiving termination information for the termination telephone number for the international call from the remote centralized database, wherein the termination information indicates whether the termination telephone number for the international call uses wireless termination wherein said receiving comprises receiving termination information that identifies which of the international calls were terminated with wireless carriers;

identifying a set of call records to be included in a phone bill for a customer, wherein the set of call records includes termination numbers for international calls that were placed from an originating number assigned to the customer;

adding wireless termination surcharges, when preparing the phone bill, only for the international calls identified as having been terminated with wireless carriers; and

receiving one or more invoices requesting payment for wireless termination from one or more of the wireless carriers that provided wireless termination for one or more of the international calls;

wherein the operation of adding wireless termination surcharges only for the international calls identified as having been terminated with wireless carriers is performed before the operation of receiving the one or more invoices from the one or more wireless carriers.

7. A method for obtaining termination information for an international telephone number, the method comprising:

transmitting a request for termination information for a termination telephone number for an international call to a remote centralized database of international termination characteristics, wherein the remote centralized database associates international telephone number prefixes for multiple termination telephone numbers from multiple nations with termination characteristics indicating which of the international telephone number prefixes correspond with wireless termination telephone numbers wherein said transmitting comprises communicating with the remote centralized database to identify which of the international calls were terminated with wireless carriers, including;

transmitting call records to a support organization, wherein the call records include terminating numbers for the international calls; and

receiving termination information from the support organization, wherein the termination information identifies the international calls that were terminated with wireless carriers;

receiving termination information for the termination telephone number for the international call from the remote centralized database, wherein the termination information indicates whether the termination telephone number for the international call uses wireless termination wherein said receiving comprises receiving termination information that identifies which of the international calls were terminated with wireless carriers;

identifying a set of call records to be included in a phone bill for a customer, wherein the set of call records includes termination numbers for international calls that were placed from an originating number assigned to the customer; and

adding wireless termination surcharges, when preparing the phone bill, only for the international calls identified as having been terminated with wireless carriers

8. A method according to claim 7, further comprising:

receiving the termination telephone number from a caller;

transmitting the request for termination information to the remote centralized database in response to receiving the termination telephone number from the caller; and

in response receiving termination information indicating that the termination telephone number uses wireless termination, notifying the caller that termination telephone number uses wireless termination.

9. A method according to claim 7, further comprising:

receiving the termination telephone number from a caller;

transmitting the request for termination information to the remote centralized database in response to receiving the termination telephone number from the caller; and

in response receiving termination information indicating that the termination telephone number uses wireless termination, notifying the caller, before a call to the termination telephone number is connected, that an extra charge for wireless termination may apply to the call.

10. A method according to claim 7, wherein the termination information comprises two or more termination characteristics selected from the group of termination characteristics consisting of:

termination type;

country identifier;

city identifier; and

terminating carrier identifier.

11. A method according to claim 7, wherein the operation of receiving termination information for the termination telephone number comprises receiving a name for a terminating carrier if the termination telephone number uses wireless termination and the remote centralized database associates the name of the terminating carrier with the termination telephone number.