Service variation selection

• US 7,920,688 B1
• Filed: 09/12/2006
• Issued: 04/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Piercy, Larry H., Hilyard, Trey A.
• Primary Examiner(s): SMITH, CREIGHTON H
• Application Number:
  US11/531,022
• Time in Patent Office: 1,666 Days
• Field of Search: 379/207.02, 379/207.11, 455/414.3, 455/414.1
• US Class Current: 379/207.11
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42068 where the identifier is used to access a profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42229 Personal communication services, i.e. services related to one subscriber independent of his terminal and/or location diverting calls from one subscriber to another subscriber, i.e. two different subscriptions H04M3/54; selecting arrangements in intelligent networks H04Q3/005
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42306 Number translation services, e.g. premium-rate, freephone or vanity number services

Abstract

A call processing system comprising an interface configured to receive a call request for a call from a caller to a service having a plurality of service variations and transmit a first control message, and a processing system configured to process the call request to select a first service variation of the plurality of service variations based on a first preference indicated by the caller prior to the call and generating the first control message identifying the first service variation.

Claims

1. A method of operating a call processing system, the method comprising:

receiving a call request indicating an abbreviated dialing code (ADC) for a call from a caller located in a first geographic region to a national broadcasting media service having a plurality of local affiliates in a plurality of different geographic regions;

processing the call request to select a first preferred local affiliate of the plurality of local affiliates based on a first preference indicated by the caller prior to the call, wherein the preferred local affiliate is located in a second geographic region different from the first geographic region;

generating a routing instruction for routing the call from the caller located in the first geographic region to the preferred local affiliate located in the second geographic region; and

transmitting the routing instruction.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first geographic region and the second geographic region are mutually exclusive.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the processing the call request to select the preferred local affiliate further comprises associating the call request with a caller profile, and wherein the caller profile indicates the preferred local affiliate of the plurality of local affiliates of the national broadcasting media service.

5. The method of claim 3 further comprising associating the call request with the caller profile based on an identity of the caller.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein the ADC includes digits comprising a numerical representation associated with an acronym of the national broadcasting media service.

7. The method of claim 3 further comprising associating the call request with the caller profile based on an identity of a calling device operated by the caller.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the preferred local affiliate comprises a physical presence including one or more multi-media servers configured to provide broadcast media via call connections.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

routing the call from the from the caller located in the first geographic region to the preferred local affiliate located in the second geographic region, resulting in a call connection; and

providing audio broadcast media to the caller via the call connection.

4. The method of clam 1 further comprising processing the call request to select the preferred local affiliate during one of a subscription period or a registration period.

8. A call processing system comprising:

an interface configured to receive a call request indicating an abbreviated dialing code (ADC) for a call from a caller located in a first geographic region to a national broadcasting media service having a plurality of local affiliates in a plurality of different geographic regions, and to transmit a routing instruction; and

a processing system configured to process the call request to select a preferred local affiliate of the plurality of local affiliates based on a first preference indicated by the caller prior to the call, and to generate the routing instruction for routing the call from the caller located at the first geographic region to the preferred local affiliate located in a second geographic region that is different from the first geographic region.

9. The call processing system of claim 8 wherein the first geographic region and the second geographic region are mutually exclusive.

10. The call processing system of claim 9 further configured to associate the call request with a caller profile that indicates the preferred local affiliate of the plurality of local affiliates of the national broadcasting media service.

11. The call processing system of claim 8 further configured to process the call request to select a preferred local affiliate during one of a subscription period or a registration period.

12. The call processing system of claim 10 further configured to associate the call request with the caller profile based on an identify of the caller.

13. The call processing system of claim 10 wherein the ADC includes digits comprising a numerical representation associated with an acronym of the national broadcasting media service.

14. The call processing system of claim 10 wherein the further configured to associate the call request with the caller profile based on an identity of a calling device operated by the caller.

18. The call processing system of claim 8 wherein the preferred local affiliate comprises a physical presence including one or more multi-media servers configured to provide broadcast media via call connections.

19. The call processing system of claim 18 wherein the processing system is further configured to route the call from the caller located in the first geographic region to the preferred local affiliate located in the second geographic region, resulting in a call connection, and provide audio broadcast media from the preferred local affiliate to the caller via the call connection.

15. A software product for operating a call processing system, the software product comprising:

software operational when executed by a processing system to direct the call processing system to receive a call request indicating an abbreviated dialing code (ADC) for a call from a caller located in a first geographic region to a national broadcasting media service having a plurality of local affiliates in a plurality of different geographic regions, to process the call request to select a first preferred local affiliate of the plurality of local affiliates based on a first preference indicated by the caller prior to the call, to generate a routing instruction for routing the call from the caller located in the first geographic region to the preferred local affiliate located in a second geographic region that is different from the first geographic region, and to transmit the routing instruction; and

a storage medium configured to store the software.