Method for completing internet telephony calls
AssigneeAT&T Intellectual Property II, L.P.
InventorsJohn Jutten Lawser, Larry Arnise Russell
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A call between a calling party and a called party, one or both of whom may be subscribers to Internet Telephony (IT) services, commences upon the receipt of a call dialed by the calling party to the Plain Old Telephony Service (POTS) number associated with the calling party. A first hub receives the call and routes it to the called party if that party is not an IT services subscriber that is currently on line. If the called party is an IT services subscriber that is on-line, the call is received at an Internet Services Provider serving the called party. The ISP converts the call to an IT format if the call is not already in that format and thereafter delivers the call to the called party.
Claims20
A method for completing an originating call to a plain old telephony service number associated with a called party, the method comprising:
- receiving, by an internet service provider, the originating call dialed to the plain old telephony service number associated with the called party in a telecommunications network, wherein the originating call is a plain ordinary telephone service call;
- determining, by the internet service provider, whether the called party is an internet telephony service subscriber and is on-line;
- forwarding, by the internet service provider, the originating call to the called party when the called party is an internet telephony service subscriber and is on-line;
- and
- forwarding, by the internet service provider, the originating call to a messaging platform when the called party is off-line.
A system for completing an originating call to a plain old telephony service number associated with a called party, the system comprising:
- a hub of an internet service provider, for receiving the originating call dialed to the plain old telephony service number associated with the called party in a telecommunications network, wherein the originating call is a plain ordinary telephone service call, for determining whether the called party is an internet telephony service subscriber and is on-line, for forwarding the originating call to the called party when the called party is an Internet telephony service subscriber and is on-line, and for forwarding the originating call to a messaging platform when the called party is off-line.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.