Mobile electronic communications using internet protocol
AssigneeTextnow, Inc.
InventorsDerek Ting, Jonathan Lerner
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A database stores unique associations between account identifiers and mobile-network telephone numbers assigned by a mobile network to mobile communications devices. The account identifiers are also associated with voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephone numbers. Voice calls between the mobile communications devices are made as voice-over-IP (VoIP) calls using respective VoIP telephone numbers. Tracking of the VoIP calls is performed through the mobile network using respective mobile-network telephone numbers, so that a prepaid balance can be enforced.
Claims9
A communications routing system coupled to a Voice-over-IP (VoIP) service, a mobile network, and a wireless local-area network (WLAN), the communications routing system configured to:
- store a plurality of unique associations between account identifiers and mobile telephone numbers, and further between the account identifiers and VoIP telephone numbers;
- receive, from the VoIP service, a call request for a voice call to a destination device having a telephone number corresponding to a stored mobile telephone number or a stored VoIP telephone number and obtain a destination account identifier for the destination device;
- receive call information for the voice call, the call information including a call length;
- when the call information indicates that the voice call is routed through the mobile network, reduce a usage balance for the destination account identifier based on the call length;
- and
- when the call information indicates that the voice call is routed through the WLAN, record the call length without reducing the usage balance for the destination account identifier.
A communications routing system coupled to a Voice-over-IP (VoIP) service, a mobile network, and a wireless local-area network (WLAN), the communications routing system configured to:
- store a plurality of unique associations between account identifiers and mobile telephone numbers, and further between the account identifiers and VoIP telephone numbers;
- receive, from the VoIP service, a call request for a voice call from a source device having a telephone number corresponding to a stored mobile telephone number or a stored VoIP telephone number and obtain a source account identifier for the source device;
- receive call information for the voice call, the call information including a call length;
- when the call information indicates that the voice call is routed through the mobile network, reduce a usage balance for the source account identifier based on the call length;
- and
- when the call information indicates that the voice call is routed through the WLAN, record the call length without reducing the usage balance for the source account identifier.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.