Home network telephone answering system and method for same

Abstract

A system and method are provided for answering Home Network telephone calls. The method comprises: receiving telephone calls addressed to a Home Network endpoint; routing the received calls from a gateway to the endpoint; and, automatically recording the received call at a telephone answering device (TAD). The call can be recorded by an endpoint, the gateway, or an external line service provider facility central office or web site. Telephone calls can be addressed to an endpoint from external communication media or another endpoint. Some aspects of the method include sending notification that a message has been recorded. The gateway may initiate the notification. Alternately, the gateway may receive a request for any TAD information that may exist for an addressed endpoint, and if a message exists, the TAD creates a bridge between the TAD and a requesting entity to forward the notification.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.