Method, apparatus and computer program product for accessing a facility directory

A method for providing access to information about local services offered by a facility, the method comprising the steps of:

• sending a client-based facility-mode program and a profile for the facility for loading in a memory associated with a user's portable device, wherein the profile includes a description of the local services, the services having respective telephones connected via a local area network of the facility to a wide area telephone network, wherein the telephones for the services have respective shortcut telephone numbers by which the telephones are accessible within the local area network and have longer telephone numbers by which the telephones are accessible within the wide area network and wherein the profile includes the longer telephone numbers and the shortcut numbers for the services;
• and
• routing a call over the local network to one of the service telephones in response to receiving a telephone number for the service from the user's portable device, wherein the telephone number may be the shortcut number received via a close-range, standard-protocol radio signal and the telephone number may be the longer number received via the wide area network.

A computer program product for accessing information about local services offered by a facility, the computer program product comprising:

• a profile for the facility for loading in a memory associated with a user's portable device, wherein the profile includes a description of the local services, the services having respective telephones connected via a local area network of the facility, so that a call originating on the local area network to such a telephone may be completed on the local area network without accessing a wide area network;
• and
• instructions for enabling the user's portable device to operate in a normal mode and a facility mode, wherein in the facility mode the user's portable device displays the services from the profile, so that the user can select among the services, and the user's portable device places a telephone call for a selected one of the service telephones solely over the local area network via a close-range, standard-protocol radio signal, and in the normal mode the user's portable device places calls to telephones on the wide area network.

A computer program product for providing access to information about local services offered by a facility, the computer program product comprising:

• a profile for the facility for loading in a memory associated with a user's portable device, wherein the profile includes a description of the local services, the services having respective telephones connected via a local area network of the facility to a wide area telephone network, wherein the telephones for the services have respective shortcut telephone numbers by which the telephones are accessible within the local area network and have longer telephone numbers by which the telephones are accessible within the wide area network and wherein the profile includes the longer telephone numbers and the shortcut numbers for the services;
• and
• instructions for routing a call over the local network to one of the service telephones in response to receiving a telephone number for the service from the user's portable device, wherein the telephone number may be the shortcut number received via a close-range, standard-protocol radio signal and the telephone number may be the longer number received via the wide area network.

A system for providing access to information about local services offered by a facility, the system comprising:

• a computer system having a stored profile for the facility for sending to a user's portable device, wherein the profile includes a description of the local services;
• a local area network for the facility connected to respective telephones for the services, wherein the computer system has a client-based facility-mode program for sending to the user's portable device to enable the user's portable device to operate in a facility mode, wherein in the facility mode the user's portable device displays the services from the profile, so that the user can select among the services, and the user's portable device sends the local area network a telephone call, via a close-range, standard-protocol radio signal, for a selected one of the service telephones for routing solely over the local area network, and in the normal mode the user's portable device places calls to telephones on a wide area network.