Clearinghouse server for internet telephony and multimedia communications

A method for authorizing and routing a telephone communication with a clearinghouse server between a source Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) device and a destination VoIP device, comprising the steps of.

• receiving an authorization request from a source VoIP device;
• determining a communication route for completing a communication originating at the source VoIP device;
• identifying one or more destination VoIP devices available to complete the telephone communication;
• balancing use of the one or more destination VoIP devices with the clearinghouse server by;
• (a) generating a list comprising the ranked destination VoIP devices;
• (b) generating an authorization token and a transaction identifier for each identified destination VoIP device;
• (c) forwarding the authorization tokens, transaction identifiers, and list to the source VoIP device;
• selecting a destination VoIP device from the list;
• and
• completing the telephone communication with the selected destination VoIP device.

A method for enrolling a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) device for operation with a VoIP clearinghouse server, comprising the steps of:

• receiving an enrollment request from a VoIP device;
• creating a public key certificate;
• sending the public key certificate to the VoIP device;
• establishing secure communications with the VoIP device based upon the public key certificate;
• receiving information from the VoIP device.