Facsimile servicing via peer-to-peer internet protocol telephony network

A method for servicing a plurality of incoming Facsimile (FAX) communications, the method comprising:

• by each of a plurality of source telephony bridging devices:
• receiving an incoming FAX communication having an incoming FAX number associated therewith at a source PSTN connection;
• based upon the incoming FAX number, determining a user ID in a peer-to-peer Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network and an outgoing FAX number of the single destination FAX machine;
• determining an Internet Protocol (IP) address of a destination telephony bridging device based upon the user ID of the peer-to-peer VoIP network;
• and
• transmitting the incoming FAX communication to the destination telephony bridging device;
• and
• by the destination telephony bridging device:
• receiving the incoming FAX communications from the plurality of source telephony bridging devices, each incoming FAX communication identifying the user ID of the peer-to-peer VoIP network;
• identifying a destination FAX number based upon the user ID of the peer-to-peer VoIP network;
• receiving the incoming FAX communications from the source telephony bridging device via the at least one servicing packet data network;
• and
• transmitting the FAX communications via a destination PSTN connection to the outgoing FAX number.

A method for servicing a broadcast Facsimile (FAX) communication to a plurality of destination FAX machines having corresponding FAX numbers, the method comprising:

• determining a direct delivery subset of the plurality of destination FAX numbers and a bridged delivery subset of the plurality of destination FAX numbers;
• for each corresponding FAX number of the direct delivery subset of the plurality of FAX numbers, transmitting the FAX communication via a direct delivery PSTN connection directed to the corresponding FAX number;
• for each destination FAX number of the bridged delivery subset of the plurality of FAX numbers:
• identifying a destination telephony bridging device based upon the corresponding destination FAX number;
• transmitting the FAX communication from the source telephony bridging device to the destination telephony bridging device via a packet data network;
• and
• transmitting the FAX communications from the destination telephony bridging device to the corresponding FAX number via a destination PSTN connection.

A telephony bridging device used in a telephony infrastructure including a circuit switched network and the PSTN, the telephony bridging device comprising:

• packet switched interface circuitry that supports a call pathway to the packet switched network;
• PSTN interface circuitry that supports a call pathway to the PSTN;
• processing circuitry coupled to the circuit switched interface circuitry and the PSTN circuitry;
• and
• the processing circuitry operable to:
• receive an incoming FAX communication via the circuit switched interface, the incoming FAX communication having an incoming FAX number associated therewith;
• based upon the incoming FAX number, determine a user ID in a peer-to-peer Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network;
• determine an Internet Protocol (IP) address of a destination telephony bridging device based upon the user ID in the peer-to-peer VoIP network;
• determine an outgoing FAX number based upon the user ID in the peer-to-peer VoIP network;
• and
• transmit the FAX communication to the destination telephony bridging device via the packet switched interface, the FAX communication directed to the outgoing FAX number via the destination telephony bridging device.

A telephony bridging device used in a telephony infrastructure including a circuit switched network and the PSTN, the telephony bridging device comprising:

• packet switched interface circuitry that supports a call pathway to the packet switched network;
• PSTN interface circuitry that supports a call pathway to the PSTN;
• processing circuitry coupled to the circuit switched interface circuitry and the PSTN circuitry;
• and
• the processing circuitry operable to:
• receive a broadcast Facsimile (FAX) communication intended for a plurality of destination FAX machines having corresponding FAX numbers;
• determine a direct delivery subset of the plurality of destination FAX numbers and a bridged delivery subset of the plurality of destination FAX numbers;
• for each corresponding FAX number of the direct delivery subset of the plurality of FAX numbers, transmit the FAX communication via the PSTN interface circuitry directed to the corresponding FAX number;
• for each destination FAX number of the bridged delivery subset the plurality of FAX numbers:
• identify a destination telephony bridging device based upon the corresponding destination FAX number;
• transmit the FAX communication to the destination telephony bridging device via the packet switched interface circuitry along with the corresponding FAX number.