Access to unsubscribed features

An automated method in a telecommunications network of providing, in addition to an initial set of feature services as defined by feature keys in a primary block of data that is associated with a terminal port, additional custom feature services, to a caller on demand as part of a call process for a terminal port in a telecommunications network, the additional custom feature services defined by feature keys in a secondary block of data, comprising:

• creating the call process by a processor in the telecommunications network;
• accessing the secondary data block for the port for the call process by the processor;
• selecting desired feature keys;
• recording selected desired feature keys into the secondary data block;
• identifying selected feature keys which are to be available indefinitely;
• identifying selected feature keys which are to be available temporarily;
• modifying the call process by a controller which preempts reference by the network to the initial set of feature services, at least in part, with feature keys in the secondary block of data to thereby include the selected feature keys, wherein the telecommunications network provides the call process access to the custom feature services selected and use of the features in at least one call involving the port;
• and
• automatically ceasing access to temporarily selected custom feature services upon the satisfaction of temporary use.

In a telecommunications network, apparatus within the telecommunications network, for providing custom feature services to individual callers on demand and selectively granted to a caller at a standard telephone, having a keypad and a handset, connected to a terminal port as part of a call process, comprising:

• a data block within the telecommunications network which defines custom feature services normal to the terminal port at the commencement of a call process and which defines additional custom feature services which are available for on demand access at the terminal port;
• a processor for receiving a call from the caller;
• voice means responsive to said call processor for prompting the caller through the telephone handset to select the custom feature services desired from available selections defined in the data block;
• means for the caller to signal selections of additional custom feature services using the telephone keypad or using the telephone handset;
• and
• means for temporarily modifying the data block based upon the caller selection, wherein the call process provides the caller access to and use of custom feature services including selected custom feature services which are other than services normal to the terminal port.

An automated apparatus for modifying, on demand, as part of a call process from a caller using a standard telephone, custom feature services provided by a telephone network for a terminal port, comprising:

• a. a feature processor which interactively defines the desired feature services using voice prompts to guide the caller through a feature selection process, the process utilizing a decision tree approach of presenting options to which the caller responds and thereafter presenting further options based upon the response made by the caller, this continuing until no further selections are to be made by the caller along the decision tree branch taken, with input from the caller made by keypad or voice signals;
• b. a data block in the network created by the feature processor which represents the defined normal custom feature services for the terminal port and which the processor modifies to reflect selections made by the caller;
• c. a controller in the network which accesses the data block, wherein the network provides the desired custom feature services to the port selected by the caller;
• d. memory in which is stored the data representing the custom feature services which were the normal feature services defined for the terminal port at the commencement of the call process;
• and
• e. means for identifying a condition or event to the network which will, upon occurrence, access memory and replace the data then existing in the data block with the data in memory to return the feature services available to the terminal to those available prior to modification, whereby the custom feature services available at the terminal port are modified on demand to include custom feature services other than normal custom feature services for a period of use then automatically returned to the custom feature services normal to the terminal port.

An automated apparatus for modifying, on demand, as part of a call process from a caller using a standard telephone, custom feature services provided by a telephone network for a terminal port, comprising:

• a. a feature processor which interactively defines the desired feature services using voice prompts to guide the caller through a feature selection process, with input from the caller made by telephone keypad or voice signals;
• b. a data block in the network, the data block having a first region which represents data defining normal custom feature services for the terminal port and a second region which represents the data defining additional custom feature services available for access by the terminal port;
• c. memory created by the feature processor in which is stored the data representing the additional custom feature services which were selected by the caller for the call process;
• d. a controller in the network which accesses the data in the first region of the data block and the data in memory in such a manner that the data in memory preempts the data in the first region of the data block whereby the controller causes the network to provide the desired custom feature services selected by the caller to the terminal port;
• and
• e. means for identifying a condition or event to the network which upon occurrence will access memory and delete the data representing the additional custom feature services which were selected by the caller for the call process, whereby the custom feature services available at the terminal port are modified on demand to include custom feature services other than normal custom feature services for a period of use then automatically returned to the custom feature services normal to the terminal port once the demand is satisfied.

In a telecommunications network, apparatus within the telecommunications network for providing custom feature services to individual callers on demand and selectively granted to a caller as part of a call process at a standard telephone, having a keypad and a handset, connected to a terminal port, comprising:

• a data block within the telecommunications network which defines in a first region data for custom feature services normal to the terminal port at the commencement of a call process and which defines in a second region data for additional custom feature services which are available for on demand access at the terminal port;
• a call processor for receiving a call from the caller;
• means responsive to said call processor for prompting the caller through the telephone to select the custom feature services desired from available selections defined in the second region of the data block;
• means for the caller to signal selections of additional custom feature services using the telephone;
• and
• memory for temporarily storing the data from the second region of the data block defining the additional custom feature services selected by the caller;
• a controller which accesses the data in the first region of the data block and the data in memory defining the additional custom feature services selected by the caller and which gives precedence to the data in memory over the data in the first region of the data block to provide the caller access to and use of custom feature services including selected custom feature services which are other than services normal to the terminal port.

In a telecommunications network, apparatus within the telecommunications network for providing custom feature services to individual callers on demand and selectively granted to a caller as part of a call process at a telephone, connected to a terminal port, comprising:

• a data block within the telecommunications network which defines in a first region data for custom feature services normal to the terminal port at the commencement of a call process and which defines in a second region data for additional custom feature services which are available for on demand access at the terminal port;
• a processor for receiving a call from the caller;
• means responsive to said call processor for prompting the caller through the telephone to select the custom feature services desired from available selections defined in the second region of the data block;
• means for receiving signals from the caller indicative of selections of additional custom feature services using the telephone;
• and
• memory for temporarily storing the data from the second region of the data block defining the additional custom feature services selected by the caller;
• a controller which accesses the data in the first region of the data block and the data in the memory defining the additional custom feature services selected by the caller and which gives the caller access to and use of custom feature services including selected custom feature services which are stored in the memory;
• means for establishing a termination trigger activated by an event associated with satisfaction of the defined demand;
• and
• means, responsive to the establishing means, for deleting from the memory the data for the additional custom feature services selected by the caller upon the activation of the termination trigger, whereby the availability of selected additional custom feature services automatically ceases upon satisfaction of the defined demand.