Method and system for multi-channel data automatic call distribution

A method for connecting a caller through a public switched telephone network to multiple channels of an agent position to create an increased bandwidth data call between the caller and the agent position, the method comprising:

• receiving a first data call made from a caller to a destination number selected by a network subscriber based on voice and data transport capability, wherein the destination number is one of a plurality of destination numbers selected by the subscriber identified by a common telephone number and each of the destination numbers is associated with a plurality of agent positions each identified by a discrete telephone number and for each of the agent positions there is provided a first channel and second channel which is associated with the discrete telephone number,
• associating with said first data call made by the caller a plurality of discriminators common to both voice and data calls and an additional data rate discriminator corresponding to the data rate used by the caller,
• accessing a first database in response to receiving the common telephone number from the caller to obtain a routing number,
• selecting a second database based on the routing number,
• accessing the second database for obtaining one of said plurality of destination numbers selected by the subscriber for data calls, wherein the destination number selected by the subscriber is based on the common discriminators and the data rate used by the caller,
• completing the first data call by directing first data call to the destination number selected by the subscriber,
• hunting the first data call to an agent position selected from the plurality of positions,
• connecting the first data call to the first channel associated with the selected agent position,
• passing the discrete telephone number associated with the selected agent position to the caller over the first channel,
• receiving a second data call made by the caller to the discrete telephone number at the selected agent position and connecting the second data call to the second channel associated with the selected agent position so as to create a multi-channel data call between the caller and the selected agent position.

A system for creating a multi-channel data call between a caller and an agent position at a destination number selected by a network subscriber, based on voice and data transport capability, wherein the destination number is one of a plurality of destination numbers selected by the subscriber identified by a common telephone number and each of the agent positions has an associated plurality of channels to which data calls may be connected, the system comprising:

• means for associating with a first phone call a plurality of discriminators common to both voice and data calls and an additional data rate discriminator for a data call corresponding to the data rate used by the caller,
• means for accessing a database in response to receiving the common telephone number from the caller for obtaining a destination number selected by the network subscriber for a data call, wherein the destination number selected by the network subscriber is based on the common discriminator and the data rate used by the caller,
• means for completing the first phone call by hunting the phone call to the agent position and for connecting the first phone call to one channel of the plurality of channels of the agent position,
• means for passing a discrete telephone number associated with the agent position to the caller over the one channel and for connecting a second phone call from the caller to another of the plurality of channels of the agent position.

A system to route a plurality of phone calls from a caller to an agent, of a plurality of agents, at a destination number selected by a network subscriber based on voice and data transport capability, wherein the one of the plurality of phone calls is a first data call of a multi-channel data call and another of the plurality of phone calls is a second data call of the multi-channel data call, and wherein each agent is further identified by a discrete telephone number and is equipped with a terminal configured with a first channel and a second channel for receiving the first data call on the first channel and the second data call on the second channel, and wherein the destination number is one of a plurality of destination numbers selected by the network subscriber identified by a common telephone number, the system comprising:

• means for associating with a first of a plurality of phone calls from a caller a plurality of discriminators common to both voice and data calls and an additional data rate discriminator for a data call corresponding to the data rate used by the caller,
• means for accessing a first database in response to receiving the common telephone number from the caller to obtain a routing number,
• means for selecting a second database based on the routing number,
• means for accessing the second database for obtaining a destination number selected by the network subscriber for data calls, wherein the separate destination number selected by the network subscriber is based on the common discriminator and the data rate used by the caller,
• means for completing the first phone call by hunting the first phone call to a first channel of an agent terminal at the destination number selected by the network subscriber,
• means for passing a discrete telephone number associated with the agent to the caller over the first channel and receiving a second phone call made by the caller to the discrete telephone number at a second channel of the agent terminal.