System and method for privacy management

In an advanced intelligent network system, a method for terminating a call from a calling party having a private calling party number to a subscriber to a privacy screening service having a subscriber number comprising:

• (a) responding to a first query from a first service switching point to a service control point with a response that re-writes a presentation indicator in a calling party presentation indicator field of the call as public;
• (b) forwarding the call to a service node via a second service switching point, said service node having a service node number, and playing an announcement at the service node to the calling party asking the calling party for authorization to override his or her privacy;
• (c) if the calling party authorizes the system to override his or her privacy, dialing a string at the service node, said string comprising a customized dialing plan code, the subscriber number and the calling party number, said customized dialing plan code triggering a second query from the second service switching point to the service control point, said second query comprising the subscriber number and the calling party number;
• (d) responding at the service control point to the second query with a response to the service node that includes the calling party number in the response's calling party field and the subscriber number in the response's called party field;
• (e) dialing the subscriber number from the service node, with the calling party number in the calling party field, the subscriber number in the called party field, and the service node number in the charge number field;
• and
• (f) terminating the call to the subscriber number.

A method for managing privacy screening services in an advanced intelligent network system comprising:

• (a) responding to a first query from a service switching point to a service control point, when an incoming call is from a private number, by re-writing a presentation indicator in the incoming call's presentation indicator field as public;
• (b) routing the incoming call to a service node having a service node number;
• (c) obtaining the calling party's authorization to override his or her privacy;
• (d) dialing a string comprising a customized dialing plan code, the number of the incoming call and the subscriber number at the service node, said string triggering a second query to the service control point comprising a code, the number of the incoming call and the subscriber number, the service control point responding to the second query with a response comprising the subscriber number in the called party field and the number of the incoming call in a calling party field, and then routing the incoming call to the subscriber with the number of the service node in a charge number field.

An advanced intelligent network having a service node and a service control point in communication with each other comprising:

• (a) means for triggering a first query to the service control point when a calling party attempts to call a subscriber to a privacy manager service, wherein the calling party has a calling party number and the subscriber has a subscriber number;
• (b) means comprising a presentation indicator for the service control point to determine whether the calling party number is known and public, known and private, or unknown;
• (c) means for forwarding the call to the service node when the calling party number is private, with the presentation indicator set to public;
• (d) means for the service node to ask the calling party to override his or her privacy;
• and
• (e) means for routing the call to the subscriber number when the calling party agrees to override his or her privacy.

A method for routing a call from a calling party having a calling party number to a subscriber having a subscriber number comprising:

• (a) triggering a first query from a first service switching point in direct communication with the subscriber to a service control point;
• (b) determining at the service control point, from a presentation indicator in a calling party number field, whether the calling party number is private, public or unknown;
• (c) when the calling party number is public, authorizing termination of the call to the subscriber number;
• (d) when the calling party number is private, re-writing the presentation indicator as public and forwarding the call to a service node, which then dials a string comprising a customized dialing plan code, the subscriber number and the calling party number;
• and
• (e) when the calling party number is unknown, forwarding the call to the service node.

An advanced intelligent network system comprising:

• (a) a first service switching point directly connected to a subscriber line having a subscriber number;
• (b) a service control point in communication with the first service switching point over a common channel signaling network;
• (c) a privacy screening termination attempt trigger provisioned on the subscriber line at the first service switching point;
• (d) a second service switching point in communication with the service control point over the common channel signaling network;
• and
• (e) a service node directly connected to the second service switching point, said service node having a service node number, wherein:
• the system routes a call from a private calling party number to the service node with the subscriber number in a re-directing party field, the calling party number in a calling party field and a calling party presentation indicator in a calling party presentation indicator field redefining the calling party number as public,
• the service node obtains the calling party's permission to override the calling party's privacy, dials a first string comprising a customized dialing plan code, the subscriber number and the calling party number, and the customized dialing plan code triggers a first query from the second service switching point to the service control point, and
• the service control point returns a response to the service node with the subscriber number in a called party field and the calling party number in the calling party field, and the service node routes the call to the subscriber line.