System and method for least cost routing and managing multiple gatekeepers on a packet switched network

A system for routing a call from a local service switching point to a remote service switching point via a packet switched network interconnected to the remote service switching point by a gateway and a gatekeeper controlling call pathways through the gateway to the remote service switching point, the system comprising:

• means for providing the local service switching point with a record identifying a plurality of carriers serving the remote service switching point, the record including a cost for using each identified carrier and a number of available circuits in each identified carrier;
• means for receiving a call and destination number at the local service switching point;
• and
• means for selecting a carrier from the record, the selected carrier having a predetermined number of available circuits that can connect the received call to the destination number for the lowest cost.

A mixed circuit and packet switched system, the system comprising:

• a packet switched network;
• a circuit switched network having a plurality of carriers, each carrier containing a dynamically varying number of available circuits;
• a plurality of service switching points in communication with the circuit switched network, each service switching point associated with a carrier such that each service switching point can direct a telephone call over an available circuit in the associated carrier, each service switching point containing a global circuit availability record, the global circuit availability record providing circuit availability for every carrier associated with the plurality of service switching points;
• a plurality of gateways interconnecting the packet switched network and the circuit switched network, each gateway in communication with a service switching point such that a telephone call can be carried between the service switching point and the packet switched network via the gateway;
• a plurality of gatekeepers, each gatekeeper in communication with a gateway such that each gatekeeper controls a connection of a telephone call between the packet switched network and the circuit switched network via the gateway, each gatekeeper in communication with a service switching point such that the gatekeeper permits the connection of the telephone call through the gateway in response to a prompt from the service switching point;
• and
• wherein a first service switching point receives an incoming call on an associated carrier and directs the received call, via the packet switched network, to a gateway in communication with a second service switching point after prompting a gatekeeper in communication with the gateway, the first service switching point selecting the second service switching point from the plurality of service switching points based on a global circuit availability record contained in the first service switching point.

A system for routing a call via a packet switched network having a gateway and a gatekeeper controlling call pathways through the gateway, the system comprising:

• a remote service switching point;
• a local service switching point in communication with the remote gateway and the remote gatekeeper via the packet switched network, the local service switching point containing a global record identifying a plurality of carriers that serve the remote service switching point, the global record including a cost of using each identified carrier and a number of available circuits in each identified carrier;
• and
• wherein the local service switching point selects a carrier from the global record in response to receiving an incoming call and a destination number, the selected carrier having a predetermined number of circuits that can connect the incoming call to the destination number for the lowest cost.