System and method for establishing dynamic high usage trunk groups

A method for dynamically controlling high usage group capacity between first and second end offices in a telephone network using asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) facilities and first and second interfaces interconnecting the first and second end offices with said ATM facilities, comprising the steps of:

• receiving at a call manager associated with the telephone network and the ATM facilities, a call completion request from one of the first and second end offices requesting completion of a call to the other of the first and second end offices and sending instructions from the call manager to said first and second interfaces to dynamically establish a switched virtual circuit (SVC) across said ATM facilities to provide a direct link between the first and second end offices;
• and
• dynamically establishing the switched circuit from a one of said first and second interfaces across said ATM facilities to the other of said first and second interfaces in response to the instructions received from the call manager, to dynamically control the high usage trunk group capacity.

An apparatus for providing dynamic control of trunk between first and second end offices using asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) facilities located between said first and second end offices, comprising:

• a first interface interconnecting the first end office with the ATM facilities and a second interface interconnecting the second end office with the ATM facilities, said first and second interfaces being adapted to convert pulse code modulated (PCM) data to ATM cells and vice versa, and adapted to establish switched virtual circuits (SVCs) across the ATM facilities to serve as high usage trunk groups;
• and
• first and second end offices adapted to receive trunk provisioning messages and dynamically increase or decrease provisioning of high usage trunks in response to said trunk provisioning messages.

A method for dynamically controlling trunk provisioning between first and second end offices in a telephone network using asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) facilities having first and second interfaces interconnecting the first and second end offices with said ATM facilities, comprising the steps of:

• (i) dynamically provisioning trunks between each of said first and second end offices and said interfaces to provide a dynamic high usage trunk group;
• and
• (ii) (dynamically establishing switched virtual circuits (SVCs) from said first and second interfaces across said ATM facilities in response to said dynamic provisioning of trunks between each of said end offices.