Pooling numbers for E911 calls from unnamed endpoints

#Cross reference is made to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/795,119, filed Mar. 5, 2004, entitled “Advanced Port-Based E911 Strategy for IP Telephony” and Ser. No. 10/607,414, filed Jun. 25, 2003, entitled “Universal Emergency Number ELIN Based on Network Address”, each of which is incorporated herein by this reference.

#The present invention is directed generally to emergency assistance and crisis alert call handling and specifically to emergency assistance and crisis alert call handling in a telecommunications network.

#Local regulations, as well as concerns about public safety and liability, require enterprises to provide employees and visitors with an effective means to reach a universal emergency number (e.g., 911 in the U.S., 000 in Australia, and 112 in the European Community) operator in an emergency. The call routes through the local central office, through a switch, to the appropriate Public Safety Answer Point (PSAP), where the call is answered. Each PSAP typically covers one metropolitan area or several or rural counties. At the PSAP, emergency operators determine the nature of the emergency and contact the appropriate agency: typically police, fire, or emergency medical services. A single PSAP is typically responsible for an area covering several independent police and fire departments in the U.S.

#FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an emergency locating infrastructure according to an embodiment of the present invention and

#FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the operation of the emergency locating agent according to an embodiment of the present invention.

#The invention will be illustrated below in conjunction with an exemplary communication system. Although well suited for use with, e.g., a system having a private branch exchange (PBX) or other similar contact processing switch or server, the invention is not limited to use with any particular type of communication system switch or server or configuration of system elements. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosed techniques may be used in any communication application in which it is desirable to provide improved caller location. The term “contact” or “call” as used herein is intended to include not only telephone calls but also non-telephonic communications, such as data transmissions such as electronic mail, voice-over-IP, instant messaging, teletypewriter (TTY), facsimile, etc., whether circuit switched or packet switched.

#FIG. 1 shows an exemplary communication system 100 in which the invention is implemented. The system 100 includes a switch/server 102 which serves a circuit-switched enterprise network 104 and a packet-switched Local Area Network 106. The LAN 106, in one configuration, is a data or distributed processing network, such as the Internet and applies the TCP/IP suite of protocols. The LAN is divided into a plurality of subnets, each including one or more Ethernet switches 108a–n, respectively. Each switch 108a–n is connected (via ports 110a–m) to and serves a number of packet-switched communication devices 112a–o that are registered with the switch/server 102. “Registration” is a process by which a communication device is made known to a switch/server. As will be appreciated, the registration can be performed by any technique or according to any protocol (e.g., such as H.323, SIP, 802.11, digital port initialization, and the like) and may by effected by the system administrator and/or through another suitable manual or automated technique. Likewise, the enterprise network 104 is connected to a plurality of circuit-switched communication devices 114a–p. Each of the communication devices 112a–o and 114a–p may be wired desktop telephone terminals or any other type of wired or wireless device capable of communicating with the switch/server. The word “communication device” as used herein should therefore be understood to include not only wired or wireless desktop telephone terminals but also other types of processor-based communication devices, including without limitation mobile telephones, IP telephones, IP softphones, IP hardphones, personal computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), TTY Teletype, etc.

#The terms “switch” or “server” or “switch/server” as used herein should be understood to include a PBX, an enterprise switch, or other type of telecommunications system switch, as well as other types of processor-based communication control devices such as servers, computers, adjuncts, etc. By way of example, the switch/server in the exemplary embodiment may be implemented as an otherwise conventional DEFINITY™ or MULTIVANTAGE™ Enterprise Communication Service (ECS) communication system or Avaya Communication Manager™ switch available from Avaya Inc. Other types of known switches/servers are well known in the art and therefore not described in detail herein.