Methods and apparatus for providing communications services between connectionless and connection-oriented networks

A hosting server including:

• a processor;
• a memory unit that stores instructions associated with an application executed by the processor, and
• an interconnect coupling the processor and the memory unit, enabling the hosting server to execute the application and perform operations of:
• receiving a communication over a connectionless network from a client computer, the communication including a request to establish a connection between a first telephony device related to a first user and a first user agent and a second telephony device related to a second user and a second user agent, both the first telephony device and the second telephony device being configured to directly couple to and communicate over a public switched telephone network via use of a public switched telephone network communication protocol, each of the user agents programmed and configured by each of the users, the programming and configuration permitting the agents to receive a state of the telephony device, associated with at least one of the user agents, from a server;
• in response to receiving the communication from the client, generating a message for controlling a public telephone switch in the public switched telephone network;
• and via use of the message, establishing a connection, via use of the public telephone switch, between the first telephony device and the second telephony device through use of the public telephone switch.

A computer program product having a computer-readable medium including computer program logic encoded thereon for providing enhanced telecommunications services, such that the computer program logic, when executed on at least one processing unit to perform the steps of:

• receiving a communication over a connectionless network from a client computer, the communication including a request to establish a connection between a first telephony device related to a first user and a first user agent and a second telephony device related to a second user and a second user agent being configured to directly couple to and communicate over a public switched telephone network via use of a public switched telephone network communication protocol, each of the user agents programmed and configured by each of the users, the programming and configuration permitting the agents to receive a state of the telephony device, associated with at least one of the user agents, from a server;
• in response to receiving the communication, generating a message for controlling a public telephone switch in the public switched telephone network;
• and
• via use of the message, establishing a connection, via use of the public telephone switch, between the first telephony device and the second telephony device.

A hosting server that provides communication services, the hosting server including;

• means for receiving a communication over a connectionless network from a client computer, the communication including a request to establish a connection between a first telephony device and a second telephony device, both the first telephony device related to a first user and a first user agent and a second telephony device related to a second user and a second user agent being configured to directly couple to and communicate over a public switched telephone network via use of a public switched telephone network communication protocol, each of the user agents programmed and configured by each of the users, the programming and configuration permitting the agents to receive a state of the telephony device, associated with at least one of the user agents, from a server;
• means for generating a message for controlling a public telephone switch in the public switched telephone network in response to receiving the communication;
• and
• means for establishing a connection via use of the public telephone switch, between the first telephony device and the second telephony device via use of the message.