Recovery of established emergency video calls

An apparatus for re-establishing a video call session comprising:

• a processor unit for executing instructions;
• and
• a memory for storing instructions, which when executed by the processor unit configure the apparatus to:
• receiving an emergency video call establishment request at a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) proxy, the video call originating from a caller device;
• directing, from the SIP proxy, establishment of a call leg for the emergency call between a first emergency call answer node and an emergency operator workstation;
• directing, from the SIP proxy, establishment of a call leg for the emergency call between the first emergency call answer node and an emergency call gateway;
• detecting, at the SIP proxy, a failure of the first emergency call answer node during the emergency call from the caller device wherein detecting the failure of the first emergency call answer node at the SIP proxy uses a heartbeat signal between the first emergency call answer node and the SIP proxy;
• causing, with the SIP proxy, transmittal of one of the call establishment request or the previously received call establishment request to a second emergency call answer node;
• receiving the SIP session establishment request at the second emergency call answer node, the session establishment request having an indication of the previously established video call session between an operator workstation and a sending device to be re-established;
• checking a recovery queue at the second emergency call answer node for a previously received video call session establishment request having a matching indication for the previously established video call session to re-establish;
• and
• bridging at the second emergency call answer node a session leg for the received session establishment request and a session leg for the previously received session establishment request having the matching indication for the previously established video call session to re-establish the video call session between the operator workstation and the calling device when a match is found between the SIP proxy and the operator workstation.

A non-transitory computer readable memory containing instructions for execution by a processor, the instructions for performing a method of re-establishing a video call session comprising:

• receiving an emergency video call establishment request at a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) proxy, the video call originating from a caller device;
• directing, from the SIP proxy, establishment of a call leg for the emergency call between a first emergency call answer node and an emergency operator workstation;
• directing, from the SIP proxy, establishment of a call leg for the emergency call between the first emergency call answer node and an emergency call gateway;
• detecting, at the SIP proxy, a failure of the first emergency call answer node during the emergency call from the caller device wherein detecting the failure of the first emergency call answer node at the SIP proxy uses a heartbeat signal between the first emergency call answer node and the SIP proxy;
• causing, with the SIP proxy, transmittal of one of the call establishment request or the previously received call establishment request to a second emergency call answer node;
• receiving the SIP session establishment request at the second emergency call answer node, the session establishment request having an indication of the previously established video call session between an operator workstation and a sending device to be re-established;
• checking a recovery queue at the second emergency call answer node for a previously received video call session establishment request having a matching indication for the previously established video call session to re-establish;
• and
• bridging at the second emergency call answer node a session leg for the received session establishment request and a session leg for the previously received session establishment request having the matching indication for the previously established video call session to re-establish the video call session between the operator workstation and the calling device when a match is found between the SIP proxy and the operator workstation.