Provisioning of locally-generated prompts from a central source
View Patent ↗A method and system for providing locally generated prompts/announcements from a centralized source is presented in which voice and text files can be downloaded from a centralized server to a client device. The client device can include a telecommunications gateway which supports telephony services provided over a Hybrid Fiber Coaxial (HFC) network. By downloading files which are appropriate for the user, the client side receives and stores an appropriate subset of the prompt/announcement files available on the server.
1. A system for providing locally generated prompts/announcements in a telecommunications network, the system comprising:
a centralized server for storing a plurality of prompt/announcement files, said plurality including various types of files and organized in a system with respect to user characteristics of a system user;
a telecommunications device located in close proximity to the system user, said telecommunications device for downloading a user-specified subset of files associated with said user characteristics from said plurality of files; and
at least one communication device for interacting with said telecommunications device and selecting the user-specified subset of files from said plurality of files to be downloaded,
wherein said user characteristics include the system user's location.
2. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein the at least one communication device comprises a telephone with a keypad for selecting the user-specified subset of files.
3. The system as defined in claim 2 wherein the selected user-specified subset of files comprise voice files.
4. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein the at least one communication device comprises a computer with a keyboard for selecting the user-specified subset of files.
5. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein the selected user-specified subset of files are chosen from a group consisting of text files, video files and multimedia files.
6. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein the at least one communication device comprises:
a telephone with a keypad for selecting a first group of user-specified subset of files; and
a computer with a keyboard for selecting a second group of user-specified subset of files.
7. The system as defined in claim 6 wherein the first group of user-specified subset of files comprises voice files and the second group of user-specified subset of files comprises files chosen from a group consisting of text files, video files and multimedia files.
8. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein the network comprises an HFC network and the telecommunications device comprises a communication gateway.
9. A method of providing client-side prompt/announcement files for use by a subscriber on a local telecommunications device from a plurality of prompt/announcement files stored on a centralized server, the method comprising the steps of:
a) determining subscriber-specific characteristics from subscriber-provider input;
b) determining the type of user entry device; and
c) downloading a subset of prompt/announcement files from the centralized server to the local telecommunications device based upon the subscriber-provided, subscriber-specific characteristics and the determined type of user entry device,
wherein in performing step a), the subscriber-specific characteristics include location.