Method and apparatus for selectively routing callers to service call centers

1 . A call management center (CMC), comprising:

a controller for managing operations of a plurality of network elements, programmed to:

store for each of the plurality of network elements its location;

store for each of a plurality of service call centers its location;

detect an incoming call originated by a communication device from a select one of the plurality of network elements;

determine if the communication device is capable of roaming from signaling information associated with the incoming call;

if the communication device is capable of roaming,

identify from the plurality of network elements according to the signaling information a network element near to where the incoming call was originated;

determine an approximate location of the communication device according to a location of the identified network element;

select a service call center nearest to the approximate location of the communication device from the plurality of service call center locations; and

route the incoming call to the selected service call center.

2 . The CMC of claim 1 , wherein the controller is programmed to determine if the communication device is capable of roaming according to a portion of an Originating Line Information Parameter (OLIP) included in the signaling information.

3 . The CMC of claim 2 , wherein the controller is programmed to determine if the communication device is capable of roaming by detecting in the portion of the OLIP any one of the numbers 61, 62 and 63.

4 . The CMC of claim 1 , wherein the signaling information comprises a jurisdiction information parameter (JIP) for identifying the network element nearest to a location where the incoming call originated.

5 . The CMC of claim 4 , wherein the JIP comprises an area code and exchange code associated with the network element.

6 . The CMC of claim 1 , wherein the signaling information conforms to a Signaling System 7 (SS7) protocol.

7 . A computer-readable storage medium operating in a call management center (CMC), comprising computer instructions for:

determining if a communication device is capable of roaming from signaling information associated with the incoming call;

if the communication device is capable of roaming, determining an approximate location of the communication device according to a jurisdiction information parameter (JIP) included in the signaling information;

selecting from the plurality of service call centers a service call center nearest to the communication device according to the identified service call center provider and the approximate location of the communication device; and

routing the incoming call to the selected service call center.

8 . The storage medium of claim 7 , comprising computer instructions for determining if the communication device is capable of roaming by detecting in a portion of an Originating Line Information Parameter (OLIP) included in the signaling information any one of the numbers 61, 62 and 63.

9 . The storage medium of claim 7 , wherein the JIP comprises an area code and exchange code associated with the network element.

10 . The storage medium of claim 7 , comprising computer instructions for receiving the location and associated service call center provider for each of the plurality of service call centers from a website hosted by the CMC with a request to enable network element search services.

11 . The storage medium of claim 7 , wherein the incoming call comprises one among a toll-free service call, an information service call, an emergency service call, and a billable service call.

12 . The storage medium of claim 7 , wherein the CMC comprises a service control point (SCP) for intercepting incoming calls and routing said calls according to the foregoing steps.

13 . The storage medium of claim 7 , comprising computer instructions for determining the approximate location of the communication device according to a portion of an automatic number identification (ANI) included in the signaling information if the communication device is not capable of roaming.

14 . A method in a service control point (SCP), comprising:

detecting an incoming call originated by a communication device from a select one of a plurality of network elements;

determining if the communication device is capable of roaming by detecting in a portion of an Originating Line Information Parameter (OLIP) included in signaling information associated with the incoming call any one of the numbers 61, 62 and 63;

if the communication device is capable of roaming,

identifying from the plurality of network elements according to a jurisdiction information parameter (JIP) included in the signaling information a network element near to where the incoming call was originated;

determining an approximate location of the communication device according to a location of the identified network element;

selecting a service call center nearest to the approximate location of the communication device from a plurality of service call center locations; and

routing the incoming call to the selected service call center.

15 . The method of claim 14 , comprising the step of determining the approximate location of the communication device according to an automatic number identification (ANI) if the communication device is not capable of roaming.

16 . The method of claim 15 , comprising the steps of:

identifying a caller ID in the portion of the ANI; and

searching in a database the approximate location of the communication device according to the caller ID.

17 . The method of claim 14 , comprising the steps of:

presenting a graphical user interface (GUI) of a website application for provisioning the SCP;

receiving from the website the plurality service call center locations with associated service call center providers and a request to enable network element search services;

grouping the service call center location by their associated service call center provider; and

storing the groupings of service call center locations.

18 . The method of claim 17 , comprising the step of:

identifying a service call center provider according to a calling number including in the signaling information; and

determining the service call center according to the approximate location of the communication device and the identified service call center provider

19 . The method of claim 14 , comprising the step of determining the location of the identified network element from a local exchange routing guide (LERG) according to the JIP.

20 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the JIP comprises a numbering plan area (NPA) and a numeric numbering exchange (NXX) associated with the identified network element.