Technique for obtaining caller-originated alert signals in IP-based communication sessions

1. A method for obtaining caller-originated alert signals in an IP-based communication session, the method comprising:

receiving, from a first user equipment and via a first communication channel, a first request to initiate a communication session between the first user equipment and a second user equipment, the request being received at the second user equipment and including an indication of an intent to provide a caller-originated alert;

rejecting the caller-originated alert at the second user equipment;

when the second user equipment does not have the right to reject the caller-originated alert, determining that the first user equipment has overridden the rejection;

in response to being overridden, receiving the first request from the first user equipment, sending a second request to the phonepage server, the second request including an identity of the first user equipment and an identity of the second user equipment;

in response to the second request, causing a phonepage server to transmit, via a second communication channel, a caller-originated alert to the second user equipment, the caller-originated alert being based on the identities of the first and second user equipments; and

rendering the caller-originated alert to alert a user associated with the second user equipment.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the communication session is carried on a packet-switched network.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the request to initiate the communication session further includes information associated with the caller-originated alert.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the phonepage server selects the caller-originated alert based on a pre-stored preference associated with the first user equipment.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the caller-originated alert is downloaded from the phonepage server to the second user equipment before being rendered thereon.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the caller-originated alert is streamed from the phonepage server to the second user equipment and the rendering of the caller-originated alert starts before it is fully downloaded.

7. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, from the phonepage server, a status to indicate whether the caller-originated alert is available.

8. The method according to claim 7 , further comprising:

rendering a default alert signal if the caller-originated alert is unavailable from the phonepage server.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the caller-originated alert is customized based on one or more factors selected from a group consisting of: an identity of the second user, a type of the communication session, and predetermined triggering events associated with the communication session.

10. A user equipment for obtaining caller-originated alert signals in an IP-based communication session, the user equipment comprising:

a processor operatively coupled to at least one memory unit, a user interface, and a communication unit, and

the processor being configured to:

receive, from a first user equipment and via a first communication channel, a first request to initiate a communication session, the request including an indication of an intent to provide a caller-originated alert;

reject the caller-originated alert;

determine that the first user equipment has overridden the rejection when the user equipment does not have the right to reject the caller-originated alert;

in response to receiving the first request from the first user equipment, send a second request to the phonepage server that includes an identity of the first user equipment and an identity of the second user equipment;

in response to the second request, cause the phonepage server to transmit, via a second communication channel, a caller-originated alert to the second user equipment; and

render the caller-originated alert to alert a user associated with the second user equipment.

11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the second user equipment does not have the right to reject the caller-originated alert due to condition of service reasons.

12. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the second user equipment does not have the right to reject the caller-originated alert due to regulatory reasons.