System and method for providing caller ID service in a multi-region cable network
View Patent ↗A system and method for providing caller ID in a multi-region cable network. Caller identifying (CID) information of an incoming VoIP call is provided to a digital telephone subscriber through a video termination device (VTD) using a path that is different from the path by which the VoIP call packets are delivered to the digital telephone subscriber. The telephone number of a digital telephone subscriber is associated with the IP address and/or MAC address of the subscriber's VTD. The called number of the incoming VoIP call is used to select the VTD to which the CID information is delivered. A message is then sent through an out-of-band channel to the digital telephone subscriber's VTD comprising the CID information for display on video display equipment. Alternatively, the VTD is DOCSIS-compliant and a message is addressed to the VTD using the IP address of the VTD DOCSIS modem.
1. A system for providing caller ID service in a multi-region cable network comprising:
a headend adapted to provide video services to subscribers, wherein the headend comprises a caller ID (CID) server;
a central datastore comprising a first tuple comprising a subscriber telephone number and an assigned video termination device MAC address;
a regional data center comprising a soft switch and a CID proxy server, wherein the regional data center is adapted to provide digital services to the subscribers of the headend and the CID proxy server is adapted to:
receive an invitation message from the soft switch, wherein the invitation message comprises identifying information of a calling party and identifying information of a called party; and
forward the invitation message to a CID server; and
wherein the CID server is adapted to:
parse the invitation message to obtain the identifying information of the calling party and the identifying information of the called party;
create a CID message comprising the identifying information of the calling party;
receive from the central datastore the first tuple;
receive from the video termination device a second tuple comprising a read video termination device MAC address and a video termination device IP address;
determine whether the assigned video termination device MAC address matches the read video termination device MAC address;
if the assigned video termination device MAC address matches the read video termination device MAC address, then create a third tuple comprising the subscriber telephone number and the video termination device IP address;
determine whether the identifying information of the called party matches the subscriber telephone number of the third tuple;
if the identifying information of the called party matches the subscriber telephone number of the third tuple, then address the CID message to the video termination device IP address; and
send the identifying information of the calling party over a transmission path to a video termination device of the called party for display on a video display device.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein identifying information of the calling party comprises at least one of the group consisting of a caller telephone number, a caller name, and an indication that the call is originating from a facsimile machine.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the video termination device comprises a CID client adapted to:
receive the CID message;
determine if the CID message is intended for the video termination device; and
if the CID message is intended for the video termination device, then provide the identifying information of the calling party to the video termination device for display on the video display device.
4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the determination that the CID message is intended for the video termination device comprises a determination that the destination IP address of the CID message matches the IP address of the video termination device.
5. The system of claim 3 , wherein the CID message further comprises a MAC address of a destination video termination device and wherein the determination that the CID message is intended for the video termination device comprises a determination that the MAC address of the destination video termination device matches the read MAC address of the video termination device.
6. The system of claim 3 , wherein the CID message further comprises a MAC address of a destination video termination device, and wherein the MAC address of the destination video termination device matches the read MAC address of the video termination device and the destination IP address of the CID message matches the IP address of the video termination device.
7. The system of claim 3 , wherein the CID client is further adapted to:
if the CID message is not intended for the video termination device, then send an error message to the CID server.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the video termination device is selected from the group consisting of a top box and an integrated cable-ready video display device.
9. The system of claim 1 wherein the transmission path is selected from the group consisting of an in-band channel and an out-of-band channel.
10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the out-of-band channel is selected from the group consisting of an RF channel and a DOCSIS-compliant channel.
11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the invitation message uses the session initiation protocol.
12. A method for providing caller ID service in a multi-region cable network comprising:
receiving an invitation message from a soft switch, wherein the invitation message comprises identifying information of a calling party and identifying information of a called party;
forwarding the invitation message to CID servers;
receiving from a central datastore a first tuple, wherein the first tuple comprises a subscriber telephone number and an assigned video termination device MAC address;
receiving from a video termination device a second tuple comprising a read video termination device MAC address and a video termination device IP address;
determining whether the assigned video termination device MAC address matches the read video termination device MAC address;
if the assigned video termination device MAC address matches the read video termination device MAC address, then creating a third tuple comprising the subscriber telephone number and the video termination device IP address;
determining whether the identifying information of the called party matches the subscriber telephone number of the third tuple;
if the identifying information of the called party matches the subscriber telephone number of the third tuple, then processing the invitation request;
if the invitation message is processed, then:
creating a CID message comprising the identifying information of the calling party; and
sending the identifying information of the calling party over a transmission path to a video termination device for display on a video display device.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein identifying information of the calling party comprises at least one of the group consisting of a caller telephone number, a caller name, and an indication that the call is originating from a facsimile machine.
14. The method of claim 12 further comprising:
receiving the CID message at a CID client associated within the video termination device;
determining if the CID message is intended for the video termination device; and
if the CID message is intended for the video termination device, then providing the identifying information of the calling party to the video termination device for display on the video display device.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein determining if the CID message is intended for the video termination device comprises determining if the destination IP address of the CID message matches the IP address of the video termination device.
16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the CID message further comprises a MAC address of a destination video termination device and wherein determining if the CID message is intended for the video termination device comprises determining if the MAC address of the destination video termination device matches the MAC address of the video termination device.
17. The method of claim 14 , wherein the CID message further comprises a destination IP address and a MAC address of a destination video termination device, and wherein determining if the CID message is intended for the video termination device comprises determining if the MAC address of the destination video termination device matches the MAC address of the video termination device and the destination IP address of the CID message matches the IP address of the video termination device.
18. The method of claim 12 further comprising:
if the CID message is not intended for the video termination device, then sending an error message from the video termination device to the CID server.
19. The method of claim 12 , wherein the video termination device is selected from the group consisting of a top box and an integrated cable-ready video display device.
20. The method of claim 12 , wherein the transmission path is selected from the group consisting of an in-band channel and an out-of-band channel.
21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the out-of-band channel is selected from the group consisting of an RF channel and a DOCSIS-compliant channel.
22. The method of claim 12 , wherein the invitation message uses the session initiation protocol.