Telephone call processing
View Patent ↗Embodiments of the present invention, include provision of enhanced telephony services for telephone calls received at local telephone exchange switches which do not themselves support identification of enhanced telephony service users and the associated triggering to initiate the provision of enhanced telephony services. Using a supported number portability mechanism, local telephone exchange switches allow provision of enhanced telephony services.
1. A method of providing an enhanced telephony service in a telecommunications network, the method comprising:
maintaining a store of identifiers for enhanced telephony service users in the network;
configuring a local telephone exchange switch to generate number portability queries for telephone calls received thereby;
further configuring the local telephone exchange switch to alter a network address to where the local telephone exchange switch transmits number portability queries, the altered network address being associated with a number portability intercept node;
receiving, at the number portability intercept node, a number portability query relating to a first telephone call in the network, the number portability query comprising a first identifier for the first telephone call, the number portability query being received from the configured local telephone exchange switch;
searching the store for an identifier corresponding to the first identifier to identify a user of an enhanced telephony service; and
in response to the searching identifying a user of an enhanced telephony service, instructing, at the number portability node, routing of the first telephone call to a first network node in the network responsible for the provision of a first enhanced telephony service, the first network node being different from the configured local telephone exchange switch and the number portability intercept node, and the first enhanced telephony service being a service other than a number portability service.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the instructing comprises generating a second message identifying the first node in the network where the first enhanced telephony service can be provided.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising in response to the searching not identifying a user of an enhanced telephony service, transmitting a number portability query to a node in the network capable of processing number portability queries to identify number portability service users.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first telephone call is an incoming call and the first identifier is associated with the called party for the call.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first telephone call is an outgoing call and the first identifier is associated with the calling party for the call.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the first identifier and the store of identifiers comprise a telephone dialing number.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising in response to the searching identifying a user of an enhanced telephony service, instructing routing of the first telephone call to a second node in the network for the provision of a second enhanced telephony service.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the enhanced telephony service comprises one or more of: call forwarding, call rejection, selective call forwarding, selective call rejection, selective call acceptance, call screening, incoming call notification, simultaneous ring, find me/follow me, and, customized ringback tones.
9. A system for providing an enhanced telephony service in a telecommunications network, the system comprising at least one network server adapted to perform the method of claim 1 .
10. A method for providing an enhanced telephony service in a telecommunications network comprising a local telephone exchange switch capable of interworking with a telephone call control node remote to the local telephone exchange switch according to an existing interworking function, the method comprising:
maintaining a store of identifiers for enhanced telephony service users in the network;
reconfiguring the existing interworking operation to include an additional enhanced telephony service initiation function;
in response to receiving a telephone call at the local telephone exchange switch, triggering the reconfigured interworking operation;
during the reconfigured interworking operation, searching the store for an identifier corresponding to the received telephone call to identify a user of an enhanced telephony service;
in response to the searching identifying a user of an enhanced telephony service, instructing routing of the received telephone call to a node in the network responsible for providing an enhanced telephony service.
11. A method of providing an enhanced telephony service and a number portability service in a telecommunications network, the method comprising:
generating, at a local telephone exchange switch, a number portability query including a destination network address;
altering, at the local telephone exchange switch, the destination network address to a network address associated with a number portability intercept node;
receiving, at the number portability intercept node, a message caused by the number portability query, the message identifying a user;
identifying whether the user is registered to receive the enhanced telephony service;
if the user is so registered, providing the enhanced telephony service;
if the user is not so registered, providing the number portability service.
12. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions stored thereon, which, when executed, cause a computing device to perform the method of claim 1 .
13. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions stored thereon, which, when executed cause a computing device to perform a method of providing an enhanced telephony service in a telecommunications network comprising a local telephone exchange switch capable of interworking with a telephone call control node remote to the local telephone exchange switch according to an existing interworking function, the method comprising:
maintaining a store of identifiers for enhanced telephony service users in the network;
reconfiguring the existing interworking operation to include an additional enhanced telephony service initiation function;
in response to receiving a telephone call at the local telephone exchange switch, triggering the reconfigured interworking operation;
during the reconfigured interworking operation, searching the store for an identifier corresponding to the received telephone call to identify a user of an enhanced telephony service;
in response to the searching identifying a user of an enhanced telephony service, instructing routing of the received telephone call to a node in the network responsible for providing an enhanced telephony service.