Methods and apparatus for providing expanded telecommunications service
The present invention relates to telephone call processing. In one embodiment, a call processing system receives from a caller a first call for a user, the first call including call signaling information. The call processing system determines whether the call signaling information includes caller identification information and whether the call signaling information indicates that the caller identification information is restricted. If the caller identification information is restricted, the call processing system instructs the caller to take a first action so that the caller identification information can be provided to the user. The call processing system determines whether the caller has performed the first action during the first call, and if the caller has performed the first action during the first call, the call processing system provides at least a portion of the caller identification information to the user.
1. A method of processing calls having blocked caller identification information, the method comprising:
receiving from a caller a first call for a user;
if caller identification information associated with the first call is blocked, instructing the caller to unblock the caller identification information during the first call;
after the caller has unblocked the caller identification information during the first call,
performing a call processing action with respect to the first call; and
based at least in part on the caller unblock action during the first call,
storing in a data store a caller identification release authorization associated with the caller so that caller identification can be automatically provided to the user in a future call.
2. The method as defined in claim 1 , wherein the call processing action is recording a caller message during the first call.
3. The method as defined in claim 1 , wherein the call processing action is a call forwarding process.
4. The method as defined in claim 1 , wherein the call processing action includes recording during the first call a voice message from the caller, and
the method further comprising providing the voice message to the user in association with the caller identification information.
5. The method as defined in claim 1 , wherein the caller is instructed to unblock the caller identification information by performing a key press or by providing a spoken response.
6. The method as defined in claim 1 , further comprising transmitting a notification regarding the first call to the user, the notification including at least a portion of the caller identification information.
7. The method as defined in claim 1 , further comprising transmitting a notification regarding the first call to the user via SMS, the notification including at least a portion of the caller identification information.
8. The method as defined in claim 1 , further comprising transmitting a notification regarding the first call to the user to a client application executing on a computer associated with the user, the notification including at least a portion of the caller identification information.
9. The method as defined in claim 1 , further comprising transmitting a notification regarding the first call to the user to a client application executing on a wireless device associated with the user, the notification including at least a portion of the caller identification information.
10. The method as defined in claim 1 , further comprising:
providing a form to the user, wherein the user can specify whether the user requests caller identification information;
receiving the user specification via the form; and
storing the user specification in association with user account information.
11. A method of processing calls having blocked caller identification information, the method comprising:
receiving from a caller a first call for a user;
if caller identification information associated with the first call is blocked, instructing the caller to unblock the caller identification information during the first call;
after the caller has unblocked the caller identification information during the first call,
storing in a data store a caller identification release authorization associated with the caller so that caller identification can be automatically provided to the user in a future call.
12. The method as defined in claim 11 , further comprising:
performing a call processing action with respect to the first call.
13. The method as defined in claim 12 , wherein the call processing action is a call forwarding process.
14. The method as defined in claim 12 , wherein the call processing action includes recording during the first call a voice message from the caller, and the method further comprising providing the voice message to the user in association with the caller identification information.
15. The method as defined in claim 11 , wherein the caller is instructed to unblock the caller identification information by performing a key press or by providing a spoken response.
16. The method as defined in claim 11 , further comprising:
transmitting a notification regarding the first call to the user, the notification including at least a portion of the caller identification information.
17. A method of processing calls having blocked caller identification information, the method comprising:
receiving from a caller a first call for a user, the first call including call signaling information;
if caller identification information associated with the first call is blocked, instructing the caller to enable the caller identification information to be provided during the first call;
performing a call processing action with respect to the first call; and
based at least in part on the caller unblock action during the first call,
storing in a data store a caller identification release authorization associated with the caller so that caller identification information can be automatically provided to the user in a future call.
18. The method as defined in claim 17 , wherein the call processing action is recording a caller spoken name during the first call.
19. The method as defined in claim 17 , wherein the call processing action is recording a caller message during the first call.
20. The method as defined in claim 17 , wherein the call processing action includes recording during the first call a spoken name from the caller, and the method further comprising providing the spoken name to the user in association with the caller identification information.
21. A call processing system, comprising:
a computing device;
instructions stored in non-transitory tangible computer media that when executed by the computing device are configured to perform operations comprising:
receiving from a caller a first call for a user;
if caller identification information associated with the first call is blocked, instructing the caller to unblock the caller identification information during the first call;
after the caller has unblocked the caller identification information during the first call,
performing a call processing action with respect to the first call; and
based at least in part on the caller unblock action during the first call,
storing in a data store a caller identification release authorization associated with the caller so that caller identification can be automatically provided to the user in a future call.
22. The system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the call processing action is recording a caller message during the first call.
23. The system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the call processing action is a call forwarding process.
24. The system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the call processing action includes recording during the first call a voice message from the caller, and the system further comprising providing the voice message to the user in association with the caller identification information.
25. The system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the operations are further configured to instruct the caller to unblock the caller identification information by performing a key press or by providing a spoken response.
26. The system as defined in claim 1 , the operations further comprising transmitting a notification regarding the first call to the user, the notification including at least a portion of the caller identification information.
27. The system as defined in claim 1 , the operations further comprising transmitting a notification regarding the first call to the user via SMS, the notification including at least a portion of the caller identification information.
28. The system as defined in claim 1 , the operations further comprising transmitting a notification regarding the first call to the user to a client application executing on a computer associated with the user, the notification including at least a portion of the caller identification information.
29. The system as defined in claim 1 , the operations further comprising transmitting a notification regarding the first call to the user to a client application executing on a wireless device associated with the user, the notification including at least a portion of the caller identification information.
30. The system as defined in claim 1 , the operations further comprising:
providing a form to the user, wherein the user can specify whether the user requests caller identification information;
receiving the user specification via the form; and
storing the user specification in association with user account information.