Systems and methods for terminating telephony communications to mobile telephony devices via a non-native telephony service provider
View Patent ↗Systems and methods for terminating telephony communications to a mobile telephony device that is roaming outside of its native service area make use of a mobile roaming termination service. The mobile roaming termination service causes the native mobile telephony service provider that provides service to the mobile telephony device to forward incoming telephony communications directed the native telephone number of the mobile telephony device to a forwarding access number. The mobile roaming termination service receives telephony communications directed to the forwarding access number, and then terminates the telephony communication to the mobile telephony device via any one of multiple different methods. The mobile telephony service provider can be instructed to implement and cancel call forwarding instructions by dialing a special character string on the mobile telephony device.
1. A method for canceling call forwarding instructions that have previously been implemented by a native telephony service provider that provides a telephony device with its native telephony service, the telephony device having a native telephone number, where the call forwarding instructions resulted in incoming telephony communications directed to the native telephone number being directed to a forwarding access number, the method comprising:
determining whether previously implemented call forwarding instructions for the telephony device should be canceled, wherein the determining step is performed by at least one processor of a computing device; and
causing, when the previously implemented call forwarding instructions should be canceled, the native telephony service provider to cancel the previously implemented call forwarding instructions such that incoming telephony communications directed to the native telephone number are no longer directed to the forwarding access number and are instead routed to the native telephone number by:
determining a character string that can be dialed from the telephony device to cause the native telephony service provider to cancel the call forwarding instructions; and
providing the determined character string to the telephony device.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising causing the telephony device to dial the determined character string.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the providing step comprises providing the determined character string to an application running on the telephony device, and further comprising instructing the application to cause the telephony device to dial the determined character string.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the providing step comprises causing a message to be displayed or played on the telephony device, the message including the determined character string.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the providing step comprises sending a telephony communication to the telephony device, wherein the telephony communication includes caller ID information that includes the determined character string.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the determined character string is provided as the calling telephone number in the caller ID information of the telephony communication.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining step comprises checking a status of a data connection between a non-native telephony service provider and the telephony device, and wherein the determination about whether the call forwarding instructions should be canceled is based on the status of the data connection.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein if no data connection exists between the non-native telephony service provider and the telephony device, it is determined that the call forwarding instructions should be canceled.
9. The method of claim 7 , wherein if a quality of a data connection between the non-native telephony service provider and the telephony device is below a threshold value, it is determined that the call forwarding instructions should be canceled.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining step comprises:
determining a location of the telephony device; and
determining if the telephony device is within its native service area, and wherein it is determined that the call forwarding instructions should be canceled if the telephony is determined to be located within its native service area.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein determining a location of the telephony device comprises receiving location information from the telephony device.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining step comprises receiving a communication indicating that call forwarding instructions should be canceled.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the communication is received from the telephony device.
14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the communication is received from an application running on the telephony device.
15. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining whether call forwarding instructions should be re-implemented; and
causing, when the determining step determines that the call forwarding instructions should be re-implemented, the native telephony service provider to implement new call forwarding instructions.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the forwarding access number is used to route communications directed to the native telephone number to a non-native telephony service provider.
17. A system for canceling call forwarding instructions that have previously been implemented by a native telephony service provider that provides a telephony device with its native telephony service, the telephony device having a native telephone number, where the call forwarding instructions resulted in incoming telephony communications directed to the native telephone number being directed to a forwarding access number, comprising:
means for determining whether previously implemented call forwarding instructions for the telephony device should be canceled; and
means for causing, when the previously implemented call forwarding instructions should be canceled, the native telephony service provider to cancel the previously implemented call forwarding instructions such that incoming telephony communications directed to the native telephone number are no longer directed to the forwarding access number and are instead routed to the native telephone number, wherein the causing means determines a character string that can be dialed from the telephony device to cause the native telephony service provider to cancel the call forwarding instructions, and wherein the causing means provides the determined character string to the telephony device.
18. A system for canceling call forwarding instructions that have previously been implemented by a native telephony service provider that provides a telephony device with its native telephony service, the telephony device having a native telephone number, where the call forwarding instructions resulted in incoming telephony communications directed to the native telephone number being directed to a forwarding access number, comprising:
a triggering unit that determines whether previously implemented call forwarding instructions for the telephony device should be canceled; and
a forwarding instruction unit that causes, when the previously implemented call forwarding instructions should be canceled, the native telephony service provider to cancel the previously implemented call forwarding instructions such that incoming telephony communications directed to the native telephone number are no longer directed to the forwarding access number and are instead routed to the native telephone number, wherein the forwarding instruction unit determines a character string that can be dialed from the telephony device to cause the native telephony service provider to cancel the call forwarding instructions, and wherein the forwarding instruction unit provides the determined character string to the telephony device.
19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the forwarding instruction unit also causes the telephony device to dial the determined character string.
20. The system of claim 18 , wherein the forwarding instruction unit causes a message to be displayed or played on the telephony device, the message including the determined character string.
21. The system of claim 18 , wherein the triggering unit checks a status of a data connection between a non-native telephony service provider and the telephony device, and determines whether the call forwarding instructions should be canceled based on the status of the data connection.
22. The system of claim 21 , wherein if the triggering unit determines that a quality of a data connection between the non-native telephony service provider and the telephony device is below a threshold value, the triggering unit determines that the call forwarding instructions should be canceled.
23. The system of claim 18 , wherein the triggering unit determines that the call forwarding instructions should be canceled if the telephony is determined to be located within its native service area.
24. The system of claim 18 , wherein the triggering unit determines that the call forwarding instructions should be canceled in response to receipt of a communication sent from the telephony device.