Systems and methods of mitigating phantom call traffic
Systems and methods for mitigating phantom call traffic in a communication system are disclosed. A call may be received at a communications exchange. A jurisdiction of the call may be determined in real-time, and egress signaling information and a route of the call to a terminating local exchange may be determined based on the jurisdiction. At least a portion of the egress signaling information may be provided to the terminating exchange in call signaling and/or in call detail billing records so that the terminating exchange is enabled to correctly charge for call termination.
1. A computing device for routing a call in a communications system, the computing device coupled to a communications exchange and comprising:
a processor;
a memory; and
a call routing application maintained in the memory and executed by the processor, the call routing application including computer-executable instructions for:
receiving a call via an ingress trunk group in connection with the communications exchange, the call originating from an originating carrier and having respective ingress signaling information including a charge number;
determining a jurisdiction of the call in real-time based on the charge number and a local calling area database accessible to the computing device, the jurisdiction of the call corresponding to a relationship between the originating carrier and a carrier of a terminating end of the call;
determining an egress trunk group, the egress trunk group being one of a local egress trunk group or an access egress trunk group;
determining egress signaling information based on the jurisdiction of the call; and
delivering the call and the egress signaling information from the communications exchange via the egress trunk group.
2. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the respective ingress signaling information further includes, a calling number and a called number.
3. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the call routing application includes further computer-executable instructions for providing at least a portion of the egress signaling information for inclusion in a call detail record.
4. The computing device of claim 3 , wherein the computer-executable instructions for determining the jurisdiction of the call in real-time further comprise one of:
(i) determining the jurisdiction of the call to be local and determining, based on the ingress trunk group, a jurisdictional information parameter (JIP) corresponding to the originating carrier, wherein:
the computer-executable instructions for determining the egress trunk group further comprise determining the local egress trunk group,
the computer-executable instructions for determining the egress signaling information further comprise including the JIP and an LRN (Local Routing Number) corresponding to the originating carrier in the egress signaling information, and
the computer-executable instructions for providing the at least the portion of the egress signaling information for inclusion in the call detail record further comprise providing the LRN and an operating company number (OCN) corresponding to the originating carrier for inclusion in the call detail record;
(ii) determining the jurisdiction of the call to be inter-LATA and determining, based on the ingress trunk group, a carrier identification code (CIC) of the originating carrier, wherein:
the computer-executable instructions for determining the egress trunk group further comprise determining the access egress trunk group,
the computer-executable instructions for determining the egress signaling information further comprise including the CIC of the originating carrier in the egress signaling information, and
the computer-executable instructions for providing the at least the portion of the egress signaling information for inclusion in the call detail record further comprise providing the CIC of the originating carrier for inclusion in the call detail record; or
(iii) determining the jurisdiction of the call to be intra-LATA and determining, based on the ingress trunk group, the JIP corresponding to the originating carrier, wherein:
the computer-executable instructions for determining the egress signaling information further comprise, in the egress signaling information, including the JIP and the LRN corresponding to the originating carrier and excluding any CIC, and
the computer-executable instructions for providing the at least the portion of the egress signaling information for inclusion in the call detail record further comprise providing the LRN as an originating LRN and a CIC field set to all zeroes for inclusion in the call detail record.
5. The computing device of claim 4 , wherein the computer-executable instructions for determining the jurisdiction of the call to be inter-LATA further comprise at least one of:
determining that both the charge number and a calling number included in the respective ingress signaling information are invalid,
determining that the charge number is invalid and that the calling number is non-local, or
determining that the respective ingress signaling information includes a filled field indicating the CIC of the originating carrier.
6. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein only one type of egress trunk group is coupled between the communications exchange and an exchange receiving the call, the one type selected from local or access.
7. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the local egress trunk group or the access egress trunk group is a SIP (Session Initiated Protocol) trunk group and a SIP invite header corresponding to the SIP trunk group includes at least the portion of the egress signaling information.
8. The computing device of claim 7 , further comprising computer-executable instructions for delivering the SIP invite header to an exchange receiving the call based on a customer preference.
9. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the call comprises at least one of a voice call or a data call.
10. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the call is originated using any communications access technology.
11. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the communications exchange is a private packet network backbone exchange (PPNBE).
12. A method of routing a call at an exchange, comprising:
receiving a call via an ingress trunk group of the exchange, the call including respective ingress signaling information including a charge number;
determining, in real-time, a jurisdiction of the call based on the charge number and a local calling area database accessible to the computing device, the jurisdiction of the call corresponding to a relationship between a carrier of an originating end of the call and a carrier of a terminating end of the call;
selecting an egress trunk group from a plurality of egress trunk groups including a local egress trunk group and an access egress trunk group;
determining egress signaling information based on the jurisdiction of the call; and
delivering the call and the egress signaling information from the exchange to a receiving exchange via the selected egress trunk group.
13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising providing at least a portion of the egress signaling information for inclusion in a call detail record.
14. The method of claim 12 , further comprising importing the local calling area database.
15. The method of claim 12 , wherein receiving the call comprises receiving at least one of a voice call or a data call originated by any communications access technology.
16. The method of claim 12 , wherein the exchange is a private packet network backbone exchange (PPNBE).
17. A system for routing a call, comprising:
means for receiving a call, the call including respective ingress signaling information including a charge number;
means for determining, in real-time, a jurisdiction of the call based on the charge number and a local calling area database, the jurisdiction of the call corresponding to a relationship between a carrier of an originating end the call in a carrier of a terminating end of the call;
means for selecting an egress trunk group from a plurality of egress trunk groups, the plurality of egress trunk groups including a local egress trunk group and an access egress trunk group;
means for determining egress signaling information based on the jurisdiction of call; and
means for delivering the call and the egress signaling information to a receiving exchange via the selected egress trunk group.
18. The system of claim 17 , further comprising means for importing at least a portion of the local calling area database.
19. The system of claim 17 , wherein the respective ingress signaling information further includes a called number and a calling number, and wherein the jurisdiction is one of local, inter-LATA, or intra-LATA.
20. The system of claim 17 , wherein a content of the call includes at least one of voice or data.