Internet telephony with interactive information
A subscriber ( 12, 14, 16 ) initiating an Internet telephony call may receive specific content targeted to that subscriber in accordance with a match between at least one of the dialed number and the calling party number. Upon receipt of the subscriber's Internet telephony call, an Internet Telephony Service Provider server ( 18 ) searches each of a dialed number database, a calling party number database and a default database to establish a match between the calling party number, the dialed number or a range of either numbers. Upon finding a match, the Internet Telephony Service Provider server retrieves corresponding content, typically in the form of a URL that links to an associated web site, to provide to the subscriber who may elect to retrieve that information at the subscriber's discretion.
1. A method for providing a caller initiating an internet telephony call with interactive information, the method comprising:
receiving, at an internet telephony service provider server, a calling party number and a dialed number from a subscriber initiating an internet telephony call;
matching, at the internet telephony service provider server, the dialed number and the calling party number to information related to the dialed number and the calling party number; and
transmitting, from the internet telephony service provider server, the information to the calling party at the discretion of the called party.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the information transmitted to the calling party comprises a universal resource locator that identifies a web site containing related information.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the information transmitted to the calling party comprises multiple universal resource locators, each of the multiple universal resource locators identifying a web site containing related information.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein each of the multiple universal resource locators has a priority value that determines an order in which each of the multiple universal resource locators will be transmitted.
5. The method of claim 2 wherein universal resource locator content is customized based on the calling party number.
6. The method of claim 2 wherein universal resource locator content is customized based on the dialed number.
7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
transmitting updated information to the calling party during the call.
8. The method of claim 7 wherein the updated information comprises a universal resource locator that identifies a web site containing related information.
9. The method of claim 7 wherein the updated information comprises multiple universal resource locators, each of the multiple universal resource locators identifying a web site containing related information.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein each of the multiple universal resource locators has a priority value that determines an order in which each of the multiple resource locators will be transmitted.
11. The method of claim 8 wherein web site content is customized based on the calling party number.
12. The method of claim 8 wherein web site content is customized based on the dialed number.
13. An internet telephony service provider server configured to:
receive a calling party number and a dialed number from a subscriber initiating an internet telephony call;
match the dialed number and the calling party number to information related to the dialed number and the calling party number; and
transmit the information to the calling party at the discretion of the called party.
14. The internet telephony service provider server of claim 13 wherein the information transmitted to the calling party comprises a universal resource locator that identifies a web site containing related information.
15. The internet telephony service provider server of claim 14 wherein the information transmitted to the calling party comprises multiple universal resource locators, each of the multiple universal resource locators identifying a web site containing related information.
16. The internet telephony service provider server of claim 15 wherein each of the multiple universal resource locators has a priority value that determines an order in which each of the multiple universal resource locators will be transmitted.
17. The internet telephony service provider server of claim 14 wherein universal resource locator content is customized based on the calling party number.
18. The internet telephony service provider server of claim 14 wherein universal resource locator content is customized based on the dialed number.
19. The internet telephony service provider server of claim 13 further configured to:
transmit updated information to the calling party during the call.
20. An apparatus configured to:
receive a first party number and a second party number from a user initiating an internet telephony call;
match the second party number and the first party number to information related to the second party number and the first party number; and
transmit the information to the first party at the discretion of the second party.