At+t Corp.

Lucent Technologies Inc.

Nuance Communications, Inc.

Telelogue, Inc.

Amir M Mane

Randy Glen Goldberg

Esther Levin

Susan Jeanne Boyce

Mark Jeffrey Foladare

Shelley Betty Goldman

Bruce Lowell Hanson

Ilija Zeljkovic

Peter Kapsales

Pierre D Wellner

David N Horn

Brian Helfrich

Alison Schondorf

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a method and system for providing automated directory assistance with minimum external or operator intervention. A directory listing request may be received from a user. The directory listing request may be recognized and a first search of a database may be conducted for the recognized directory listing request. If more than one match for the recognized directory listing request is found in the database, the user may be prompted to provide at least one of a street address and category information for the recognized directory listing request. A second search of the database may be conducted using at least one of the street address and the category information provided by the user. If a match for the recognized directory listing request is found, a directory listing may be output to the user.

System and method for automatically processing a user's request by an automated assistant

The invention concerns method and system for pre-processing entries in a directory listings. An automated attendant or automated directory listings assistant may use the pre-processed entries. A first directory listings including one or more fields may be received. The one or more fields may be populated with entries including one or more symbol strings. A second directory listings including one or more fields may be received. The one or more fields of the second directory listings may be populated with entries including one or symbol strings. Entries in the one or more fields of the first directory listings may be correlated with entries in the corresponding one or more fields of the second directory listings. Entries, in the one or more fields of the first directory listings, which do not correlate with entries in the corresponding one or more fields of the second directory listings may be identified. The identified entries may be processed using a rule set corresponding to the field in which the entry is located. Based on the rule set, a corresponding confidence level for the processed entries may be determined. The processed entries having the corresponding confidence level meeting or exceeding a threshold may be automatically modified. The automatically modified entries may be outputted for processing. In alternative embodiments of the present invention, the processed entries having the corresponding confidence level below the threshold may be marked for operator confirmation.

System and method for pre-processing information used by an automated attendant

A method and apparatus for selectively eliminating nuisance signals during communications connections as during conference calling in which the signals are eliminated when a call path is placed on hold by monitoring signals in a reverse traffic channel from a holding party. If the reverse traffic channel contains a predetermined signal, a music on hold circuit is disabled. When the call is first placed on hold, a check for the predetermined signal is made. If the predetermined signal is not detected during a defined period of time, the music on hold circuit is engaged; otherwise the circuit remains disabled. The predetermined signal may be noise signals, speech signals or a sequence of touch tones or speech representing a command to disable the music on hold circuit. Optionally, a disabled music on hold circuit may be enabled by placing a second command signal, such as speech or touch tones, into the reverse traffic channel.

Method and apparatus for eliminating nuisance signals in multi-party calls

Method and apparatus provide a frequency discount for host payable calls provided by a communication network. Call information, including the customer's telephone number and the dialed telephone number, is processed to determine whether a particular call is eligible for the frequency discount. A host profile is retrieved from a memory based on the dialed telephone number from which the eligibility conditions of the discount are obtained. Customer records are retrieved from the same or different memory based on the customer telephone number. If the customer's history meets the conditions outlined by the host profile, the discount is awarded.

Frequency-based discount system for host-system within a communication network

A method and apparatus for reminding users who enter information in longhand fashion that such information may also be accessed by entering a shorthand counterpart to the entered information. According to the present invention, a user enters an input identifier into a device such as a telephone. The present invention maintains in memory a set of valid longhand identifiers associated with their respective shorthand counterparts. Based on a comparison between the input identifier and the information maintained in memory, the present invention determines whether the input identifier is a longhand information item. If it is, the present invention accesses from memory the associated shorthand information item for the entered longhand information item. The present invention then presents the accessed shorthand information item to the user, so that in the future, the user will activate the longhand information item by entering the associated shorthand information item.

Method and apparatus for providing notification of pre-established shorthand notation

A plurality of subscribers in a telecommunications network are divided into affinity groups. Subscribers in a particular affinity group have a common interest which is different from that of subscribers in other affinity groups. That interest may a common cultural heritage, a common language preference, a common vocational or avocational interest, or the like. Each respective affinity group has associated with it a customized set of call processing characteristics, such as a distinctive dial tone, a distinctive subscriber language preference, and/or an abbreviated dialing list of other subscribers in the group. In addition, each respective affinity group can have a special broadcast message sent to the some or all of the subscribers in the group.

Method and system for affinity group telephone service

In an illustrative embodiment, an audio/video conferencing system comprises two or more audio/video terminals, in which the transmitted and/or received audio is automatically adjusted to provide synchronization between audio and video during periods of monologue (i.e., single talker active for significant duration). During interactive periods in which more than one talker is active, the audio delay is automatically adjusted to be less than the video delay, thus improving audio conference quality.

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Lincroft, NJ, United States of America

Amir M Mane