At+t Corp.

At&t Intellectual Property I, L.p.

Anurag Goel

Sekar Ganesan

Walter Paul Zahray

Leticia Garcia Johnson

Eugene M Kancianic

Gary D Walden

Ami Parekh

Jephthah F Liddie

Fermin D Peinado

Theodore Homer Vagelos

Robert Yaeger Peters Jr

Joan M Sliwa

Nadine A Guillaume

A method and apparatus for providing a communications service feature to a party communicating through a network. It is first determined if the party making the communication is a subscriber based on an identifier associated with the party and a local database containing a subset of subscriber identifiers. It is then verified that the identifier associated with the party is in the subset of identifiers that would be included in this local database. For those identifiers that are not in the local database and that are not in the subset of identifiers that would be included in the local database, a global database containing all subscriber identifiers is queried to determine if the party is a subscriber. It can also be verified that the network provider knows the identifier of the party making the communication and that the provider is able to provide the communications service feature for the particular communication. If the party is a subscriber and the above conditions are met, the communications service feature is provided.

Method and apparatus for providing a communications service feature for a communication through a network

A method and apparatus are disclosed for routing calls from a communication carrier network to a customer. According to the method, setup signaling including a destination telephone number is received from the carrier network representative of a desired call connection. The destination telephone number and a carrier identifier are referred to a memory and a profile of the carrier network is retrieved therefrom. A routing identifier is retrieved from the profile based on the telephone number. Based upon the routing identifier, the call is routed to its destination.

Virtual inter-machine trunking feature for communication networks

A service that provides a virtual private line between a local exchange and another interexchange carrier. To provide the virtual private line, a switch in a first interexchange carrier receives a code representative of the carrier of choice. The switch identifies the second interexchange carrier from the code, and identifies a location of a point of interface between the first and second interexchange carriers. The switch establishes a call path from itself to the second interexchange carrier through the point of interface.

Method for establishing virtual private line for long distance carrier

A method is provided to distinguish local exchange communication services provided by an interexchange carrier from other services offered by the interexchange carrier. The local exchange service typically is provided to a customer with whom the interexchange carrier provides a direct connection. For each call, a terminating switch receives a code identifying a type of service assigned to the call. The code may contain a local service identifier associated with a call that identifies the call is identifying a type of service assigned to the call. The switch determines whether the call is a POTS call and whether the code includes the local service identifier. If both conditions are met, the terminating switch generates the billing record provided the customer is a subscriber to the local service offered by the carrier.

Method for billing local communication services provided by an

An interexchange carrier (IXC) switch and an associated database route qualified calls dialed to local service provider (LSP) subscribers onto interconnecting facilitiies with local access settlement rates, thereby allowing a local rather than toll cost structure. The IXC switch and associated database operate with existing toll features including those features which translate a private dialed number into a public number. The IXC switch and associated database classify the call into a jurisdictional classification from a customer billing and feature application perspective, and from a routing perspective independent of the customer billing and feature application classification. The jurisdictional classification can include, example, local, toll, interLATA toll or intraLATA toll.

Method and apparatus for providing combined communication services

Growing community of inventors

Tinton Falls, NJ, United States of America

Anurag Goel