Bell Communications Research, Inc.

Barry K Schwartz

Frederick C Link

James R Bress

Steve M-c Lin

Jeffrey J Bernardis

Charles F Fowler

A broadband customer premises equipment ('CPE') interface device interfaces with conventional telephones, screen phones, and broadband data and video devices. The interface device includes circuitry to connect with a telephone network via a first telephone connection and circuitry to connect with a broadband network via a second, broadband connection. The interface device can provide control of video information being pumped to the CPE via the broadband network by sending control signals to a video server via the telephone network. In addition, the interface device includes ADSI off-hook alerting ('AOHA') circuitry and adds ADSI script management server ('ASMS') circuitry to provide noninvasive programming of screen phone-type CPE devices. ASMS programming information for a CPE device is transferred to the interface device via the broadband network and stored in the interface device. The AOHA and ASMS circuitry requests the CPE device to go off-hook when idle, without ringing the CPE device like a conventional telephone call. When the CPE is idle, the AOHA and ASMS circuitry routes the programming information from storage into the CPE.

System and method for customer premises broadband interface with on-hook

A customer premise equipment (CPE) network integrator (CNI) (20) is connected to today's integrated telephone network to provide additional and improved telephone services. The CNI (20) is connected between a CPE (10) and a network switch (30) and is connected to an STP (40). The CNI (20) detects existing inband call progress network tones, such as dial tone, busy, audible ringback, etc. and a variety of local CPE events, such as offhook, onhook, etc. and uses these tones and events to infer a change in network state. In response to certain network state changes, the CNI (20) queries a network service control point (SCP) (50) and requests call processing information. In response to the call processing information from the SCP (50), the CNI (20) processes the phone call. Because the CNI (20) can infer changes in network states from inband call progress network tones and local CPE events, the CNI (20) can bypass the network switch (30). This configuration allows implementation of AIN telephone services in today's integrated network.

Customer premise equipment network integrator

A telephone system allows a user to provide new services to terminations in a telephone network. A server having program sequences for controlling its operation connects the terminations and the telephone network. Using certain of its program sequences, the server monitors the occurrence of a request event at one of the terminations. A processor, distinct from the server, controls the server by accessing a directly accessible database to extract a state transition rule to provide control information corresponding to the response event. Information is returned to the terminations in response to the control information. The database storing the state transition rules is directly accessible by the user for changing the state transition rules to modify the services without changing the program sequences of the server. State transition rules within the database may be inserted, deleted or modified using conventional database management techniques.

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Stockton, NJ, United States of America

Barry K Schwartz