At+t Corp.

Lucent Technologies Inc.

Dana Lee Garoutte

Promod Kumar Bhagat

Akinwale Ademola Akinpelu

Dorothy V Stanley

James B Shepard

Robert Bruce Hirsch

Chiu-Kai Lee

Anthony Hatalla

Ali H Krisht

Theodore Louis Stern

In an environment of competitive local and interexchange carriers, offering number portability between local carriers serving a common region and between switches serving that region, each local carrier accesses a regional database to determine the identity of the carrier and switch serving a local customer. In addition, interexchange carriers access a national database to determine the identity of the carrier and switch serving the customer specified by the number dialed by an originating customer. For customers requiring high reliability service, alternate carriers can be used to serve such customers in case the primary carrier is unavailable; the databases identify these alternate carriers. Advantageously, this arrangement allows a high degree of freedom of movement of customers between carriers and geographic relocation without requiring a number change.

Completing telecommunications calls in a competitive local and toll environment

In accordance with the teachings of a prior application, in a telecommunications network, a local database stores destination telephone number information derived from a more global database, shared by a plurality of switching systems usually remote from all or most of the systems. One or more bit maps are used to store key indicators for each telephone number for which information may be required. This invention relates to a method and apparatus for automatically updating the local database, by recognizing that a switch identified as serving a directory number does not have access to the line corresponding to that number; when this condition is discovered, the global database is increased and the local database updated.

Automatic updating of a local database supporting local number

In a telecommunications network, a method and apparatus for decreasing access time of information normally stored in a data base, shared by a plurality of switching systems usually remote from all or most of the systems. One or more bit maps are used to store key indicators for each telephone number for which information may be required. In one specific embodiment, a bit map indicates whether the information is stored locally in the switch, so that an access to the remote database is not required. In another embodiment, a bit map stores an indication of whether the desired information is a default attribute, or one of a plurality of common attributes of the information being sought. Advantageously, the number of data accesses required of the remote data base is sharply reduced, thus reducing the average call set up time.

Method and apparatus using bit maps to access data for processing

In an environment of competitive local and interexchange carriers, offering number portability between local carriers-serving a common region and between switches serving that region, each local carrier accesses a regional database to determine the identify of the carrier and switch serving a local customer. In addition, interexchange carriers access a national database to determine the identity of the carrier and switch serving the customer specified by the number dialed by an originating customer. For customers requiring high reliability service, alternate carriers can be used to serve such customers in case the primary carrier is unavailable; the databases identify these alternate carriers. Advantageously, this arrangement allows a high degree of freedom of movement of customers between carriers and geographic relocation without requiring a number change.

Completing telecommunications calls in a competitive local and toll

An arrangement for routing toll calls to a predominant local exchange carrier (LEC) or to a competitive access provider (CAP). An egress switch of an interexchange (toll) carrier translates the called directory number office code to determine whether that code serves a CAP. If so, an exception table is searched to identify the CAP. If the called number is not in the exception table, the call is routed to the predominant LEC. Calls may also be routed to a customer who is served by a CAP and the predominant LEC via either of these local carriers. The billing record identifies an originating and/or a terminating CAP for the call. Optionally or alternatively, an ingress IXC switch may access a data base to determine the CAP or predominant LEC serving a called customer. The ingress IXC switch then routes the call to an IXC egress switch serving the carrier that serves the called customer. Advantageously, this arrangement efficiently serves calls using a CAP to provide part of the connection.

Connections between a toll network and multiple local networks

An arrangement for routing toll calls to a predominant local exchange carrier (LEC) or to a competitive access provider (CAP). An egress switch of an interexchange (toll) carrier translates the called directory number office code to determine whether that code serves a CAP. If so, an exception table is searched to identify the CAP; if the called number is not in the exception table, the call is routed to the predominant LEC. Calls may also be routed to a customer who is served by a CAP and the predominant LEC via either of these local carriers. The billing record identifies an originating and/or a terminating CAP for the call. Optionally or alternatively, the ingress IXC switch may access a data base to determine the CAP or predominant LEC serving a called customer; the ingress IXC switch then routes the call to an IXC egress switch serving the carrier that serves the called customer. Advantageously, this arrangement efficiently serves calls using a CAP to provide part of the connection.

Growing community of inventors

Wheaton, IL, United States of America

Dana Lee Garoutte