At&t Intellectual Property I, L.p.

Sbc Knowledge Ventures, L.p.

James W Forsyth

Bernard S Ku

Lakshminarashimhan Naidu

Geoffrey Richard Zampiello

Paul A Tomalenas

F William Frinder, Jr

Armstrong Soo

Nam V Nguyen

Douglas Lin

John Richardson

James P Hilving

David A Henry

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a method and system to interconnect a first communications carrier to a second communications carrier by receiving a request to connect a communication from a first carrier to a second carrier; filtering the request to identify a specific name authority pointer (NPA-NXX) number from a plurality of specific name authority pointer (NPA-NXX) numbers; when the filter identifies the specific name authority pointer (NPA-NXX) number, modifying a private ENUM (tElephone NUmber Mapping) domain of the request to include an intercarrier ENUM apex based domain with a DNS (domain name server) recursion zone; retrieving a routing record using a domain name server (DNS) indicated by the intercarrier ENUM apex based domain; and routing the communication to the second carrier using the routing record. Other embodiments are disclosed.

IP carrier peering with DNS recursion zone

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, responsive to determining that a second device is associated with a first carrier network, obtaining a first record associated with a called number of the second device from a first carrier network telephone number mapping equipment server of the first carrier network, and transmitting a first internet protocol address for the second device from the first record to a terminating call session control function server of the first carrier network to initiate the internet protocol call session. Responsive to a second determination that the second device is associated with a second carrier network, obtaining a second record associated with the called number according to a pointer to a second carrier network telephone number mapping equipment server of the second carrier network, and transmitting a second internet protocol address for the second device derived from the second record to a session border controller of the first carrier network to initiate the internet protocol call session. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Method and apparatus for communications between carriers

An aspect of the subject disclosure may include, for example, receiving a request from a communication device to initiate a communication session in a packet-switched network, obtaining a first name authority pointer record responsive to determining that there is an undesirable operational state in the packet-switched network, wherein the first name authority pointer record comprises a null record, obtaining a second name authority pointer record responsive to determining that there is a desirable operational state in the packet-switched network, wherein the second name authority pointer record comprises a record, and initiating the communication session according to one of the first name authority pointer record or the second name authority pointer record. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Method and apparatus for initiating communication sessions

A method that incorporates teachings of the subject disclosure may include, for example, determining at a first directory server of a first regional call processing system whether a new name authority pointer associated with a telephone number is within a first geographic region of the first regional call processing system, transmitting the new name authority pointer to a first name server of the first regional call processing system for provisioning the name authority pointer to the first name server responsive to determining that the telephone number is located within the first geographic region, and transmitting the new name authority pointer to a second directory server for provisioning the new name authority pointer to a second name server of a second regional call processing system responsive to determining that the telephone number is not located within the first geographic region. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Method and apparatus for provisioning a scalable communications network

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, receiving, from a private telephone number mapping server, a first database comprising address records associated with subscriber devices of a first carrier, storing, at an inter-carrier server system, an inter-carrier mapping database comprising the address records converted to an inter-carrier format, receiving new address records associated with new subscriber devices registered with the first carrier, updating the inter-carrier mapping database with the address records converted to the inter-carrier format, receiving a first query for an address record associated with a called number of a first device of the first carrier for initiating an internet protocol call between the first device and a second device of the second carrier, querying the inter-carrier mapping database of the inter-carrier server system for the address record, and transmitting the address record to the second carrier for routing the internet protocol call. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Method and apparatus for inter-carrier communications

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a method and system to interconnect a first communications carrier to a second communications carrier by receiving a request to connect a communication from a first carrier to a second carrier; filtering the request to identify a specific name authority pointer (NPA-NXX) number from a plurality of specific name authority pointer (NPA-NXX) numbers; when the filter identifies the specific name authority pointer (NPA-NXX) number, modifying a private ENUM (tElephone NUmber Mapping) domain of the request to include an intercarrier ENUM apex based domain; retrieving a routing record using a domain name server (DNS) indicated by the intercarrier ENUM apex based domain; and routing the communication to the second carrier using the routing record. Other embodiments are disclosed.

IP carrier peering

A method includes receiving, at a network component of a first carrier network from a source device, a telephone number of a destination device configured to communicate via a second carrier network. The method further includes in response to a query message sent to a telephone number mapping device of an internetwork packet exchange network, receiving a name server record at the network component, the name server record indicating a domain name associated with a second telephone number mapping device of the second carrier network. The method also includes in response to the network component sending the domain name to a domain name server of the internetwork packet exchange network, receiving an Internet protocol address of the second telephone number mapping device. The method includes sending, from the network component to the second telephone number device, a second query message based on the Internet protocol address.

Method and apparatus for intercarrier communication

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a method and system to interconnect a first communications carrier to a second communications carrier by receiving a request to connect a communication from a first carrier to a second carrier; modifying a private ENUM (tElephone NUmber Mapping) domain of the request to include an intercarrier ENUM apex based domain; retrieving a routing record using a domain name server (DNS) indicated by the intercarrier ENUM apex based domain; and routing the communication to the second carrier using the routing record. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a method including receiving, at a first carrier, a first query for a record of a called number associated with a request to connect an internet protocol call between a first device of the first carrier and a second device of a second carrier, where the first query includes an inter-carrier telephone number mapping apex domain, querying an internetwork packet exchange telephone number mapping equipment of a partner network for a pointer to a second telephone number mapping equipment of the second carrier according to the first query, querying the second telephone number mapping equipment for the record of the called number using the pointer to the second telephone number mapping equipment of the second carrier, and forwarding the record from the second telephone number mapping equipment to an internet protocol multimedia subsystem of the first carrier for routing the internet protocol call to the second carrier. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Method and apparatus for enhancing inter-carrier communications

A system that incorporates the subject disclosure may perform, for example, operations including receiving a request from a communication device to initiate a communication session, obtaining a first name authority pointer (NAPTR) record that replaces a second NAPTR record responsive to an undesirable fault level in a voice over long term evolution (VoLTE) network, obtaining the second NAPTR record responsive to determining that there is no fault or a tolerable level of faults in the VoLTE network, and initiating the communication session according to one of the first NAPTR record or the second NAPTR record obtained by the system. The first NAPTR record can include instructions for initiating the communication session utilizing a circuit-switched communication network, and the second NAPTR record can include instructions for initiating the communication session utilizing the VoLTE network. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Method and apparatus for processing communication requests

A system for providing an architecture for enabling internet protocol (IP) carrier peering is disclosed. The system provides mechanisms for providing carrier telephone number mapping (ENUM)-based routing for subscribers of a first carrier to locate and connect with subscribers of another IP peering carrier. The system may receive an IP call from a first device of a first carrier that is destined for a second device of a second carrier. The call is forwarded to a breakout gateway control function/transit function that initiates a modified ENUM query to an internetwork packet exchange partner (IPX-P) network using an intercarrier ENUM apex domain. To retrieve a record for routing the call, the modified ENUM query is sent to an IPX-P ENUM via a domain name service name server record configuration directing to the IP address of the IPX-P ENUM. Based on the record, the call is then routed to the second device.

Growing community of inventors

Royal Oak, MI, United States of America

James W Forsyth