Metaswitch Networks Limited

Martin Taylor

Michael Jeffrey Evans

Andrew Munro Caldwell

Matthew Ian Ronald Williams

Chris Mairs

Colin Tregenza Dancer

Paul John Brittain

Richard Hewitt

David Reekie

Stephen Barnes

James Robert Andrew

User traffic is processed in a virtualised network. First and second VNFs are initialised in the same network namespace as each other in user space in a host and have access to a shared memory region of the host. The first VNF processes user traffic and the second VNF provides a user plane service in relation to user traffic processed by the first VNF. The first VNF is used to establish a point-to-point, shared-memory interface between the first and second VNFs and is used to classify incoming user traffic. In response to the first VNF determining based on the classifying, that the incoming user traffic is to be subject to the user plane service, the first VNF is used to store the incoming user traffic in the shared memory region of the host to enable the second VNF to provide the user plane service in relation to the incoming trier traffic.

Processing user traffic in a virtualised network

A web application assigns a number that resembles a conventional telephone number and that uniquely identifies the current Web session, and injects this number into a signalling message or signalling messages that flow towards a WebRTC gateway. The WebRTC gateway inserts this number into the signalling information element that conveys Caller ID in the signalling message that it sends into the telephone network. This allows the recipient of a WebRTC call to identify the web session from which the WebRTC call originates.

Linking web sessions with telephone calls

A method of routing a call involving a call party in a telecommunications network via a selected media routing path of a plurality of different media routing paths is provided. The media routing paths communicate media data to and/or from at least one communication device associated with the call party. A call control system in the telecommunications network receives data derived from a media quality test procedure for a given media routing path. The media quality test procedure includes media test data being communicated via the given media routing path and the media test data being analysed. The call control system selects a preferred media routing path from the plurality of media routing paths for communicating media data associated with the call to and/or from one or more of the at least one communication devices associated with the call party on the basis of at least the received data.

Routing a call

Measures for processing communication status messages in a telecommunications network which includes a plurality of signaling nodes responsible for processing signaling information in the telecommunications network and a charging node responsible for processing billing information in the telecommunications network. A communication status message is received from a signaling node in the plurality. The received communication status message includes first communication status information. Second communication status information is generated on the basis of at least the first communication status information. One or more communication status messages are transmitted to the charging node. The one or more transmitted communication status messages include the first communication status information and the second communication status information.

Processing communication status information

Disclosed embodiments allow telephony services of different types to be provided by a telephone company at a service platform for telephone calls received at a local telephone exchange belonging to the telephone company, but which does not itself support services those different types of services. Additional embodiments allow for disabling a subscriber-configurability feature for a service of a first service type on the local exchange so as to prevent or inhibit a subscriber from configuring a setting which may interfere with services provided on the service platform.

Telephone call processing

The invention relates to the generation of configuration data for use in the migration of telephone switching systems. Configuration data for use in the migration of subscribers from a first telephone switching system over to a second telephone switching system in a telecommunications network is generated by monitoring signaling information on telephone channels associated with subscribers for telephone calls conducted via the first telephone switching system. The monitored signaling information is then analyzed in relation to call data produced by the first telephone switching system for the calls to identify relationships between the monitored signaling information and call data for calls conducted by subscribers. Configuration data based on the identified relationships is then stored and used to configure the second telephone switching system with mappings between the associated telephone channels and the telephone dialing numbers for subscribers.

Telephone switching systems

A method and apparatus for processing telephone calls in a packet-based telephony service is disclosed. A store of telephone party identifiers is maintained for multi-service users having access to the packet-based telephony service and an alternate telephony service. Incoming signaling information for telephone calls in the packet-based telephony service is monitored and outgoing signaling information may be altered with reference to the store. An alteration may involve replacing telephony party identification data associated with one telephony service for telephony party identification data associated with another telephony service. The invention allows a multi-service user to be consistently identified by other telephony users by a single telephony party identifier instead of one telephony party identifier for each service they subscribe to. Further, a multi-service user can be identified at the call destination by a single telephony party identifier, irrespective of which telephony service is used to make the call.

Telephone call processing method and apparatus

Embodiments of the present invention, include provision of enhanced telephony services for telephone calls received at local telephone exchange switches which do not themselves support identification of enhanced telephony service users and the associated triggering to initiate the provision of enhanced telephony services. Using a supported number portability mechanism, local telephone exchange switches allow provision of enhanced telephony services.

Growing community of inventors

Middlesex, United Kingdom

Martin Taylor