At&t Intellectual Property I, L.p.

Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation

Ping Song

Sunil H Contractor

David Alberto Levine

James A Worsham

Greg N Patterson

Zhiqiang Zeeman Zhang

Jeffrey Neumann

Oussama Samih Zbib

Steven C Laufmann

James M Seymour

Joan Tidwell Waldron

Kenneth Wayne Hartsfield

Christopher R Normand

A method of providing digital data services between a communications service provider and a customer site over a communications loop may include predicting a level of performance of the communications loop without coupling a modem to the communications loop at the customer site to provide a predicted level of performance of the communications loop. The communications loop may be qualified for an initial qualified level of digital data service based on the predicted level of performance of the communications loop. After qualifying the communications loop, digital data service may be provided over the communications loop at the initial qualified level using a modem coupled to the communications loop at the customer site, and a measured level of performance of the communications loop may be obtained based on data communicated between the communications service provider and the modem over the communications loop. The measured level of performance may then be compared with the predicted level of performance. Related systems and computer program products are also discussed.

Methods of providing digital data services including comparing predicted and measured levels of performance and related systems and computer program products

A Service Control Point (SCP) has a call list associated with the main telephone number of a called party. When a calling party attempts to contact the called party by calling the main number, but cannot reach the main number, a Service Switching Point (SSP) fires a trigger. One trigger is a T_No_Answer trigger, which is fired in response to a call to the main number that is not answered within a predefined number of rings. Another trigger is a T_Busy trigger that is fired in response to a call to the main number that is made when the main number is busy. Each trigger causes the SCP to access the call list and to cause the SSP to ring an alternative telephone number associated with the main telephone number. If this attempt to reach the called party also fails, then the SSP again fires the trigger and an attempt is made to connect the calling party to the next number on the call list. If the call list is exhausted before the calling party is connected to a number on the called party's call list, then a message can be played to the calling party. Alternatively, the calling party may be connected to a voice mailbox associated with the called party or may receive a busy tone.

Automatically sequentially ringing alternative telephone numbers

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Atlanta, GA, United States of America

Ping Song