Rapid call set-up for multiple leg telecommunications sessions

Abstract

Apparatus and a method for setting up a telecommunications call, wherein more than one candidate terminating station is alerted, and a connection is established from a calling station to the first of the candidate terminating stations which answer an alert. In one preferred embodiment, an executive processor complex assigns ports and processes in a call processing complex. An incoming process is assigned for the port which receives the call, and the plurality of outgoing processes are assigned to ports for accessing candidate terminating stations. The incoming port process has a list of the outgoing terminating port processes for the incoming call, and each outgoing process stores the identity of the incoming process. When an outgoing process receives an answer indication, it communicates directly with the incoming process, bypassing any communications with the executive processor complex. The incoming terminating process will establish a connection between the incoming port and the outgoing port that received the first answer indication, and will abandon connections from all of the other outgoing ports for this call. Advantageously, this arrangement minimizes the time that candidate stations which will not receive the call are alerted, and prevent such stations from receiving even momentary connections to the calling station.