Integrated telephone central office systems for integrating the internet with the public switched telephone network

Abstract

Telephone central office-switching system integrated interface devices such as those for DSL, Voice over IP, cable-TV, fixed wireless, and Internet capable wireless cellular are further integrated into integrated interface device systems. Such systems share common facilities including a router function, messaging function, and a common voice communications channel. The messaging function is arranged to provide call setup and associated messages which enable a calling device which calls an Integrated Device to establish an Internet communication simply by dialing the telephone number of the Integrated Device. Integrated Devices have both an Internet connection and a telephone number; the Internet connection has an associated IP address. Call setup messages include telephone numbers and IP addresses. The integrated router function is enabled to edge route Internet data traffic within the system and to and from other such systems, without the data traversing further into the Internet. Further integration is achieved by incorporating the associated central office switch into the integrated assembly, forming an integrated central office system. Conversion of the switch into a pure packet switch which packetizes analog voice traffic into IP format enables voice, data, and inter-system messaging traffic to be edge routed via the integral routing function, transforming the PSTN to a network based entirely on Internet protocols.