Negotiated routing in telephony systems

摘要

A telephone call distribution system for determining destination for an incoming telephone call in a telephony network including a service control point (SCP) operates with a plurality of workstations each comprising a telephone coupled to the telephony network and a proximate computer station having a video display unit (PC/VDU), the PC/VDO connected to the SCP via a wide range area network (WAN), and a personal router associated with each PC/VDU. The SCP broadcasts data pertaining to the incoming telephone call and a request for a destination to individual ones of the PC/VDUs via the WAN, and the personal routers negotiate a destination based on individual routing rules and the data pertaining to the call. At least one of the individual routers responds to the SCP with a destination for the call. In some instances the workstations are associated with a call center, and the call center may be CTI-enhanced. Individual routers in this instance may be exectued on a server on a local area network connecting workstations at the call center, the server providing individual routers to workstations in a client-server relationship.