Systems and methods of assigning and using virtual telephone numbers

摘要

A single virtual telephone number that is used to route telephony communications is assigned to first and second users if the first and second users rarely, if ever, communicate with the same party. When an incoming call is received on the virtual telephone number, telephony information for the first and second users is reviewed to determine if the calling party is one that has communicated with either of the first and second users in the past. If so, the telephony communication is routed to the user who has communicated with the calling party in the past.

主权项

1. A method of determining how to assign virtual telephone numbers to users of a telephony service, comprising:
obtaining telephony related information for first and second users of the telephony service, wherein the obtaining step comprises obtaining information from address books or contact lists for the first and second users; analyzing the obtained information to determine a degree of affinity between the first and second users, wherein the analyzing step comprises determining how many, if any, entries appearing in the address books or contact lists of the first user match entries appearing in the address books and contact lists of the second user, and wherein the greater the number of matching entries, the greater the determined degree of affinity; and determining whether to assign the same virtual telephone number to the first and second users based on the determined degree of affinity.