USER INVOCATION OF SERVICES IN PUBLIC SWITCHED TELEPHONE NETWORK VIA PARALLEL DATA NETWORKS

摘要

This invention allows customers and other users of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to enable, disable or modify special services provided by the net work. The PSTN is defined here as all equipment world wide (land-based, radio or other ) enabling ordinary telephone users to connect to other telephone users, but exclu des private telephone networks such as "tie line" systems maintained or leased by pr ivate enterprises. Presently contemplated actions can be taken independent of the sta te of the customer's telephone line (e.g. on-hook or off-hook), and usually involve use of equipment other than telephones and communication networks other than the PSTN (e.g. compu ters operating through the Internet and pagers operating through pager networks). Th e special services include existing services (call waiting, call blocking, call forwarding , etc.) and new ones (e.g. transferring an active call from a desk phone to a mobile cellular on e without interrupting the call). Security firewalls, between the public and telephony ap plication intelligence (TAI) systems that administer customer services within the PSTN, en sure that actions by unauthorized individuals do not interfere with or adversely affect te lephone system operations. Authorized customers taking presently contemplated actions w ill not be able to adversely affect telephone system operations. The present system wil l work on information maintained at any level of an intelligent network hierarchy within t he PSTN, including service nodes through which customer services are traditionally provid ed.