Method for completing internet telephony calls

摘要

A call between a calling party and a called party, one or both of whom may be subscribers to Internet Telephony (IT) services, commences upon the receipt of a call dialed by the calling party to the Plain Old Telephony Service (POTS) number associated with the calling party. A first hub receives the call and routes it to the called party if that party is not an IT services subscriber that is currently on line. If the called party is an IT services subscriber that is on-line, the call is received at an Internet Services Provider serving the called party. The ISP converts the call to an IT format if the call is not already in that format and thereafter delivers the call to the called party.

主权项

1. A method for completing a call to a plain old telephony service number associated with a called party, the method comprising:
receiving, via a hub, the call dialed to the plain old telephony service number associated with the called party in a telecommunications network; determining, via the hub, whether the called party is an internet telephony service subscriber and is on-line, wherein the determining uses the plain old telephony service number to identify an identity of an internet service provider serving the called party; forwarding, via the hub, the call to the called party via the internet service provider serving the called party when the called party is an internet telephony service subscriber and is on-line; and routing, via the hub, the call as a plain old telephony service call to the called party when the called party is off-line.