Proxy telephone number system for communication network subscribers

摘要

A proxy telephone system and method is implemented on or as part of a communication network. Proxy telephone numbers are assigned to network users or subscribers. The phone numbers for a user's various communication terminals (e.g., GSM wireless unit, PHS wireless unit, home telephone, work telephone) are associated with the user's proxy number in a database. When a caller initiates a call over the network, the system determines if the dialed phone number is a proxy number. If so, the system accesses the list of phone numbers associated with the proxy number. The system automatically sequentially routes the call to the phone numbers associated with the proxy number in a pre-determined order until a connection is established. For example, the system might first route the call to the GSM wireless unit, and then to the PHS unit, and so on, until the user answers.

主权项

1. A method for communicating over a network, said method comprising:
determining if an initial identifier for a phone call initiated over the network has a plurality of reference identifiers associated therewith, wherein the plurality of reference identifiers are for a plurality of terminals accessed by an individual network user; if so, automatically routing the phone call to the plurality of reference identifiers in a sequential order until a desired connection is established, wherein the sequential order is based on at least one pre-established routing criterion and said desired connection is a hard answer condition, whereby the phone call is answered by the individual network user in person; determining an answer condition for each of the plurality of reference identifiers to which the phone call is routed and identifying the first reference identifier of the plurality of reference identifiers for which the answer condition is a soft answer condition, whereby the phone call is answered by an electronic service; and automatically re-routing the phone call to said first reference identifier a second time after the phone call has been routed to each of the plurality of reference identifiers a first time, wherein none of the plurality of reference identifiers were determined to have a hard answer condition during the first routing.