摘要 |
An apparatus and a method that enable private network providers to offer public network voicemail service. In the private network, a status indicator indicates the subscriber's availability to receive calls, and a controller outdials and/or issues signaling commands to the public network. A status register in the public network, being controllable by signaling commands, determines whether incoming calls are processed normally or routed to voicemail. When a call to the private network goes unanswered, the controller sets the public status register to route calls to the subscriber's public mailbox, and then establishes a link between the incoming call and the public voicemail. The public status register is reset either immediately after establishing the link or after call termination. When the private network subscriber desires to retrieve voicemail, the controller also sets the public status register to effects re-routing of incoming calls to public voicemail system during message retrieval.
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