摘要 |
A communications system (36) and method (60, 80) of serving subscribers having an originating network (14) in communication with a terminating network (32) via a core network (24). The core network (24) includes a plurality of external gateways (40, 42, 44) each adapted to route calls therebetween, with each gateway (40, 42, 44) having at least one codec (50, 52, 54). The communications system (36) includes a network node (37) for processing call requests from the subscribers having a particular codec type, wherein available gateways (40, 42, 44) are ranked based on gateway codec availability, the core network (24) being adapted to route a call as a function of the ranking. The method includes the steps of the subscriber sending a call request and the subscriber's codec type to a first node (37) within the core network (24), the first node (37) selecting one of several external gateways (40, 42, 44) in the core network as a function of the codecs (50, 52, 54) determined to be available at the various gateways. The first node (37) may consult a second node (43) within the core network (24) for information indicative of available gateways in the core network (24). |