Patent ID: 9591144
Date: 2017-03-07
CPC Classifications: G06Q,H04L,H04M,H04W

Claim:
1. A method of processing communication requests based on handling instructions in an Internet Protocol (IP) environment, comprising: receiving an outgoing communication request, for a communication directed to one or more members outside of a user group, that originates from a communications device of a first member of the user group; obtaining predetermined communication handling instructions, that are registered with an IP telephony service provider, for the user group based on an identifier associated with the user group, wherein the predetermined communication handling instructions indicate how outgoing communications that originate from members of the user group are handled; and attempting to transmit the communication request, for the communication directed to the one or more members outside of the user group, based on the obtained predetermined communication handling instructions, wherein the outgoing communication request is a request to deliver an SMS message that responds to an SMS message received by the first member of the group, the predetermined communication handling instructions specify whether other members of the group will receive a copy of the reply SMS message, and delivery of the SMS message is attempted based on the predetermined communication handling instructions.