Patent ID: 6680935
Filing Date: 2004-01-20
Classification: H04L,H04M

Abstract:
An internet protocol (IP) central station for use in a broadband network, said IP central station comprising1) a plurality of gateways interfacing said IP central station to respective networks including the Internet, the public switched telephone network (PSTN), an SS7 signaling system, at least one wireless network and at least one packet network, said IP central station being configured to provide connectivity to said networks for customer premises equipment connected to said IP central station, said IP central station utilizing at least ones of said gateways to provide centralized system intelligence and control of voice and/or data IP packets communicated between said customer premises equipment and said networks, the gateways that interface said IP central station to the PSTN being operative to convert between IP-based voice packets and standard PSTN voice traffic, and between IP-based multimedia packets and standard PSTN traffic, 2) a plurality of servers, including a) a system management server configured to provide monitoring and administrative functions for devices within said broadband network including management of various database functions, memory buffer functions, and software utility functions within said broadband network, b) a call manager server providing centralized call control for i) supporting call set-up and tear-down in said broadband network, including voice-over-IP calls, ii) trunk and line information maintenance, iii) call state maintenance for the duration of a call, and iv) user service features execution, said call manager server being configured to respond to system events created by messages occurring during the processing of a call, said events including (i) call state changes, (ii) call feature changes, (iii) call feature triggering events, and (iv) changes in the status of lines and trunks and error conditions, said call manager server including â€ƒ(i) an authentication server that provides authentication of devices, objects, packets and users so that a user may verify the identity of a called party, â€ƒ(ii) a resources database that provides an identification of what resources are connected to the broadband network and their current state, â€ƒ(iii) a trunk/gateway database that indicates which gateway serves what circuits in a trunk, and â€ƒ(iv) a customer database which indicates whether a call is authorized, identifies what services a line supports and determines whether a telephone number communicates via IP, c) an announcement service server that stores and send announcements to specified destinations via said gateways and also to said customer premises equipment, based on instructions received by said call manager server, d) a dynamic host control protocol server, e) a domain name service server operative in conjunction with said dynamic host control protocol server to dynamically assign IP addresses to devices in said customer premises equipment, and 3) a central router adapted to interconnect said servers and gateways utilizing high-speed, non-blocking IP and IP multicast Layer 3 switching and routing, 4) said call manager being adapted to provide call blocking services to at least one customer premises, said call blocking services including a) determining whether a caller identification ID is available/identifiable for an incoming call, b) providing a message for the caller when caller ID is unavailable/unidentifiable, said message informing the caller that the call is being rejected but informing the caller that i) the call may be completed upon input of a predetermined passcode, and that ii) the caller may identify him/herself and identification will be forwarded to the called party, allowing the called party the opportunity to accept the call, and that iii) the caller may communicate with the called party via a facsimile telephone number, an email address or an alternate telephone number, each of which is stated in said message, c) completing the call if the caller has input said passcode or if the caller has identified him/herself and the called party indicates a desire for the call to be completed, and d) rejecting the call otherwise.