Patent ID: 6157648
Filing Date: 2000-12-05
Classification: H04L,H04M,H04Q

Abstract:
A communication system providing telephony communication comprising:circuit switched and packet switched networks connectable to terminals for selective communication between said terminals,a directory object interfaced with the packet switched network, anda plurality of gateway objects interfaced with the packet switched network and capable of communication with the directory object, which gateway objects provide selectable controlled hop-off connectivity for telephone communications between the circuit switched and packet switched networks,wherein responsive to a request for information for establishment of a communication path for a telephone communication, said directory object:communicates with at least one of a group of the gateway objects that are potentially capable of providing a hop-off to reach an intended destination, to obtain information regarding substantially immediate availability of a resource to handle the telephone communication through the at least one gateway object to the circuit switched network, andtransmits a response to said request identifying a selected one of the group of gateway objects for providing the hop-off to reach the intended destination, wherein the selection of the one gateway object by the directory object is based at least in part on the substantially immediate availability of the resource to handle the telephone communication at the at least one gateway object.