Patent ID: 6404875
Filing Date: 2002-06-11
Classification: H04M

Abstract:
A method for selecting a service provider based on a user's service requirements and for establishing a telephone connection between the user and the service provider comprising the steps of:(a) establishing a database on an SCP comprising records of similar service providers, wherein each record comprises at least one telephone number and information related to the service provider; (b) collecting service requirements from the user; (c) selecting a subset of records from the database that more closely corresponds to the service requirements than non-selected records; (d) creating a list comprising at least one telephone number from at least record in the subset of records; (e) selecting a first telephone number from the list and defining it as a current telephone number; (f) initiating a call from the SCP over a PSTN to the current telephone number; (g) determining if the call is answered by a person or an automated system; (h) if the call is answered by a person, completing the call by connecting the subscriber to the service provider associated with the current telephone number; (i) if the call is not answered by a person, defining a next telephone number from the list as the current telephone number and repeating steps (t), (g), (h) and (i) until a person answers a call or the list is exhausted.