Patent ID: 7787896
Filing Date: 2010-08-31
Classification: H04W

Abstract:
1. A dispatch service apparatus for providing group voice services in a cellular telephone network, comprising: a cellular telephone network for making calls between mobiles, wherein the calls are initiated by call setup and in-band signaling within the cellular telephone network and voice frames for the calls are switched between the mobiles by at least one mobile switching center across bearer paths in the cellular telephone network; and a dispatch gateway that interfaces to at least one mobile switching center in the cellular telephone network to provide group voice services therein, without requiring any changes to the mobile switching center or other equipment of the cellular telephone network to provide the group voice services, wherein the dispatch gateway is independent of the cellular telephone network's radio access technology, the group voice services provide instant two-way half-duplex voice messaging within a group of users of the cellular telephone network, both the dispatch gateway and the mobiles that use the group voice services communicate with each other using the call setup and in-band signaling within the cellular telephone network, such that at least one mobile switching center routes an originating leg of the group voice services from an originating mobile to the dispatch gateway, the dispatch gateway initiates one or more terminating legs of the group voice services to one or more terminating mobiles through at least one mobile switching center, and the dispatch gateway switches the voice frames for the group voice services from the originating mobile to the terminating mobiles across the bearer paths and through at least one mobile switching center that switches the voice frames for both the calls and the group voice services in the cellular telephone network, and wherein the dispatch gateway provides a registration and presence application that enables members of a group to track their fellow members' presence in the cellular telephone network on their mobiles, such that when a member powers on or off their mobile, the presence of the member is updated in their fellow members' mobiles.