Patent ID: 6396920
Filing Date: 2002-05-28
Classification: H04M,H04Q,H04W

Abstract:
A directory assistance system for providing personalized directory assistance services to a customer caller, comprising:a plurality of inbound channels for receiving calls from customers using telephones having associated customer identifiers; a plurality of outbound channels for attempting to establish connections to destination telephones; a switch for receiving calls and identifying customer identifiers associated with received calls; a first group and a second group of directory assistance service providers, the first group of directory assistance service providers capable of providing a higher level of directory assistance service than the second group of directory assistance service providers; a database of customer identifiers, a customer identifier in said database being associated with an indication of whether the customer is a preferred customer; a server for searching said database for the indication of whether the customer associated with a specified customer identifier is a preferred customer; and a router for routing a call received at the switch from a telephone having a customer identifier associated with a preferred customer to one of the first group of directory assistance service providers.