Patent ID: 8666052
Filing Date: 2014-03-04
Classification: H04M

Abstract:
1. A method executed at least in part in a computing device providing a universal phone number associated with a plurality of group members, the method comprising: generating a group of universal phone numbers in a cloud based service; enabling a communication group to select a universal phone number from the group of universal phone numbers; associating the universal phone number in the cloud based service with members of the communication group; assigning contact information for one or more communication methods in the communication group to the universal phone number in the cloud based service, wherein the universal phone number is designated as a primary contact number for the communication group to enable privacy of the contact information for the one or more communication methods; receiving one or more rules for handling incoming communication to the universal phone number; receiving an incoming communication request to the universal phone number; and automatically routing the incoming communication request to the one or more communication methods associated with one or more members of the communication group according to at least one of the rules.