Patent ID: 8180024
Filing Date: 2012-05-15
Classification: H04M

Abstract:
1. A method of handling a call in a telecommunications system, comprising the steps of: allowing a subscriber to subscribe to an originating service wherein when the subscriber subsequently initiates a call as a calling party towards a called party and if the called party does not answer the call then the calling party is presented with a state of the call and a number of call treatment options, wherein the originating service comprises the following steps: storing call treatment options in a database; receiving a call signal from the calling party for the called party at a mobile switching center; determining, at the mobile switching center, whether call treatment based on calling party selection is to be invoked; if not, then performing at the mobile switching center conventional call processing; if call treatment based on calling party preference is to be invoked, then contacting a service platform which performs the following steps; if the station of the called party is busy or is not connecting the call, then informing the calling party that a station of the called party is busy or not connecting the call; prompting the calling party to provide an input for treatment based on the call treatment options stored in the database; and providing the selected treatment, where one of the stored call treatment options is to end the call but leave a voicemail for the called party even if the called party does not subscribe to voicemail, wherein leaving the voicemail comprises: recording the voicemail from the calling party by a network element then the network element signaling the called party when the called party becomes available and when the called party answers the call, playing the voicemail by the network element to the called party.