Patent ID: 6490274
Filing Date: 2002-12-03
Classification: H04L,H04M

Abstract:
A telephony service system, comprising:a cable network; a plurality of directory units each of which stores at least one internet protocol (IP) address corresponding to a telephone number; a plurality of internet telephone gateways (ITGs); and a plurality of network segment units, each segment unit comprising: a cable phone, a router, and a head end unit which: requests the at least one IP address from one of the plurality directory units based on the corresponding telephone number provided by the cable phone; sets a call path via the cable network for peer to peer IP telephony between the cable phone and a cable phone in another of the plurality of network segments using the requested IP address if the requested IP address is stored in the one of the plurality of directory units, and sets a call path through the router with one of the plurality of ITGs to connect a call path with one of a plurality of telephones on a public switched telephone network if the requested IP address is not stored in the one of the plurality of directory units.