FREEPHONE SERVICE FOR AN ADVANCED INTELLIGENT NETWORK

Abstract: The freephone service includes the steps of receiving, at a service switching point, a telephone number entered by a caller, and sending a query to the service control point coupled to the service switching point. Thereafter at the service control point, the received telephone number is verified as a freephone service access number for making a freephone call associated with a pre-established account. The telephone number is then translated to a destination number by consulting a freephone service execution logic for routing the freephone call. The call is then completed to the destination number, and the charges associated with the completed call are billed to the pre-established account.

Description: FREEPHONE SERVICE FOR AN ADVANCED INTELLIGENT NETWORK TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention is related in general to the field of telecommunications. More particularly, the invention is related to a freephone service for an advanced intelligent network (AIN) . BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION With the advent of the advanced intelligent network (AIN) , it has become possible, to rapidly design and introduce many new enhanced telecommunications services that provide added flexibility and convenience in how we use our telephone equipment . The advanced intelligent network typically includes switches or service switching points (SSPs) coupled to signal transfer points (STPs) , which are in turn coupled to service control points (SCPs) . The interconnections between service switching points and service control points employ the signaling system number 7 or SS7 protocol for sending query messages associated with the execution of services. The service control points executes service logic programs which define the services and further store and maintain databases that have data associated with the services. The service control points are further coupled to a service management system (SMS) , which supports the operations, administrations, management, and provisioning (OAM&P) needs of the network. The advanced intelligent network further includes intelligent peripherals, which are coupled to service switching points and the service management system, and provide pre-recorded voice announcements, voice synthesis, and other functionalities that generally facilitate interaction with service subscribers and customers. The connection between the service management system and other network nodes is typically via X.25 links. In the advanced intelligent network, telecommunications services are typically defined in a service creation environment (SCE) node by the service provider and then relayed to the service management system, which disseminates the service logic programs to the rest of the network for execution. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and other standard setting bodies have promulgated recommendations and requirements for advanced intelligent network services. One service is the freephone service, which basically allows a service subscriber to be reached with a toll free telephone number. However, these standards do not spell out how this service is to be implemented and the specific service features that support this service. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, there is a need for a freephone service for the advanced intelligent network. In an aspect of the invention, the freephone service includes the steps of receiving, at a service switching point, a telephone number entered by a caller, and sending a query to the service control point coupled to the service switching point. Thereafter at the service control point, the received telephone number is verified as a freephone service access number for making a freephone call associated with a pre-established account. The telephone number is then translated to a destination number by consulting freephone service execution logic for routing the freephone call. The call is then completed to the destination number, and the charges associated with the completed call are billed to the pre-established account. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may be made to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 is a simplified block diagram of an advanced intelligent network (AIN) ; FIGURE 2 is a simplified flowchart of an embodiment of the freephone service access process according to the teachings of the present invention; FIGURE 3 is a simplified message flow diagram of an embodiment of the freephone call completion according to the teachings of the present invention; FIGURE 4 is a simplified flowchart of an embodiment of the freephone service translation process according to the teachings of the present invention; FIGURE 5 is a simplified message flow diagram of an embodiment of the freephone call routing to an announcement according to the teachings of the present invention; FIGURE 6 is a simplified diagram of an embodiment of a freephone service transition logic decision tree according to the teachings of the present invention; FIGURE 7 is a simplified flowchart of an embodiment of the origin dependent routing process according to the teachings of the present invention; FIGURE 8 is a simplified flowchart of an embodiment of the time dependent routing process according to the teachings of the present invention; FIGURE 9 is a simplified flowchart of an embodiment of the origination call screening process according to the teachings of the present invention; and FIGURE 10 is a simplified flowchart of an embodiment of the call distribution process according to the teachings of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in FIGURES 1-10, like reference numerals being used to refer to like and corresponding parts of the various drawings . Referring to FIGURE 1, a simplified block diagram of an exemplary advanced intelligent network (AIN) is shown. FIGURE 1 shows an exemplary telecommunications network 10 such as an advanced intelligent network (AIN) or intelligent network (IN) . Network 10 includes a service management system (SMS) 12 which interfaces with a service control point (SCP) 14 via an industry standard protocol such as X.25 or TCP/IP. Service management system 12 provides network information, database management, and administrative support for network 10. Service management system 12 generally interfaces with service control point 14 for provisioning, database management, service control point application program management, and collecting traffic metering and measurement data. Service control point 14 is also directly linked to a signal transfer point (STP) 16 via an SS7 (signaling system number 7) link set 18. Based on present industry practice, an SS7 link set may include up to sixteen 56 or 64 Kbits/second links. Signal transfer point 16 is further coupled to one or more service switching points (SSPs) 22 and 24, which perform the switching and call handling functions in the network via SS7 link sets 20. An intelligent peripheral (IP) 23 is coupled to service switching point 22 and another intelligent peripheral 25 is coupled to service switching point 24. Intelligent peripherals 23 and 25 may provide an interface to callers and users such as pre-recorded or voice synthesized announcements and prompts. Service control point 14 is a transaction based processing system whose primary responsibility is to respond to queries from service switching points 22 and 24 for data needed to complete routing a call. Service switching points 22 and 24 are part of the public switched telephone network and are coupled to the customer premises equipment (CPE) 28 of telephone service subscribers. Network services are generally implemented in a service creation environment (SCE) 40 through a graphical user interface 42 to produce service logic programs that are then downloaded to network elements such as service management system 12, and/or service control point 14 where they are executed. Referring to FIGURE 2, a simplified top level flowchart of an embodiment of the freephone service access process is shown, and also to FIGURE 3 a simplified message flow diagram of an embodiment of the freephone service process according to the present invention is shown. In block 50, a predetermined number of digits are entered or dialed by a caller and received by the service switching poin . Access to the freephone service may be achieved by using a predetermined freephone access number assigned by the service provider, in the form of a toll free number, 800-NXX-XXXX, for example. The freephone access number may be entered or dialed from any public or private telephone or by any telecommunications device from any location within a predefined service area. As seen in FIGURE 3 , the service switching point may detect a public office dialing plan (PODP) trigger upon receipt of some of or all of the collected digits. The service switching point further determines if call gapping has been initiated by the service control point. The call gapping feature provides the service provider the ability to restrict the number of freephone calls placed at two levels. Call gapping may be automatically deployed at the network level during periods of high call traffic volume to prevent traffic congestion to the service control point. Call gapping may also be initiated at the number control level where calls to or from certain numbers are restricted. If the service control point has initiated call gapping, incoming calls are provided final treatment by the service switching point. If call gapping has not been initiated, then the service switching point starts a Tl timer and sends the collected digits in an info_analyzed message to the service control point. The Tl timer is used to monitor the time it takes the service control point to respond to the service switching point message. The Tl timer expires if the service control point does not respond within a predetermined time, so that fault detection processes may be initiated to determine and correct possible problems. Upon receipt of the freephone digits, the service control point may access a freephone database to determine whether the collected digits represent a valid freephone service access number, as shown in block 52 in FIGURE 2. If the collected digits do not represent a valid freephone service access number, then the service control point may process the call as another advanced intelligent network service, as shown in block 54. If the collected digits do represent a valid freephone service access number, then the service control point increments a freephone call peg counter in block 56. The freephone call peg counter logs the number of freephone service accesses to a particular freephone number account as indicated in the freephone database. The service control point then translates the collected freephone digits into a destination number by invoking a translation process, as shown in block 58. Referring to FIGURE 4, a flowchart of an embodiment of the freephone digit translation process 58 is shown. In block 60, the service control point determines whether emergency routing has been activated for the collected freephone digits. Emergency routing is a service feature that allows a translation of the freephone digits into one or more alternative emergency destination numbers rather than the original destination number. Emergency routing may be enabled by the freephone service subscriber and/or the network operator in real time. The emergency routing service may be activated by setting an ER flag corresponding to the freephone number in the freephone database. The service control point verifies the ER flag status and then determines whether the call should be given a terminating announcement or be routed to an alternate destination according to the emergency routing parameters supplied by the service subscriber or network operator. In the event of a terminating announcement treatment, the service control point sets the announcement and disconnecting parameters and forwards them to the service switching point in a send_to_resource message, as shown in FIGURE 5. The service switching point, upon receipt of the message, stops the Tl timer and requests the intelligent peripheral to play an appropriate announcement . The service switching point then disconnects the caller. In the case of termination to an alternate emergency destination number, the service control point translates the collected freephone digits into the alternate destination number and forwards it to the service switching point in an analyze_route message, as shown in FIGURE 3 and in blocks 62 and 64 in FIGURE 4. Upon receipt of the message, the service switching point stops the Tl timer and completes the call by connecting the caller to the destination number supplied by the service control point. After call connection, call processing continues until the call is disconnected by the caller or called party, as shown in block 66. If emergency routing is not activated for the call, as determined in block 60 in FIGURE 4, then normal freephone service processing is initiated, as shown in block 70. The service control point begins by verifying the service subscriber's service execution logic, as shown in block 72. The service execution logic may be implemented as a decision tree that may be traversed to determine what routing logic is to be applied for the particular freephone service account . The routing logic may use one or a combination of routing criteria, including standard routing (SR) 80, origin dependent routing (ODR) 82, time dependent routing (TDR) 100, originating call screening (OCS) 110, call distribution (CD) 130. The routing logic may indicate that standard routing is to be performed for the collected freephone number. When standard routing is enabled by the service subscriber, a primary destination address is obtained in the translation process. The service control point then sends the destination address to the service switching point in an analyze_route message . The service switching point then connects the caller to the translated primary destination number, as shown in FIGURE 3. Alternatively, the standard routing logic may indicate that an announcement should be played. The service control point then sends a send_to_resource message to the service switching point requesting that an announcement be played to the caller followed by disconnection as shown in FIGURE 5. If the routing logic indicates that origin dependent routing 82 is to be performed for the collected freephone digits, the call is routed according to the caller's geographic location or associated area. The details of the origin dependent routing scheme is shown in FIGURE 7. The identification of the caller's geographic location or associated area may be determined by the first few digits of the caller's telephone number. The translation to a different destination address may be the result of the call being filtered, as indicated by the routing logic. The call may then be routed to a different network address. The filtering criteria which may be used include: 1. Filtering on the caller's area code and exchange code 2. Filtering on the caller's area code 3. Filtering on the caller's region The service control point thus determines whether filtering is required for the call by checking the subscriber's service execution logic. If the call is filtered, the filtering is done on one of the three filtering criteria chosen by the subscriber, as shown in blocks 84-88. Based on the subscriber's filtering profile analysis, the call can either be given a route or pointer to the next routing criteria, a default route (block 90) , or it can be disallowed. A routing result is then chosen, as shown in block 92. If the call is disallowed, the service control point sends a send_to_resource message to the service switching point with parameters set to play an announcement to the caller followed by disconnection. If the filtered call is allowed as shown in block 94 in FIGURE 4, a determination is made as to what the next action should be by consulting the execution logic - whether to route the call with the routing result obtained in block 82 or whether other routing logic is also required. Execution thus returns to block 72. The service subscriber's service execution logic may indicate that the call is to follow a time dependent routing logic, as shown in block 100. When time dependent routing is enabled, the collected freephone digits are translated to a destination address based on one or more decision criteria, including day of year, day of week, and time of day. In block 102 in FIGURE 8, the service control point determines whether the route should be selected based on day of year. If so, the route is selected based on that criteria and a routing result is obtained in block 104. If the route is not to be selected based on day of year, it is determined whether the route is selected based on day of week in block 106. If not, then it is determined whether the route is to be selected based on time of day in block 108. If not, then a default route may be selected in block 110. The default route may be an announcement or an alternate destination address. If the routing logic indicates that route selection is to be made based on day of week in block 106, it further makes a determination as to whether the route is also to be made based on the time of day in block 112. If not, the day of week route selection criteria is chosen in block 114. Once a route selection criteria is determined, the routing result is obtained in block 104. Alternatively, the translation of the freephone digits may result in the call being routed to an announcement that the freephone service is not available at this time. Thereafter returning to block 106 in FIGURE 4, a determination is made as to what the next action should be by consulting the execution logic - whether to route the call with the routing result obtained in block 100 or whether other routing logic is also required. Execution thus returns to block 72. Returning to FIGURE 4, the service execution logic may indicate that the call is to be routed based on originating call screening (OCS), as shown in block 110. Originating call screening allows the subscriber to block certain calls based on the area from which the call originated. Referring to FIGURE 9, a determination in the routing logic is made as to whether the call is to be blocked based on the caller's complete number, as shown in block 112. The call may alternatively be blocked based on the caller's area code and exchange code, as shown in block 114 or on the caller's area code, as shown in block 116. Otherwise, the call may be blocked based on the caller's region, as shown in block 118. Based on the above call screening determination, the call is either blocked or allowed, as shown in block 120. If the call is blocked, the service control point sends a send_to_resource message to the service switching point with the announcement and caller disconnect parameters set. The intelligent peripheral then plays the announcement at the request of the service switching point, and the service switching point then disconnects the caller. If the call is allowed, as shown in block 122 in FIGURE 4, a determination is made as to what the next action should be by consulting the execution logic - whether to route the call with the routing result obtained in block 110 or whether other routing logic is also required. Execution thus returns to block 72. The service execution logic of the subscriber may indicate that the call is to be routed according to call distribution, as shown in block 130 in FIGURE 4. Call distribution is a feature that allows incoming calls to a subscriber to be distributed to more than one destination according to an allocation rule. The subscriber may manage and monitor the allocation in real time. Referring to FIGURE 10, call distribution allocation rules may include, for example: circular distribution 132, percentage distribution 134, and hierarchical distribution 136. With circular distribution, calls are routed to a number of predetermined different destination addresses in a round robin manner to achieve a substantially uniform distribution. With proportional distribution, the calls are routed to a number of predetermined different destination addresses according to proportional values pre- assigned to each destination address. With hierarchical distribution, priority values are assigned to a number of predetermined destination addresses so that the calls are routed to the first available destination address with the highest priority. In an embodiment of the freephone system of the present invention, the hierarchical distribution scheme may be implemented in the switch and not supported in the service control point. In addition to the distribution criteria above, congestion at one destination may cause the overflow to be routed to a default destination specified by the service subscriber. Congestion management may also be a switch based feature not supported in the service control point. The routing result according to one of the criteria is obtained in block 138. Thereafter in block 140 in FIGURE 4, a determination is made as to what the next action should be by consulting the execution logic - whether to route the call with the routing result obtained in block 130 or whether other routing logic is also required. Execution thus returns to block 72. After the service execution logic has determined the destination number, the service control point sends an analyze_route message to the service switching point with routing parameters set to indicate the call completion route. The service switching point generates a call detail record (CDR) for each freephone call. The call detail records may be analyzed by other operations support systems to produce the final phone bill. The charge for each freephone call is automatically charged back to the called party to achieve reverse charging. The freephone system may also generate an automatic message accounting (AMA) record for each freephone call. The service subscriber may also have access to a freephone database access number that enables the subscriber to update his/her freephone service profile. The subscriber may be required to supply or enter a personal identification number or authorization number to access the service profile database. The intelligent peripheral sends the collected personal identification number to the service management system for verification. The service management system validates the personal identification number against the freephone database access number by looking up the corresponding entry in the database. If valid, the intelligent peripheral prompts the caller to select an option from a menu of options by dialing a digit followed by a predetermined end digit, such as "#." The subscriber may change the terminating destination announcements, call distribution allocation rule, originating call screening list, time dependent routing, and origin dependent routing. The intelligent peripheral collects the dialed menu option digits and change information and sends the collected digits to the service management system to access the subscriber's freephone service profile record. The intelligent peripheral waits for a confirmation message from the service management system which indicates that the record has been updated successfully or a failure has been encountered. The subscriber is provided notification of the update success or failure. The caller may end the session after one or more record updates . Constructed and operating in this manner, the service subscriber may use one freephone number to route calls to more than one destination number according to the routing logic. Further, the service subscriber has many options and flexibility in tailoring the routing logic to satisfy his/her needs. Although several embodiments of the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that mutations, changes, substitutions, transformations, modifications, variations, and alterations can be made therein without departing from the teachings of the present invention, the spirit and scope of the invention being set forth by the appended claims.

Claims: WHAT IS CLAIMED IS: 1. A freephone service, comprising the steps of: receiving, at a service switching point, a telephone number entered by a caller; sending a query to the service control point coupled to the service switching point; verifying, at the service control point, the received telephone number as a freephone service access number for making a freephone call associated with a pre-established account; translating the telephone number to a destination number by consulting a freephone service execution logic for routing the freephone call; completing the call to the destination number; and billing charges associated with the completed call to the pre-established account. 2. The freephone service, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the translating step comprises the step of determining the destination number according to an origin dependent routing logic. 3. The freephone service, as set forth in claim 2, wherein the translating step comprises the steps of: determining the destination number according to the caller's area code-exchange code; determining the destination number according to the caller's area code; and/or determining the destination number according to the caller's region. 4. The freephone service, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the translating step comprises the step of determining the destination number according to a time dependent routing logic. 5. The freephone service, as set forth in claim 4, wherein the translating step comprises the steps of: determining the destination number according to the day of year of the call; determining the destination number according to the day of week of the call; and/or determining the destination number according to the time of day of the call. 6. The freephone service, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the translating step comprises the step of determining the destination number according to a call distribution routing logic. 7. The freephone service, as set forth in claim 6, wherein the translating step comprises the steps of: determining the destination number according to a circular distribution scheme; determining the destination number according to a proportional distribution scheme; or determining the destination number according to an hierarchical distribution scheme. 8. The freephone service, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the translating step comprises the step of determining the destination number according to a standard routing logic by routing the freephone call to a predetermined primary destination number. 9. The freephone service, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the translating step comprises the step of determining the destination number according to an emergency routing logic by routing the freephone call to a predetermined emergency destination number. 10. The freephone service, as set forth in claim 1, further comprising the step of blocking the freephone call according to an originating call screening logic according to the caller's area code-exchange code, area code, or region. 11. The freephone service, as set forth in claim 1, further comprising the steps of: counting a number of freephone calls made associated with the pre-established account; and blocking the freephone call in response to the count of freephone calls exceeding a predetermined maximum. 12. The freephone service, as set forth in claim 1, further comprising the steps of: monitoring a number of queries to the service control point ; and blocking the freephone call in response to the number of queries exceeding a predetermined threshold. 13. The freephone service, as set forth in claim 1, further comprising the step of sending the determined destination number to the service switching point for call completion. 14. The freephone service, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the translating step comprises the step of traversing a service execution logic decision tree customized for the pre-established account. 15. A freephone service, comprising the steps of: receiving, at a service switching point, a telephone number entered by a caller; sending a query to the service control point coupled to the service switching point; verifying, at the service control point, the received telephone number as a freephone service access number for making a freephone call associated with a pre-established account ; translating the telephone number to a destination number by traversing a freephone service execution logic decision tree for routing the freephone call; sending the destination number to the service switching point for completing the call to the destination number; and billing charges associated with the completed call to the pre-established account. 16. The freephone service, as set forth in claim 15, wherein the translating step comprises the steps of: determining the destination number according to the caller's area code-exchange code; determining the destination number according to the caller's area code; or determining the destination number according to the caller's region. 17. The freephone service, as set forth in claim 15, wherein the translating step comprises the steps of: determining the destination number according to the day of year of the call; determining the destination number according to the day of week of the call; and/or determining the destination number according to the time of day of the call. 18. The freephone service, as set forth in claim 15, wherein the translating step comprises the steps of : determining the destination number according to a circular distribution scheme; determining the destination number according to a proportional distribution scheme; or determining the destination number according to an hierarchical distribution scheme. 19. The freephone service, as set forth in claim 15, wherein the translating step comprises the step of determining the destination number according to a standard routing logic by routing the freephone call to a predetermined primary destination number. 20. The freephone service, as set forth in claim 15, wherein the translating step comprises the step of determining the destination number according to an emergency routing logic by routing the freephone call to a predetermined emergency destination number. 21. The freephone service, as set forth in claim 15, further comprising the step of blocking the freephone call according to an originating call screening logic according to the caller's area code-exchange code, area code, or region. 22. The freephone service, as set forth in claim 15, further comprising the steps of: counting a number of freephone calls made associated with the pre-established account; and blocking the freephone call in response to the count of freephone calls exceeding a predetermined maximum. 23. The freephone service, as set forth in claim 15, further comprising the steps of: monitoring a number of queries to the service control point ; and blocking the freephone call in response to the number of queries exceeding a predetermined threshold.

Inventors: COPLEY JEFFREY D, SADANI KISHORE D, SHAH TASVIR, COPLEY, JEFFREY, D., SADANI, KISHORE, D., SHAH, TASVIR
Applicants: ALCATEL USA SOURCING LP, ALCATEL USA SOURCING, L.P.
Application year: 1998
Main classification: H04Q3
IPC codes: H04Q3