Abstract:
A system for presenting telecommunication services to potential customers can include a distributed, platform independent registry disposed within a publicly accessible network. The registry can include a plurality of entries, each entry specifying at least one telecommunication service, wherein selective ones of the telecommunication services can be provided by two or more providers. Each entry can further contain connectivity information for contacting an associated one of the providers across a publicly accessible network in order to obtain the telecom service from the provider. Each of the telecommunication services can be configured to function within multiple switch environments.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Technical Field  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to the field of telecommunications and, more particularly, to a publicly accessible registry listing telecommunication services.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0004]    Telecommunication (telecom) companies offer customers numerous telecom services, such as caller ID, voice mail, and three way calling, either singularly or as part of a telecom package. As sales and usage of personal telecom devices, such as cellular telephones and personal data assistants (PDAs), have increased, the demand for telecom services has escalated. Unfortunately, the marketplace for telecom services has not kept pace with increasing consumer demands.  
           [0005]    One reason the supply for telecom services has failed to fulfill the demand can originate from the manner in which telecom services are implemented. Generally, telecom services are developed specifically for a particular telecom switch. Development of new services typically requires specialized personnel having a significant amount of experience in programming a particular telecom switch upon which a telecom service is to be implemented. Further adding to the cost of telecom service development, is the fact that telecom services are not easily ported from one type of telecom switch to another. Consequently, similar and like features must be redesigned for each switch.  
           [0006]    Moreover, a confused marketplace exists for telecommunication services. First, no agreed upon standardized set of terms or phrases describing telecom services exists through which meaningful comparisons among services can be made. Additionally, an existing customer base has been trained to select packages of telecom services instead of choosing among individual telecom services capable of suiting individual requirements. In consequence, consumers do not request individual telecom services in a competitive fashion.  
           [0007]    Telecom carriers also lack the ability to exchange and transfer individual services among themselves responsive to consumer demand. For example, suppose a first telecom service provider supplied a three way calling service desirable to a selected business, but that business needed caller ID features which are not available through the first telecom provider. Absent some third party bundling of a caller ID feature to be included with the first provider&#39;s telecom service, the business would not be able to utilize the desirable three way calling service. Similarly, customers transferring from one telecom carrier to another are typically forced to discontinue telecom services proven satisfactory, merely because such services are not supported by the new telecom carrier.  
           [0008]    Many industry leaders have directed efforts that focus upon expanding the portability of telecom services and increasing the pool of available developers. For example, such standardization efforts as Intelligent Networks (IN), Advanced Intelligent Networks (AIN) and Java Advanced Intelligent Network (JAIN®) focus upon providing a telecom architecture that separates service logic from switching equipment. While these efforts enhance telecom services portability, the efforts do little to create a marketplace wherein suppliers of telecom services can present telecom products to customers.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    The present invention provides a solution that allows providers of telecommunication (telecom) services to present available telecom services to requesters of such services. In particular, the present invention utilizes a publicly accessible registry as a marketplace for telecom services. Accordingly, telecom service providers can post available telecom service descriptions to the registry. Thereafter, requesters can search the registry for desired telecom services. Notably, each requester is not limited to only those telecom services or service packages provided by a single source. Rather, each requester can select one or more services from one or more providers. Upon request, providers can assure installation of one or more specified services within a telecom network, so that such specified services are made available to the requester.  
           [0010]    One aspect of the present invention can include a system for presenting telecom services to potential customers. The system can include a distributed, platform independent registry disposed within a publicly accessible network containing a variety of services including telecom services. For example, the registry can be a Universal Description Discovery and Integration (UDDI) compliant registry. Moreover, the registry can include a plurality of entries, each entry specifying at least one telecom service. Selective ones of the telecom services can be provided by two or more providers. For example, the registry can contain a caller ID service acquired from one provider as well as a caller ID service distributed by a different, competing provider.  
           [0011]    Moreover, each entry within the registry can contain connectivity information for contacting the provider of a recorded telecom service. For example, the registry can contain port information for accessing a provider&#39;s services database. Notably, the connectivity information can be provided in a Web Services Description Language (WSDL) compliant format. Additionally, the offered service can be a Web service and the connectivity information can specify how to establish a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) compliant connection.  
           [0012]    Another aspect of the present invention can include a method for marketing telecom services. In this method, a registry can receive at least one telecom service description from one or more providers across a publicly accessible network, such as the Internet. For example, a provider can send a telecom service description to a UDDI compliant registry in a WSDL compliant format. Furthermore, the telecom service description can describe a Web service or a self contained, self describing modular application configured to be published, located, and invoked across the Internet. The received service description can be parsed by the receiving registry creating one or more telecom service entries. The registry can then catalogue the telecom service entries into a directory. Requesters accessing the registry across a publicly accessible network can query this directory for desired telecom services. The registry can search the directory for telecom entries satisfying requester queries and present search results to the requesters.  
           [0013]    Yet another aspect of the present invention can include a method of advertising telecom services, wherein a provider can publish a telecom service description of one or more telecom services to a publicly accessible registry across a publicly accessible network. Notably, the telecom service description can be a WSDL compliant message and the registry can be a UDDI complaint registry. Furthermore, the telecom service description can specify a Web service. Moreover, the telecom service description can include connectivity information that can be formatted in a SOAP complaint format. A requester utilizing this connectivity information can establish a connection with the provider across a publicly accessible network, such as the Internet. Upon receiving the telecom service request from the requester, the provider can provide the requested telecom service to the requester.  
           [0014]    Another aspect of the present invention can include a method of purchasing telecom services including accessing a publicly accessible registry across a publicly accessible network, such as the Internet. For example, a requester can access a UDDI compliant registry containing telecom services. The requester can then search the registry for one or more telecom services ultimately selecting one or more of such services, which can include one or more Web services. Upon selection, the user can receive a telecom service response for the selected telecom service. The requester can then send a service request to a provider establishing a connection using connectivity information contained within the telecom service response. Notably, the service request can be sent utilizing a SOAP complaint protocol. Once the provider receives the service request, the provider can send the requested telecom service to a telecom carrier for installation. Alternately, the provider can transfer the telecom service to the requester. The requester can then send the telecom service to a telecom carrier for installation.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]    There are shown in the drawings embodiments, which are presently preferred, it being understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary telecommunication system in accordance with the inventive arrangements disclosed herein.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a method of presenting, selecting, and implementing telecommunication services utilizing the system of FIG. 1.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0018]    The invention disclosed herein provides a solution for presenting telecommunication (telecom) services utilizing a publicly accessible registry. Telecom services grant particular connectivity capabilities to communication devices, such as call waiting or caller ID. By presenting such services within a publicly accessible registry, individual customers can make informed telecom service selections from among various providers. Notably, customers are not limited to packaged telecom services provided by individual providers, but can instead select one or more services from one or more providers. Responsive to customer selection, specified services can be installed onto a telecom network granting the customer the capabilities of the selected service(s).  
         [0019]    One skilled in the art can appreciate that while standard telephony services, such as caller ID, are certainly one subset of telecom services, telecom services can extend beyond present telephone based services. For example, a telecom service can convey photographs, video, documents, and other multimedia objects, as well as voice signals creating a complete teleconferencing solution for a given customer. Alternately, a telecom service can determine geographical coordinates of a caller dialing 911 from a cellular telephone. In another example, a telecom service can display Internet based business information whenever a business advertises on television. As information receiving devices, such as telephones, fax machines, television, and computers, become more integrated, often referred to as “convergence” within the telecom field, potential telecom services increase. It should be understood that the invention applies to telecom services generally and is not limited to traditional telephony services or any of the particular examples disclosed herein.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary telecom system  100  in accordance with the inventive arrangements disclosed herein. As shown in FIG. 1, the system  100  can include a provider  105 , a registry  110 , a requester  115 , a subscriber  120 , and a switch  125 , each communicatively linked through a telecom network  140  comprising a packet switched network  145  and a circuit switched network  150  joined by a gateway  155 . The provider  105  can be any entity that creates one or more telecom services, such as call waiting, caller ID, call forwarding, voice activated dialing, meet-me conferencing, and the like. For example, provider  105  can be a telecom carrier that both develops and implements telecom services. Alternatively, the provider  105  can be a software development company that specializes in providing telecom services.  
         [0021]    Once provider  105  develops a telecom service, a telecom service description  165  for the developed telecom service can be published. Notably, the telecom service description  165  can include descriptive information pertaining to a particular telecom service as well as connectivity information useful for contacting provider  105  across a public network such as the Internet. This connectivity information can facilitate application-to-application document transfers with minimal required human intervention.  
         [0022]    For example, in one embodiment, the telecom service description  165  can specify a URL (uniform resource locator) or other network address usable by a requester  115  to contact the provider  105 . In another embodiment, once the requester  115  selects a telecom service from registry  110 , the requester  115  can be immediately connected to an application of the provider  105 . Notably, the connectivity information can be encapsulated within various message formats including, but not limited to, Web Service Description Language (WSDL).  
         [0023]    The registry  110  can be a publicly accessible marketplace wherein businesses can present services to customers. Hence, in one embodiment, registry  110  can be a business directory, similar to electronic yellow pages, disposed within the Internet that can facilitate customer/business interactions. The registry  110  in system  100  can include entries for one or more telecom services provided by one or more providers  105 . These entries can include, but are not limited to, such information as a service description, a service cost, the terms of a service, and telephony requirements necessary to utilize a service. Notably, services listed within registry  110  can contain information from the telecom service descriptions  165  published by the provider  105 . Additionally, registry  110  can include a multitude of business services from divergent subject areas including areas outside the telecom field.  
         [0024]    The registry  110  can be a distributed, platform independent registry tailored to foster electronic business services. Services described within registry  110  can include, but are not limited to, self-contained, self describing modular applications configured to be published, located, and invoked across the Web. Such services can be referred to as Web services. Additionally, registry  110  can, but need not, be a Universal Description Discovery and Integration (UDDI) compliant registry.  
         [0025]    The requester  115  can be any purchaser of telecom services. For example, a requester  115  can be an individual customer purchasing telephony services for home business usage. Alternatively, requester  115  can be an enterprise that purchases telecom services for packaging and resale, exposing purchased telecom services to multiple subscribers  120 . For example, requester  115  can lease a defined amount of bandwidth, purchase selective telecom services, and provide the purchased services to a plurality of end users.  
         [0026]    As shown in FIG. 1, requester  115  can search registry  110  for desired telecom services. Exemplary searching mechanisms can include searches by service category, technical specifications, and business name. These searches can occur across a publicly accessible network such as the Web. Once the requester  115  selects a particular telecom service from registry  110 , a telecom service response  170  can be relayed from registry  110  to requester  115 .  
         [0027]    This telecom service response  170  can include information to facilitate communication between a requester  115  and a provider  105 . In one embodiment, telecom service response  170  can be identical to telecom service description  165 , which can include connection information. In another embodiment, a telecom service response  170  can be different in form from the document submitted by provider  105 , yet still include connectivity information that the requester  115  can use to contact provider  105 .  
         [0028]    Requester  115  can receive telecom service response  170  that includes connectivity information that contains all necessary data required for the requester  115  to establish a connection with the provider  105 . For example, telecom service response  170  can specify connectivity information required by the Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP). Once requester  115  requests a given telecom service, provider  105  can respond by transferring the requested telecom service  175  to the requester  115 , using a transfer mechanism such as file transfer protocol (FTP). The requester  115  can subsequently install the received telecom service onto switch  125 . Alternately, the provider  105  can install telecom service  175  onto telecom switch  125  directly. Practical implementation details will depend on requirements and standards imposed upon the industry by the owner of telecom switch  125 .  
         [0029]    The subscriber  120  can be an entity that uses one or more telecom services. For example, subscriber  120  can be a business equipped with a local telephone system for internal communication that nonetheless utilizes a public exchange for external communication. Alternatively, subscriber  120  can be an individual home user. Subscriber  120  either can purchase telecom services directly from provider  105 , or can be granted access to telecom services purchased by requester  115 .  
         [0030]    Notably, telecom services provided to a subscriber can be utilized within any telecom network  140  regardless of the connection methodology of the telecom network  140 . As illustrated in FIG. 1, telecom network  140  can include both packet switched network  145  and circuit switched network  150  linked through gateway  155 . One of ordinary skill in the art can recognize that while networks  145  and  150  adhere to different messaging protocols, both can utilize the same physical telecom pathways and hardware. Moreover, other logical networks, including such wireless networks as Global Systems for Mobile communication (GSM) and Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), can be included within telecom network  140  as well.  
         [0031]    Appreciably, devices such as gateway  155  can be used to translate messages from one messaging protocol to another. Accordingly, gateway  155  can translate a given telecom message from protocol for a circuit switched network  150 , such as the public switched telephone network (PTSN), to the protocol required by a packet switched network  145 , such as the Web. In another embodiment, gateway  155  can reconcile the message protocols of GSM and WAP. Using gateway  155 , a single telecommunication service can be utilized from within the telecom network  140  irrespective of the particular messaging format utilized for message transfer.  
         [0032]    Switch  125  can be a terminating device for multiple telecom pathways within the telecom network  140 . Moreover, switch  125  can assure that telecom communications are properly routed from an originating subscriber  120  to a receiving subscriber  120 . As shown in FIG. 1, the switch  125  can include a telecom service processor  130  and a telecom service repository  135 . Switch  125  can be any device connected to the telecommunication network  140  capable of routing telecom communications.  
         [0033]    For example, in one embodiment, switch  125  can be a large switch utilized by a telephony carrier within the PSTN. In another embodiment, switch  125  can be a local exchange utilized by a business for intra-business communication. Moreover, switch  125  can be a mobile telecom switch such as those often tactically utilized by the military. In yet another embodiment, switch  125  can be a softswitch configured to be utilized in Voice over Internet Protocol networks.  
         [0034]    The telecom service processor  130  can include the hardware/software components that provide a platform upon which telecom services can execute. Hence, telecom service processor  130  can function as an interface between switch  125  and telecom service repository  135 . For example, a first telecom service can be implemented in Voice Extensible Markup Language (VXML) and installed within the telecom service repository  135 . Additionally, a second telecom service can be implemented using an Intelligent Network (IN) standard and installed within the telecom service repository  135 . The hardware and software within the telecom service processor  130  can assure both the first and second telecom services can function within the hardware environment of the switch  125 . Physically, telecom service processor  130  can, but need not, be implemented as a series of rack mounted cards within a given telephony switch  125  or as a computer system communicatively linked to the switch  125  via an appropriate gateway interface.  
         [0035]    Telecom service repository  135  can contain telecom services developed by providers, including provider  105 , and utilizable by subscribers. For example, subscriber  120  can be granted access to stored telecom services A, B, and C shown in FIG. 1. Notably, telecom service repository  135  can contain numerous telecom services developed by numerous telecom providers available to numerous subscribers.  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a method  200  of presenting, selecting, and implementing telecom services for use with the telecom system of FIG. 1. The method  200  can be performed in the context of a telecom system in which providers can develop telecom services capable of operating within multiple switches owned by multiple telecom carriers. Furthermore, in method  200 , each of the multiple telecom carriers can allow telecom services of the providers to be installed onto telecom hardware utilized for relaying subscriber communications.  
         [0037]    The method  200  can begin in step  205 , where a provider submits a telecom service description to a registry. Once the registry receives a submission from a provider, the registry can perform checks to assure that the provider is approved for submissions. Assuming the provider is authorized and the submission is determined to be genuine, the registry can then store the submitted information. In order to store the submitted information, the provider can parse the received submission into component elements. These component elements can then be stored in a manner compliant with the provider&#39;s data repository.  
         [0038]    For example, a provider having developed a three way calling telecom service can submit a WSDL message detailing the three way calling service to a UDDI registry. The registry can then convert the received message into searchable entries compliant with UDDI protocols. Appreciably, the invention is not limited to any particular registry type or any particular message subscription format.  
         [0039]    In step  210 , a requester can establish a communication link and search the registry for a telecom service. In one embodiment, the requester can look up a particular provider in an alphabetized listing or white pages. Alternately, the requester can search a taxonomy section or yellow pages for all providers of a particular service type or category. In yet another embodiment, the registry can allow a requester to seek telecom services based upon particularized specifications or technical parameters. Notably, the registry can be publicly accessed and searched by many requesters.  
         [0040]    In step  215 , a requester can select a telecom service from the telecom registry. Once selected, in step  220 , the registry can send a telecom service response to the requester. Notably, this telecom service response can, but need not, be identical to the telecom service description submitted by the provider. Regardless of the exact format of the telecom service response, such a description can contain information which the requester&#39;s computer can use to automatically initiate contact with the provider. For example, the telecom service response can include connectivity information allowing a SOAP connection to be established between the requester and the provider. Accordingly, a connection can be established with the provider in step  225 .  
         [0041]    Subsequent to the communication link being established, as shown in step  230 , the requester can send a telecom service request to the provider across the established link. This telecom service request can include a message that was contained within the telecom service description. For example, the telecom service description, in addition to containing descriptive information about a three way calling telecom service, can also contain a request code capable of being understood by the provider. Accordingly, the request code can be transferred with the telecom service response sent by the registry and submitted by the requester in step  230 .  
         [0042]    Upon receiving the telecom service request, as shown in step  235 , the provider can transfer the specified telecom service along with requestor identifying information to a telecom carrier for installation within a telecom switch. Such a transfer need not be made by the provider directly. For example, in one embodiment, the provider can utilize the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) to send the telecom service to the requester, who in turn can transfer the telecom service to the telecom carrier for installation. In another embodiment, the requested telecom service can already exist within hardware owned by the telecom carrier and need not be transferred again. Instead, a request can be sent to the telecom carrier to initiate the existing telecom service for the requester. Decisions on how such a transfer of the telecom service is to be conducted can be dependant on procedures required by a telecom carrier that owns a given switch. For example, for security reasons, the telecom carrier may choose to accept services only from pre-approved entities, in which case the transferring entity will likely be the provider of the telecom service.  
         [0043]    In step  240 , the telecom carrier can install the telecom service or initiate the existing telecom service. Upon installation, in step  245 , the telecom carrier can grant the requester access to the telecom service. Notably, the requested telecom service can be a Web service, a self contained, self describing modular application configured to be published, located, and invoked across the Web.  
         [0044]    The present invention can be realized in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. The present invention can be realized in a centralized fashion in one computer system or in a distributed fashion where different elements are spread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind of computer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware and software can be a general-purpose computer system with a computer program that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computer system such that it carries out the methods described herein.  
         [0045]    The present invention also can be embedded in a computer program product, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation of the methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer system is able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the present context means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having an information processing capability to perform a particular function either directly or after either or both of the following: a) conversion to another language, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different material form.  
         [0046]    This invention can be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof. Accordingly, reference should be made to the following claims, rather than to the foregoing specification, as indicating the scope of the invention.