Abstract:
A method of providing telecommunication service includes receiving caller identification information associated with a call to a communication device and determining whether the caller identification information corresponds to any of a plurality of stored identifiers, each stored identifier associated with audio data. The method further includes transmitting, in response to determining that the caller identification information corresponds to a stored identifier, audio data associated with the corresponding stored identifier to the communication device.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates in general to telecommunication systems, and more particularly to the identification of callers. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Rapid technological advances in the field of telecommunications have made communication components and systems dramatically less expensive and their use increasingly widespread. Despite the convenience of greater access to communication services, the ever-increasing availability of communication services may, under certain circumstances, have a disruptive effect on the present day home and workplace. As telephonic and other forms of electronic communication have become increasingly easy to initiate, many individuals have found it disruptive to be drawn into telephone conversations or other forms of communication whenever another party attempts to contact them. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In accordance with the present invention, the disadvantages and problems associated with telecommunications have been substantially reduced or eliminated. In particular, a system and method for identifying callers is provided. 
   In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a method of providing telecommunication service includes receiving caller identification information associated with a call to a communication device and determining whether the caller identification information corresponds to any of a plurality of stored identifiers, each stored identifier associated with audio data. The method further includes transmitting, in response to determining that the caller identification information corresponds to a stored identifier, audio data associated with the corresponding stored identifier to the communication device. 
   In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a system for providing communication service includes a plurality of communication devices and a server. The plurality of communication devices are capable of providing communication services to a plurality of users. The server is capable of receiving caller identification information associated with a call from a first communication device to a second communication device and determining whether the caller identification information corresponds to any of a plurality of stored identifiers, each stored identifier associated with audio data. The processor is further capable of transmitting audio data associated with the corresponding stored identifier to the second communication device in response to determining that the caller identification information corresponds to a stored identifier. 
   Technical advantages of certain embodiments of the present invention include a useful technique for indicating to device users that an incoming call has been received. Other technical advantages of certain embodiments of the present invention include the ability to use existing device hardware or software to play the call indicator and the ability to generate the call indicator based on a variety of different types of caller identifying information. Other technical advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following figures, descriptions, and claims. Moreover, while specific advantages have been enumerated above, various embodiments may include all, some, or none of the enumerated advantages. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     For a more complete understanding of the present invention and its advantages, reference is now made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a communication system according to a particular embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIGS. 2A-2B  illustrate example operation of a particular embodiment of a voicemail server that may be used in the communication system of  FIG. 1 ; and 
       FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating further example operation of the voicemail server. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1  illustrates a communication system  10  according to a particular embodiment of the present invention. As shown, communication system  10  includes a plurality of local area networks (LANs)  80  coupled by a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)  50 . Each LAN  80  additionally couples a plurality of communication devices  60 , a voicemail server  20 , a call manager  30 , and a gateway  40  to one another and to PSTN  50 . During operation, voicemail servers  20  may provide an audio greeting recorded by a user to communication devices  60  that the user calls. Communication devices  60  may then play the greeting as a call indicator instead of or in addition to a standard ring. As a result, communication system  10  may provide an effective way for call recipients to determine whether to answer a particular call and/or whether to take other appropriate steps. 
   Communication devices  60  may each represent any suitable combination of hardware and/or software to provide communication services to users. For example, communication devices  60  may represent telephones, computers running telephony software, video monitors, cameras, or any other devices that support the communication of voice, video, text or other suitable forms of data using communication system  10 . In the illustrated embodiment, communication devices  60   a ,  60   b ,  60   d , and  60   e  represent Internet Protocol (IP) telephones and communication devices  60   c  and  60   f  represent telephony-enabled personal computers (PCs). Additionally, communication device  60   i  represents a mobile phone coupled to communication system  10  through PSTN  50 . Although  FIG. 1  illustrates a particular number and configuration of communication devices  60 , communication system  10  contemplates any number and/or arrangement of such components. 
   Gateways  40  comprise any suitable combination of hardware and/or software for performing translation functions to facilitate seamless communication between PSTN  50  and LANs  80 . These functions may include translation between transmission formats and between communication procedures. In addition, gateways  40  may also translate between audio and video CODECs and perform call setup and clearing on both the LAN side and the PSTN side. For example, gateway  40   a  may interface call manager  30   a  with PSTN  50 . As a result, when a call is placed by any of communication devices  60   g - i  using PSTN  50 , gateway  40   a  translates the call format associated with PSTN  50  to a call format associated with call manager  30   a , such as, for example, SIP or another suitable packet-based communication protocol. 
   Call managers  30  comprise any suitable combination of hardware and/or software operable to establish a connection between two or more components, such as, for example, connecting a call between multiple communication devices  60  or between a particular communication device  60  and voicemail server  20 . In a particular embodiment, call manager  30  comprises a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) server that performs the functions of signaling and session management within a packet telephony network. The signaling functionality of call manager  30  allows call information to be carried across network boundaries. The session management functionality of call manager  30  provides the ability to control the attributes of an end-to-end call across multiple networks in communication system  10 . In a particular embodiment, the VoIP protocol supported by call manager  30  comprises Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), which is a standard for multimedia conferencing over internet protocol. In this embodiment, call managers  30  comprise SIP proxy servers that handle call processing, SIP requests, and SIP responses. Although the following description of call managers  30  is detailed with respect to SIP, it should be understood that call managers  30  may support other IP telephony protocols instead, such as the H.323 protocol. In particular embodiments, call managers  30  may also provide a number of telephony services for communication devices  60  and other devices located in LAN  80 , including, but not limited to, call forwarding, teleconferencing, network monitoring, and CODEC translation. 
   Voicemail servers  20  support voicemail services for communication devices  60 . More specifically, voicemail servers  20  may each generate voicemails, receive voicemails generated by other voicemail servers  20 , store received or generated voicemails, and/or provide users access to stored voicemails. Voicemail servers  20  may include any appropriate combination of hardware and/or software suitable to provide the described voicemail functionality. 
   In particular embodiments, voicemail servers  20  each include a processor  22  operable to execute instructions associated with voicemail services and a memory  24  operable to store processor instructions and other appropriate information to be used by voicemail servers  20  during operation. Processor  22  may represent any suitable processing device capable of processing and communicating electronic information including, but not limited to, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs) and any other suitable specific or general-purpose processors. Memory  24  may represent any collection and arrangement of volatile or non-volatile, local or remote devices suitable for storing data including, but not limited to, random access memory (RAM) devices, read only memory (ROM) devices, magnetic storage devices, optical storage devices, or any other suitable data storage devices. 
   Additionally, particular embodiments of voicemail server  20  may include a voice announce module (VA)  26  and a text-to-speech (TTS) module  28  that perform specialized tasks, as described in greater detail below. VA module  26  and TTS module  28  may each represent any appropriate hardware and/or software to provide the described tasks. Although shown as separate, discrete components within voicemail server  20   a , VA module  26  and TTS module  28  may represent or include, in part or in whole, shared components of voicemail server  20   a . In particular embodiments, VA module  26  and TTS module  28  represent software modules running on processor  22 . 
   LANs  80  and PSTN  50  provide connectivity between components coupled to them using any appropriate communication protocols. In particular embodiments, LANs  80  each represent all or a portion of an Ethernet network connecting the communication devices  60  of a particular entity, such as a company or a university campus. Furthermore, in particular embodiments, PSTN  50  represents all or a portion of the publicly-switched telephone network. Although  FIG. 1  illustrates a particular embodiment of communication system  10  that includes particular types of networks, specifically LANs  80  and PSTN  50 , coupling particular components of communication system  10 , communication system  10  may include any appropriate types and numbers of networks. 
   In operation, a particular voicemail server  20  initiates a communication link  82  with call manager  30  to monitor call signaling messages and/or other types of messages that are transmitted to or from one or more of the communication devices  60  supported by call manager  30 . In the example illustrated in  FIG. 1 , voicemail server  20   a  establishes a communication link  82  with call manager  30   a  to monitor call signaling messages sent to and from one or more communication devices  60 , such as communication device  60   b . Communication link  82  may represent any appropriate form of link allowing voicemail server  20   a  to monitor communication associated with particular communication devices  60  supported by call manager  30   a , and voicemail server  20   a  may establish communication link  82  in any suitable manner. In particular embodiments, communication link  82  comprises a Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) link that voicemail server  20   a  establishes using a Java Telephony Application Programming Interface (JTAPI) interface  84 . 
   After establishing communication link  82  with call manager  30   a , voicemail server  20   a  may begin monitoring messages received by call manager  30   a  that are to and/or from communication device  60   b . In particular, voicemail server  20   a  may register with call manager  30   a  to be notified of incoming calls to communication device  60   b . For example, in an embodiment of communication system  10  which supports SIP, voicemail server  20   a  may register to be notified of all SIP invitations sent to communication device  60   b . As part of this notification, voicemail server  20   a  may receive any appropriate information associated with each incoming call. In particular embodiments, call manager  30   a  may communicate caller identification information  90  associated with the call. Caller identification information  90  may include any appropriate information that identifies the caller making the incoming call and/or the communication device  60  the caller is using including, but not limited to, the caller&#39;s name, an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the relevant communication device  60 , a phone number for the communication device  60 , and/or an extension number for the communication device  60 . 
   Additionally, voicemail server  20   a  may also disable a default ringer of communication device  60   b  and/or other call indicators that communication device  60   b  may use to indicate to a user that communication device  60   b  is receiving a call. Voicemail server  20   a  may disable the default ringer and/or other call indicators in any appropriate manner based on the configuration and characteristics of voicemail server  20   a  and communication device  60   b . In a particular embodiment, voicemail server  20   a  disables the default ringer of communication device  60   b  by transmitting a HyperText Transfer Protocol (“HTTP”) message to communication device  60   b  that instructs communication device  60   b  not to use the default ringer to indicate any subsequent incoming calls. Furthermore, voicemail server  20   a  may configure communication device  60   b  to receive notifications from voicemail server  20   a  of incoming calls intended for communication device  60   b . Voicemail server  20   a  may configure communication device  60   b  in any appropriate manner based on the characteristics of communication device  60   b . For example, in particular embodiments, voicemail server  20   a  may transmit an HTTP request to communication device  60   b  that instructs communication device  60   b  to accept notifications from voicemail server  20   a  on a particular port of communication device  60   b.    
   After registration with call manager  30   a  and any appropriate configuration of communication device  60   b , voicemail server  20   a  begins monitoring communication between communication device  60   b  and other communication devices  60 . As a result of the voicemail server&#39;s registration with call manager  30   a , call manager  30   a  notifies voicemail server  20   a  of incoming calls to communication device  60   b  by transmitting caller identification information  90  to voicemail server  20   a . Thus, when another user (referred to here as “the calling party”) places a call to the user associated with communication device  60   b  (referred to here as the “called party”) voicemail server  20   a  receives caller identification information  90  from call manager  30   a . Voicemail server  20   a  may then attempt to match all or a portion of the received caller identification information  90  with any of a plurality of identifier messages  116  stored on or accessible by voicemail server  20   a . For example, in particular embodiments, voicemail server  20   a  stores a table  100  that includes a user record  110  for one or more users having voicemail accounts that are hosted by voicemail server  20   a . Each user record  110  may, in particular embodiments, include a user identifier  112 , such as a name, social security number, or other suitable identifier for a particular user, and/or a device identifier  114 , such as a phone number, extension, IP address or other suitable identifier, for a communication device  60  associated with that user. Each user record  110  may also include a stored identifier message  116  for the relevant user. Voicemail server  20   a  may match all or a portion of caller identification information  90  to a particular user record  110  in the table  100 , and access the stored identifier message  116  included in the matched user record  110 . This matching process is described in greater detail below with respect to  FIGS. 2A and 2B . 
   Stored identifier messages  116  may represent any suitable audio messages that identify the associated user in any appropriate manner and may be stored in any suitable format. In particular embodiments, each stored identifier message  116  comprises a digital recording, such as a WAV file, of the user stating his or her name. Furthermore, in particular embodiments of communication system  10 , each user records his or her name as part of the process for initializing their voicemail account. Voicemail server  20   a  then uses these recordings as part of the greeting that is played to callers when they are forwarded to a particular user&#39;s voicemail account. In such embodiments of communication system  10 , voicemail server  20  may also use these recordings as stored identifier messages  116  for the user who recorded the message, saving time and effort in the initialization process. 
   When voicemail server  20   a  subsequently receives caller identification information  90  from call manager  30   a , voicemail server  20   a  determines whether caller identification information  90  matches one of the stored identifier messages  116 . If voicemail server  20   a  determines that caller identification information  90  matches one of the stored identifier messages  116 , voicemail server  20   a  transmits the matched identifier message  116  to communication device  60   b  along with any appropriate additional information. Voicemail server  20   a  may also transmit additional audio information to communication device  60   b , such as an introductory phrase and/or tone, to be generated by communication device  60   b  in addition to the identifier message  116 . For example, when voicemail server  20   a  detects an incoming call from a “John Doe”, voicemail server  20   a  may transmit audio data that includes a beep and the phrase “Call from . . . ” along with John Doe&#39;s identifier message  116 , so that communication device  60   b , using its speaker, generates a beep followed by the message “Call from John Doe.” Voicemail server  20   a  may transmit identifier message  116  to communication device  60   b  in any appropriate manner based on the configuration and capabilities of voicemail server  20   a  and communication device  60   b . In particular embodiments, voicemail server  20   a  transmits identifier message  116  to a predetermined port of communication device  60   b  as a Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) stream  130 . 
   When communication device  60   b  receives stored identifier message  116 , communication device  60   b  may play stored identifier message  116  using a speaker or other suitable interface of communication device  60   b  to indicate that communication device  60   b  has received an incoming call. As a result, the stored identifier message  116  may serve as an indication to the called party that communication device  60   b  is receiving an incoming call. Moreover, because the stored identifier message  116  provides an audio identification of the calling party, the called party may be able determine whether to answer the incoming call and/or take any other appropriate actions, such as forwarding the call to voicemail, without approaching or turning to face communication device  60   b . In this regard, the use of an identifier  116  may replace a traditional ringing of a telephone. 
   If voicemail server  20   a  is unable to match caller identification information  90  with any stored identifier messages  116 , voicemail server  20   a  may instead use TTS module  28  to generate audio data representing artificial speech signals from all or a portion of caller identification information  90  for transmission to communication device  60   b . As one example, this may occur in particular embodiments for incoming calls received from communication devices  60  external to LAN  80 , such as communication devices  60   g - 60   i . Under such circumstances, TTS module  28  may generate audio data from any appropriate portion of caller identification information  90 . 
   For example, in particular embodiments, TTS module  28  of voicemail server  20   a  first determines whether a name is included in caller identification information  90 . If so, TTS module  28  generates speech data based on the name included in caller identification information  90 . If no name is included in caller identification information  90 , TTS module  28  generates audio data based on a telephone number included in caller identification information  90 . Moreover, if no name or telephone number are included in caller identification information  90 , TTS module  28  generates audio data based on any other appropriate portion of caller identification information  90 . After TTS module  28  generates audio data, voicemail server  20  transmits this audio data to communication device  60   b  in any appropriate manner based on the configuration and capabilities of voicemail server  20  and communication device  60   b . In particular embodiments, voicemail server  20  transmits the audio data to a predetermined port of communication device  60   b  as a Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) stream  130  in a similar manner to that described above with respect to the stored identifier message  116 . When communication device  60   b  receives the audio data generated by TTS module  28 , communication device  60   b  may play this audio data using a speaker or other suitable interface of communication device  60   b  to indicate that communication device  60   b  has received an incoming call. 
   Although the description above focuses on an example in which the caller and the called party both utilize communication devices  60  coupled to the same LAN  80 , particular embodiments of communication system  10  may be configured to provide the same functionality for calls between communication devices  60  coupled to different LANs  80  or between a communication device  60  couple to a particular LAN  80  and a communication device  60  coupled to PSTN  50 . For example, in particular embodiments of communication system  10 , voicemail server  20   a  may be configured to attempt to match caller identification information  90  associated with incoming calls from communication devices  60  that are external to LAN  80   a  in the same manner as voicemail server  20   a  does for calls from communication devices  60  coupled to LAN  80   a . As one example, if LAN  80  connects all of a company&#39;s communication devices  60 , voicemail server  20   a , in addition to storing office phone numbers for appropriate users, may maintain home phone numbers, mobile phone numbers, or other external phone numbers for one or more users having voicemail accounts hosted by voicemail server  20   a . When communication device  60   b  receives an incoming call from, for example, communication device  60   g , voicemail server  20   a  may be able to match a telephone number included in the received caller identification information  90  to a stored identifier message  116  associated with a particular user and may transmit the matched stored identifier message  116  to communication device  60   b , as described above. Additionally, voicemail server  20  may transmit additional audio information to communication device  60   b  indicating that the call is coming from an external number. For example, voicemail server  20  may precede stored identifier message  116  by audio data that will generate the phrase “External call from . . . ” when played by communication device  60   b.    
   Additionally, although the above description illustrates an example in which a particular voicemail server  20  monitors incoming calls to a single communication device  60 , voicemail servers  20  may be configured to monitor and process incoming calls to any appropriate number of communication devices  60  at one time. For example, a particular voicemail server  20  may be configured to monitor incoming calls for all communication devices  60  coupled to the LAN  80  in which voicemail server  20  is located. Additionally, the communication devices  60  that a particular voicemail server  20  monitors may be predetermined and fixed or may be determined dynamically during operation as appropriate based on the configuration and characteristics of communication system  10 . 
   Thus, communication system  10  supports the use of a call indicator that provides useful information about the calling party. Moreover, particular embodiments of voicemail server  20  may provide robust functionality capable of generating the call indicator based on whatever information is available in caller identification information  90 . Additionally, because this call indicator can be generated based on audio data already recorded for use with voicemail services supported by communication system  10 , communication system  10  may limit the amount of time and effort needed to configure voicemail server  20  to provide this call indicator. Furthermore, in particular embodiments of communication system  10 , the call indicator is played using existing hardware of communication device  60 , eliminating the need to add to or modify the hardware in communication system  10 . In this regard, communication system  10  provides several benefits. Various embodiments of communication system  10  may exhibit some, none, or all of these benefits. 
     FIGS. 2A and 2B  illustrate operation of a particular embodiment of a voicemail server  20  in matching caller identification information  90  to a particular identifier message  116  when a call is placed to communication device  60   b . In particular,  FIGS. 2A and 2B  illustrate a portion of a table  100  stored in memory  24  of a particular voicemail server  20  that includes a plurality of user records  110 . Each user record  110  includes a user identifier  112 , a device identifier  114 , and a stored identifier message  116 . Upon receiving caller identification information  90  from call manager  30 , VA module  26  attempts to match all or a portion of caller identification information  90  to a user identifier  112 , a device identifier  114 , and/or any other appropriate element of a user record  110 . For example, in the illustrated embodiment, caller identification information  90  includes a phone extension for a communication device  60  calling communication device  60   b  and additional information. In the illustrated embodiment, VA module  26  extracts the extension from caller identification information  90  and attempts to match this extension to device identifiers  114  in user records  110 . 
   If caller identification information  90  matches the device identifier  114  in one of user records  110 , as is the case in the example illustrated by  FIG. 2A , voicemail server  20  accesses the stored identifier message  116  in the matched user record  110 . Voicemail server  20  may then transmit the relevant stored identifier message  116  to communication device  60   b  in an appropriate manner based on the configuration and capabilities of voicemail server  20  and communication device  60   b.    
   In the example shown in  FIG. 2A , voicemail server  20  matches a phone number in caller identification information  90  to the device identifier  114  in user record  110   d . As a result, voicemail server  20  accesses the stored identifier message  116  stored in user record  110   d . Voicemail server  20  then transmits stored identifier message  116   d  to communication device  60   b . In the illustrated example, voicemail server  20  packetizes audio data in stored identifier message  116  and transmits the packetized audio data to communication device  60   b  as part of an RTP stream  130 . 
   If, instead, caller identification information  90  does not match the device identifier  114  in any of the user records  110  stored in table  100 , as is the case in the example illustrated by  FIG. 2B , voicemail server  20  generates audio data  140  based on caller identification information  90  using TTS module  28 . As noted above with respect to  FIG. 1 , TTS module  28  may generate audio data  140  based on any appropriate portion of caller identification information  90 . Voicemail server  20  may then transmit the audio data  140  to communication device  60   b  in an appropriate manner based on the configuration and capabilities of voicemail server  20  and communication device  60   b.    
   In the example shown in  FIG. 2B , the phone number received as part of caller identification information  90  does not match the device identifier  114  in any of user records  110 . As a result, TTS module  28  generates audio data  140  based on an appropriate portion of caller identification information  90 . In the illustrated example, TTS module  28  generates speech data based on a caller name included in caller identification information  90 . Thus, audio data  140  represents data describing speech signals generated by TTS module  28  from the text “Henry Adams.” Voicemail server  20  then transmits audio data  140  to communication device  60   b . In the illustrated example, voicemail server  20  packetizes audio data  140  and transmits the packetized audio data  140  to communication device  60   b  as part of an RTP stream  130 . 
     FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating an example operation of voicemail server  20  according to a particular embodiment. In particular,  FIG. 3  illustrates operation of voicemail server  20  in selecting a stored identifier message  116  for calls to a particular communication device  60  (referred to here as the “called communication device  60 ”) and transmitting the selected stored identifier message  116  to the called communication device  60 . Although  FIG. 3  illustrates operation of an embodiment of voicemail server  20  that performs particular steps in a particular order, alternative embodiments may omit any of these steps or include any appropriate additional steps and may perform the illustrated steps in any appropriate order. 
   The described operation begins at step  300  where voicemail server  20  initiates a communication link  82  with call manager  30  to monitor call signaling messages and/or other types of messages that are transmitted to or from one or more of the communication devices  60  supported by call manager  30 . In particular embodiments, communication link  82  comprises a Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) link that voicemail server  20  establishes using a Java Telephony Application Programming Interface (JTAPI) interface  84 . After establishing communication link  82 , voicemail server  20 , at step  310 , registers with call manager  30  to be notified of incoming calls to the called communication device  60 . For example, voicemail server  20  may register to be notified of all SIP invitations sent to the called communication device  60 . 
   Voicemail server  20  disables a default ringer of the called communication device  60  at step  320 . In particular embodiments, voicemail server  20  may disable the default ringer by transmitting an HTTP message to the called communication device  60  that instructs the called communication device  60  to deactivate the default ringer and that specifies a port of the called communication device  60  on which voicemail server  20  will transmit call indicator information to the called communication device  60 . After any appropriate configuration of the called communication device  60 , voicemail server  20  monitors messages received by call manager  30  that are transmitted to and from the called communication device  60 , at step  330 . 
   At step  340 , voicemail server  20  receives notification from call manager  30  that call manger  30  has received a SIP invite for the called communication device  20 . The notification may include caller identification information  90 . Moreover, caller identification information  90  may include a name of the caller, a phone number for the caller, and/or any other appropriate information about the caller. Voicemail server  20  determines whether the caller identification information  90  matches any of a plurality of stored identifiers maintained by voicemail server  20  at step  350 . In doing so, voicemail server  20  may attempt to match caller identification information  90  to a user identifier  112 , a device identifier  114 , and/or any other appropriate identifier included in a particular user record  110 , based on the configuration of voicemail server  20  and the contents of caller identification information  90 . 
   If voicemail server  20  determines that caller identification information  90  matches one of the stored identifiers, voicemail server  20  transmits a stored identifier message  116  associated with the matched stored identifier to the called communication device  60  at step  360 . In particular embodiments, voicemail server  20  transmits the associated stored identifier message  116  to a predetermined port of the called communication device  60  as Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) stream  130 . Voicemail server  20  may also transmit additional audio information to the called communication device  60 , such as an introductory phrase and/or tone, to be generated by the called communication device  60  in addition to the stored identifier message  116 . When the called communication device  60  receives the selected stored identifier message  116 , the called communication device  60  may play this audio data using a speaker or other suitable interface of the called communication device  60  to indicate that the called communication device  60  has received an incoming call. 
   If voicemail server  20  is unable to match caller identification information  90  with any stored identifier messages  116 , as determined at step  350 , execution proceeds to step  370  where voicemail server  20  determines whether caller identification information  90  includes a caller name. If so, voicemail server  20  generates, using TTS module  28 , audio data  140  based on the caller name at step  380 . If voicemail server  20  determines no caller name is included in caller identification information  90 , voicemail server  20  generates, using TTS module  28 , audio data  140  based on a telephone number included in caller identification information  90  at step  390 . After generating audio data  140 , voicemail server  20  transmits this audio data  140  to the called communication device  60  at step  400 . In particular embodiments, voicemail server  20  transmits the audio data  140  to a predetermined port of the called communication device  60  as RTP stream  130 . When the called communication device  60  receives audio data  140  generated by TTS module  28 , the called communication device  60  may play this audio data  140  using a speaker or other suitable interface of the called communication device  60  to indicate that the called communication device  60  has received an incoming call. 
   Although the present invention has been described with several embodiments, a myriad of changes, variations, alterations, transformations, and modifications may be suggested to one skilled in the art, and it is intended that the present invention encompass such changes, variations, alterations, transformations, and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.