Patent Publication Number: US-2005123111-A1

Title: Method and system to process a request for communication between a calling device and a called device

Description:
CLAIM OF PRIORITY  
      This application claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/489,067 filed Jul. 21, 2003 which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates generally to the field of communications and, more specifically, to a method and system to process a request for communication between a calling device and a called device.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Calls often need to be made from a calling device to a called device, e.g. from one telephone to another, where the calling device does not pay for the call. Typically, in these circumstances, a collect call is made from the calling device to the call device. However, in certain circumstances, collect calling may be blocked or a collect call account threshold may be reached and, accordingly, the call from the calling device is thus terminated. For example, collect calls may not be completed to called devices if the local service of the called device is provided by a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC). Recent studies have shown that approximately eight percent of access lines in the U.S.A. are being served by CLECs and, in certain densely populated regions such as New York or states where local competition is encouraged by state regulatory bodies, this percentage may be as high as twenty five percent. In circumstances where a home telephone number is being serviced by a CLEC, the user of the called device may be faced with a decision of either transferring back to an incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) for local service thereby allowing collect calls to complete and appear on their local telephone bill, or not receive collect calls.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      A method and system to process a request for communication between a calling device and a called device, e.g., two telephones, are provided. The method includes receiving the request from the calling device at a communication processor and establishing a communication link between the communication processor and the called device. The called device is then provided with a prepayment option to pay funds into a client account and the called device is monitored for selection of the prepayment option. The called device is then connected to a prepayment facility when the prepayment option is selected.  
      In certain embodiments, connecting the called device to the prepayment facility includes establishing a communication link to the prepayment facility without terminating the communication link between the communication processor and the called device. The method may include providing the called device with an option to accept or terminate the request to communicate from the calling device prior to providing the called device with the prepayment option.  
      The invention extends to a machine-readable medium including instructions that, when executed on a machine, cause the machine to execute any one of the methodologies described herein.  
      Other features of the present invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description which follows.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The invention is now described, by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which like reference numerals indicate the same or similar features, unless otherwise indicated.  
      In the drawings,  
       FIG. 1  shows a schematic block diagram of a communication system in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 2  shows a schematic flow diagram of a method, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, for communicating between a calling device and a called device;  
       FIG. 3  shows a more detailed schematic flow diagram of the method of  FIG. 2 ;  
       FIG. 4  shows exemplary prepaid collect validation functionality of the method;  
       FIG. 5  shows dialed number frequency threshold functionality of the method;  
       FIG. 6  shows a schematic flow diagram of trunk routing and dialing functionality of the method;  
       FIG. 7  shows a schematic flow diagram of call answering functionality of the method;  
       FIG. 8  shows a schematic flow diagram of prepaid acceptance functionality of the method;  
       FIG. 9  shows a schematic flow diagram of collect call acceptance functionality of the method; and  
       FIG. 10  shows a schematic block diagram of a machine in the exemplary form of a computer system within which a set of instructions, for causing the machine to perform any one of the methodologies discussed herein, may be executed.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
      Referring to the drawings, reference numeral  10  generally indicates a communication system for processing a request for communication between a calling device  12  (e.g. a telephone) and a called device  14  (e.g. a telephone) via a call processor  16 . As described in more detail below, the call processor  16  is operable to connect the called device  14  to a prepayment facility  18  in an automated and seamless fashion without human intervention e.g. by way of a conference bridge. The system  10  further includes an optional line number validation facility  20  and the call processor  16  includes a prepayment module  22  with its associated processing tables  24 . The line number validation facility  20  and the prepayment facility  18  may be located remotely from the call processor  16 . For the purpose of illustration only, the system  10  is described in a correctional services environment where inmates in a prison use the calling device  12  to communicate with other persons such as family and friends using the called device  14 .  
      The system  10  allows the called party to establish a prepayment account at the call processor  16  via the prepayment facility  18 . The call processor  16  may be located at the prison and, in certain embodiments, include conventional telecommunication components used in the correctional services environment.  
      Referring in particular to  FIG. 2 , reference numeral  30  generally indicates an exemplary method, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, for processing a request for communication between the calling device  12  and the called device  14 . When a call initiator such as a prison inmate, uses the calling device  12  to make a telephone call, he or she dials the desired telephone number as shown at block  32 . The call processor  16  may request the inmate to provide identification details such as a personal access number and, in response thereto, the call processor  16  interrogates the processing tables  24  to determine whether or not the inmate is permitted to be placed in communication with the dialed number (see block  34 ). For example, the inmate may be provided with twenty telephone numbers which he or she is permitted to call such as family members, legal services, or the like. Further, certain telephone numbers may be barred such as, for example, a telephone number of a warden of the prison, a judge, any witnesses in a trial, or the like.  
      If the inmate is not allowed to make the telephone call (see decision block  36 ), then the call is terminated as shown at block  40 . If, however, the inmate is allowed to make the telephone call to the dialed number, then the call processor  16  checks with the line number validation facility  20  to ascertain whether or not a collect call can made be made to the dialed number (see block  42 ). As shown at decision block  44 , if a collect call can be made, then the call is completed as a collect call as shown at block  46 .  
      If, however, a collect call cannot be made (e.g. the called device  14  is associated with a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) or a collect call threshold has been reached) then the call processor  16  establishes a restricted call to the called device  14  (see block  48 ). The inmate, via the calling device  12 , is connected to the called party via the called device  14  (see block  50 ). In certain embodiments, the calling device  12  and called device  14  are only connected for a short duration (e.g. about one minute) whereafter, as shown at block  52 , a pre-determined message is played to the called party via the called device  14 . In certain embodiments, the calling device  12  may remain connected during playing of the predetermined message to the called party.  
      The pre-determined message provides the called party with an option to automatically establish a connection to the prepayment facility  18  (see block  54 ) thereby to allow the inmate to place a subsequent call in a prepaid fashion. In order to allow the called party to select this prepayment option, the call processor  16  monitors user input on the called device  14 , e.g., DTMF tones, as shown at block  56 . When a user presses a predetermined number on a keypad of the called device  14 , e.g. the number  8 , the call processor  16  then establishes a call (e.g. via the communications module  61 ) to the prepayment facility  18  without dropping the communication link which it has with the called device  14  (see block  58 ).  
      The prepayment facility  18  then processes the request from the called party either in a manual or automated fashion and, as described in more detail below, obtains payment information from the called party as shown at block  60 . Thereafter, the prepayment facility  18  communicates the payment transaction data to the call processor  16  which then adjust a client account  62  associated with the particular inmate. In certain embodiments, the client account  62  may only be used to make a telephone call to the party establishing the account.  
      Referring in particular to  FIGS. 3-9  of the drawings, reference numeral  70  generally indicates a more detailed schematic flow diagram of an exemplary method  30  of processing a request for communication between the calling device  12  and the called device  14 . As shown at  72 , when an inmate uses a telephone (which defines the calling device  12 ), he or she enters the desired telephone number into the telephone as shown at  74  and, thereafter, the communication processor  16  processes the call as shown at  76 . If the telephone call is identified as a call that may not be recorded by the call processor  16 , e.g. a call to a legal advisor, a non-recording flag is set at block  78 . Thereafter, as shown at decision block  80 , the inmate may enter his or her personal access number (PAN) which the call processor  16  then verifies using a database table, e.g. the processing tables  24  of  FIG. 1 . If, the PAN which the inmate has entered is blocked or is invalid, then the method returns to block  74  as shown by line  82 , thereby allowing the inmate optionally to enter a further PAN. If, however, the PAN is valid and the call has not been blocked, the method  70  then checks an automatic number identification (ANI) database table to determine whether or not the call is a blocked call or if the call is a free call (see decision block  84 .) If the call is a free call e.g. a call to a legal services provider, then an override is generated for a free call as shown at  86 . Returning to decision block  84 , in certain embodiments, the non-recording flags may be once again set as shown at block  88 .  
      Prior to establishing a telephone connection to the called device  14 , the call processor  16  may perform several checks. As shown at block  90 , the call processor  16  checks whether or not a block bypass database table for the dialed number exists and, if so, it then sets a “block bypass” flag (see block  92 ) whereafter the method  70  proceeds to prepaid collect call functionality  94  (see  FIG. 4 ). Returning to decision block  90 , if, however, the dialed number is not provided in the block bypass database table, then the call processor  16  checks to determine whether or not a prepaid account for the particular personal access number (PAN) exists (see block  96 ). If a prepaid account does exist, then the prepaid collect call functionality  94  is executed.  
      If, however, a prepaid account associated with the PAN does not exist, then as shown at block  98  the call processor  16  checks a blocked number database for the dialed number to determine whether or not the dialed number has been blocked. If the dialed number has been blocked, as shown by line  100  the method  70  returns to block  74  allowing the inmate to optionally enter a further telephone number.  
      If, however, the ANI or dialed number is not present in the blocked number database table, then the method  70  proceeds to check a network database table to see if the dialed number corresponds with other telephone numbers that may be blocked. If the dialed number has been blocked, as shown by line  104 , then the method  70  returns to block  74  where the inmate may optionally enter a further telephone number. If, however, the dialed number or ANI is not in the blocked database table (see block  102 ), then the call processor  16  checks a rate file for enabling rules at decision block  104 . The enabling rules may include a rate charge, whether or not a collect call may be placed, the maximum value of a call that may be placed to avoid exceeding any billing thresholds, and the like. Failure at decision block  104  returns the caller to block  74  thereby providing the inmate with the option of dialing a further number. If, however, the call is not terminated at decision block  104 , then the call processor  16  checks a billing threshold (e.g., has a maximum balance been exceeded) as shown at decision block  106 . If a billing threshold violation occurs, then the inmate is provided with an option to proceed with the call so that the called party may establish a prepaid call account, as shown at decision block  108 . If the establishment of a prepaid collect account is not selected at decision block  108 , then the method  70  returns to block  74  as shown by line  110 . If, however, the inmate selects to proceed with the call so that the called party may selectively establish a prepaid account, a billing threshold block flag is set at block  112  whereafter a dialed number frequency threshold check  114  is performed (see  FIG. 5 ).  
      Returning to decision block  106 , if the billing threshold has not been reached, then the call processor  16  checks at decision block  116  whether or not validation of the dialed number (ANI), by the line number validation facility  20 , has or has not been enabled. If validation by the line number validation facility  20  is required, a validation cache of valid telephone numbers is first checked at decision block  118  and, if the appropriate information is not cached, then the method  70  proceeds to contact the line number validation facility  20  as shown at block  120 .  
      In particular, the ANI or dialed number is provided to the line number validation facility as shown by line  122  in  FIG. 1 . The validation facility  20  then checks its internal database to determine whether or not the ANI or dialed number is associated with a CLEC and, accordingly, a collect call may thus not be placed. If the line number validation facility  20  returns a positive validation (see decision block  124 ) then the method  70  proceeds to execute trunk routing and dialing functionality  126  (see  FIG. 6 ). Returning to decision block  118 , if a pre-block exists on the ANI, the method  70  proceeds to decision block  128  to determine whether or not the call processor  16  is required to set up a prepaid account. If at decision block  128  the call processor  16  is not required to set up a prepaid account then the call is terminated at block  130 . If, however, the call processor  16  is required to set up a prepaid account, then the method proceeds to execute the prepaid collect call functionality  94  of  FIG. 4 .  
      Returning to decision block  116 , if the external validation of the ANI by the line number validation facility  20  is not enabled, then the method proceeds to decision block  132  and, if a prepaid account is to be set up, then the method  70  proceeds to the prepaid call collect functionality  94 . If, however, a prepaid account already exists or is not required to be set up, then the method  70  proceeds to the trunk routing and dialing functionality  126 .  
      Referring in particular to  FIG. 4 , the call processor  16  when executing the prepaid collect validation functionality  94  sets a bill type to prepaid (see block  134 ) whereafter it checks a rate file at block  136  to determine whether or not a particular rate has been blocked or if no rate is provided for the particular call and, if so, the method  70  returns to block  74  of  FIG. 3 . A rate block may be defined by a person creating the prepaid account, e.g. the called party. If, however, there is no rate block and the particular rate for the call can be identified, then the functionality  94  proceeds to determine if there are sufficient funds in the prepaid account to complete the call (see block  138 ). For example, the functionality  94  may determine a minimum balance required to complete at least one minute of the call as well as determine a maximum balance in the prepaid account to compute a maximum duration of the call. Thereafter, as shown at decision block  140 , the prepayment module  22  checks the block bypass flag (see block  92  in  FIG. 3 ) and, if the flag is set, then the functionality  94  proceeds to execute the trunk routing and dialing functionality  126  (see  FIG. 6 ). If, however, the block bypass flag is not set, then the prepayment module  22  checks to ascertain whether or not there is an existing prepaid account at block  142  and, if not, then sets a flag indicating “new account” notification call thereby to ensure that an appropriate voice message or notification is played to the called device  14  upon establishing a connection between the call processor  16  and called device  14  (see block  144 ). In addition, the prepayment module  22  also executes the ANI frequency threshold check functionality  114 .  
      Returning to block  142 , if an existing prepaid account exists, then the account is checked for a zero balance at block  146  and, if a zero balance is identified, a flag for the “zero balance” notification call (see block  148 ) is set so that an appropriate message is then played to the called party. Returning to block  146 , if the balance in the prepaid account exceeds zero, then the prepayment module  22  checks if there are sufficient funds to complete the call as shown at block  150 . If there are sufficient or adequate finds, then the trunk routing and dialing functionality  126  is executed. If, however, there are insufficient funds then the flag for a non-sufficient funds “NSF” notification is set for an appropriate notification call as shown at block  152 . After the appropriate flags have been set at blocks  144 ,  148  and  152 , the ANI frequency threshold functionality  126  is executed.  
      Referring in particular to  FIG. 5 , the ANI frequency threshold functionality  114  monitors to see the number of calls which the inmate makes over a given time period and, if the frequency of the calls exceeds a predetermined value, then the current call is terminated. In particular, as shown at decision block  154 , the prepayment module  22  compares the number of calls made by the inmate over a given period with an ANI frequency threshold and, if the threshold is exceeded, then the prepayment module  22  at decision block  156  checks a prepaid zero balance flag (see block  148  in  FIG. 6 ) to identify whether or not the balance of the prepaid account is zero. If the balance of the prepaid account is zero, then at block  158  an appropriate prepaid zero balance prompt is communicated to the calling device  12  so that the inmate may be appropriately informed.  
      If, however, the prepaid balance flag is not set, then the prepayment module  22  checks the prepaid NSF balance flag (see block  152  in  FIG. 4 ) to identify whether or not there are sufficient funds in the prepaid client account  62  to complete the call (see decision block  160 ). If the prepaid NSF balance flag is set (e.g. there are insufficient funds in the prepaid client account  62 ) then an appropriate message is played to the inmate at  162  to indicate that there are insufficient funds remaining in the prepaid account.  
      If, however, the prepaid NSF balance flag is not set, then the prepayment module  22  at decision block  164  checks to determine whether or not a billing threshold flag has been set (see block  112  in  FIG. 3 ) and, if so, then a further appropriate message at block  166  may be played to the inmate. Following the playing of the messages in blocks  158 ,  162  and  160 , the call is terminated as shown at  168 .  
      When the prepayment module  22  executes the trunk routing and dialing functionality  126 , it first checks the routing at block  170  and thereafter at block  172  checks for an available trunk for establishing the communication link to the called device  14 . If no trunk is available, then the call is terminated as shown at  174 . If, however, a trunk is available for establishing a call, then the call processor  16  detects whether or not a dial tone is present at block  176  and, if no dial tone is present, the functionality  126  reverts to block  172 . If, however, a dial tone is detected, then the call processor  16  may read dialing rules and an output pulse as shown at block  178  and thereafter detect or monitor call progress at  180 . If the called device  14  cannot be reached, the call is terminated at  174 . If, however, the call processor  16  detects that the call has been answered (see block  182 ) then the bill type is checked and any set-up alerts that may be required are implemented as shown at block  184 . Thereafter, the call functionality is executed as described below with reference to  FIG. 7 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 7 , at decision block  186 , the call processor  22  identifies whether the call is a collect call (see block  188 ), a prepaid call (see block  190 ), a debit call (see block  192 ) or a free call (see block  194 ). If the call is a collect call, then the collect accept functionality  196  (see also  FIG. 9 ) is executed, if the call is a prepaid call, then the prepaid accept functionality  198  (see also  FIG. 8 ) is executed, if the call is a debit call then conventional debit calling functionality (not shown) may be executed, or if the call is a free call then conventional free accept call functionality may be implemented.  
      Referring in particular to  FIG. 9 , when the call processor  16  performs the collect accept functionality  196 , a greeting is played to the called party via his or her called device  14  as shown at block  198 . Typically, the greeting is followed by an option to accept or reject the call, an option to block the call, an option to identify a rate associated with the call, or the like. The message played to the called party indicates which particular digits on his or her called device  14  should be pressed or activated to identify a particular response. As mentioned above, typically the call processor  16  uses DTMF tones to identify which particular option has been selected by the called party thus, at decision block  200 , the call processor  16  identifies which particular option has been selected by the called party.  
      If the called party selects a party block at decision block  200 , then the call processor  16  plays an appropriate blocked message to the inmate and an appropriate blocked message to the called party as shown at block  202 , whereafter the call is terminated at  204 . If, however, the called party selects a rate request, then as shown by line  206  the call processor  16  plays an appropriate message indicating the rate per duration to the inmate and called party as shown at block  208 .  
      Returning to decision block  200 , if the called party accepts the call then, as shown at block  210 , the call processor  16  identifies if the non-record flag has been set (see blocks  78  and  88  of  FIG. 3 ) and, thereafter, checks for any alert flags as shown at  212 . If the alert flags are set or the non-record flag has been set, then user defined process alerts may be preformed as shown at  214 . If, however, the non-record flag or alert flags are not set, then the call processor  16  checks the billing threshold block flag (see block  112  in  FIG. 3 ) as shown at block  216 . If a billing threshold flag has been set, then an appropriate message (see above) regarding a branded call is played to both the inmate and the called party at  218  followed by a billing threshold block message at block  220 . Thereafter, the call may be terminated at  204 .  
      Returning to block  216 , if there is no billing threshold block, then a branded call maybe played to both the called party as well as the inmate as shown at block  222  whereafter the inmate and called party are connected to allow communication between them as shown at  224 . Typically, the communication between the inmate and the called party is allowed to exist for about a minute and, accordingly as shown at block  226  an appropriate message may then be played. If the called party at block  200  refuses to accept the call or hangs up, as well as after the message is played to the inmate and called party at  226  further appropriate messages at  228  may be played whereafter call is terminated at  204 .  
      As shown at block  94  in  FIGS. 3 and 7 , a called party at the called device  14  may use a keypad of the called device  14  to accept the call and to be automatically connected to the prepayment facility  18  so that funds may be transferred to the client account  62  thereby to enable the inmate associated with the client account  62  to make a prepaid telephone call.  
      Referring in particular to  FIG. 8 , the prepaid accept functionality  198  is shown in more detail. As shown at block  230  the processor  16  first plays an appropriate greeting to the called party and then plays an accept, reject, block, rate, or the like so that the called party may select the appropriate option using a keypad of the called device  14  (see also block  198  of  FIG. 9 ).  
      In certain embodiments once the prepaid client account  62  has been established and the Prepaid Service Provider platform has notified the call processor  16  of the payment amount, prepaid collect calls can be completed to the number. An exemplary voice greeting may be as follows: 
          “Hello, this is a prepaid collect call from [inmate name] at the [facility name] your current account balance is [amount]. To accept this call, dial ‘3’. To refuse this call, dial ‘9’, or hang-up now. For a rate quote on this call, dial ‘4’. To block your number from further calls from this facility, dial ‘7’.”       

      As in case of block  200  of  FIG. 9 , at block  232  of  FIG. 8  the called party either accepts, rejects, blocks or asks for a rate and, if a rate is requested, an appropriate voice prompt is played to both the inmate and called party as shown at blocks  234  and  230 . If the called party blocks the call, then, as shown at block  236  a similar voice prompt to that played at block  202  of  FIG. 9  may be provided to the called party and the inmate, whereafter the call terminates at block  204 . If, however, the called party accepts the call, then the new account notification flag is checked at block  238  and, if the flag is set thereby indicating a new account is required, the processor  16  then sets up the new account with a zero balance as shown at block  240 . Thereafter, an appropriate prepaid account message is played to both the inmate and the called party as shown at block  242  whereafter, as shown at decision block  244  if a complimentary talk feature is not enabled, then the call is terminated, as shown by line  246  and block  204 . If, however, complimentary talk feature is enabled, then an appropriate message may be played to both the inmate and the caller at block  248  whereafter the inmate and the called party are connected at block  250 . Once the call has ended, then, as shown at block  252 , an appropriate message or voice prompt is played to the inmate and the called party whereafter the call terminates as shown at block  204 .  
      Returning to block  238 , if the new account notification flag (see block  144  in  FIG. 4 ) is not set, then as shown at block  254 , the call processor  16  checks the zero balance notification flag is set (see block  148  in  FIG. 4 ). If the zero balance notification flag is set, then as shown at block  256 , an appropriate message or voice prompt may be played to both the inmate and the called party to indicate that the balance in the client account  62  is zero and, accordingly, the call cannot be completed (see exemplary message above). After the message has been played at block  256 , the call processor  16  terminates the call  204  as shown by line  258 . If, however, the zero balance notification flag is not set, then the call processor  16  checks to determine whether or not the NSF notification flag is set at block  260  (see also block  152  of  FIG. 4 ). If the NSF notification flag is set, then the call processor  16  may play an appropriate message to both the inmate and the called party at block  262  to provide them with the current balance of the client account  62 .  
      Returning to block  260 , if the NSF notification flag is not set, then advertising material or the like e.g. details of a particular brand, are played to both the inmate and the called party as shown at block  264 . Thereafter, as shown at block  266  the call from the inmate to the called party is connected. When there are only sufficient funds remaining for one minute of connection time, then as shown at block  268 , an appropriate one minute remaining voice prompt or message is played to the inmate and called party whereafter the call terminates at  204 .  
      If, however, the called party rejects the call by entering an appropriate digit on his or her telephone, then as shown at block  270  the call is immediately terminated. In certain embodiments of the invention, the funds in the prepayment account  62  may only be used to call the called party who set up the prepaid account  62 . Thus, a separate prepaid account may be set up for a number of different authorized telephone numbers that the inmate may call. Each time a call is made to a particular telephone number, the prepaid account  62  associated with the particular called party may then be debited.  
      In certain embodiments, the called party or party establishing the prepaid account  62  may terminate the account and obtain a refund of any remaining balance in the prepaid account  62 . The call processor  16  may also track account balances to identify accounts that have been dormant for any predetermined time period. In these circumstances the refund process may be triggered.  
      In certain embodiments, following the delivery of a new account notification to the called party and the termination of the call, a prepaid client account  62  may be established at the call processor  16  with a $0.00 balance. The next time the inmate attempts to call a number associated with the account, he or she may receive the following exemplary voice prompt: 
          “The number you have dialed cannot be called until your party makes payment arrangements with Prepaid Service Provider at 888-123-4567. Please allow sufficient time for the called party to deposit funds”       

      In one embodiment the above voice prompt will only be played if the inmate initiates a call associated with a $0.00 balance account within a predetermined number of minutes of the previous accepted call to that same number.  
      If a call is made that is associated with a $0.00 balance account after the predetermined number of minutes has lapsed, the call may then be completed to the called party. After the called party answers and accepts the collect call, e.g., by dialing ‘3’ on their keypad, the call processor  16  may notify the called party that collect calls cannot be completed to this number and that an account relationship must be established with the Prepaid Service Provider. An exemplary voice prompt may be as follows: 
          “We are sorry, but payment arrangements must be made with Prepaid Service provider before you can receive collect calls from this facility. Please contact Prepaid Service Provider at 888-123-4567 as soon as possible. To repeat this information, press ‘0’.”       

      A further exemplary voice prompt may be as follows: 
          “Stay on the line and press ‘8’ to be connected to a Prepaid Service Provider”.        

      The inmate may be disconnected after the called party presses ‘8’ on their keypad. An option to repeat the information may be provided as follows: 
          “To repeat this information, press ‘0’.”       

      The inmate may be disconnected after the first playing of this prompt, however the prompt may be available to the called party until the call processor  16  detects hang-up or silence for 10 seconds.  
      In certain embodiments, once the funds in the prepaid client account  62  have been exhausted, and after the called party answers and accepts the call, e.g. by dialing ‘3’ on their keypad, the call processor  16  may deliver the following notification to the called party: 
          “We are sorry, but your prepaid account balance is not sufficient to allow collect calling from this facility. Please contact Prepaid Service Provider at 888-123-4567 at your earliest convenience. To repeat this information, press ‘0’.”       

      A further exemplary voice prompt may be as follow: 
          “Stay on the line and press ‘8’ to be connected to a Prepaid Service Provider.”       

      The inmate may be disconnected after the called party presses ‘8’ on their keypad. An option may be provided to repeat the information by pressing ‘0’ on the called device  14 .  
      The inmate may be disconnected after the first playing of the above prompt, however, the prompt may be available to the called party until the call processor  16  detects hang-up or silence for 10 seconds.  
      If the call is initiated to an NSF balance account within a predetermined number of minutes of the previous call to the same number, the inmate may hear the following prompt: 
          “The number you have dialed cannot be called until your party deposits additional funds with Prepaid Service Provider at 888-123-4567. Please allow sufficient time for the called party to deposit funds”       

      If the call is initiated to an NSF balance account after the predetermined number of minutes has lapsed, the call may be completed to the called party. After the called party answers and accepts the collect call by dialing ‘3’ on their keypad, the call processor  16  may deliver the following notification to the called party: 
          “We are sorry, but your prepaid account balance is not sufficient to allow collect calling from this facility. Please contact Prepaid Service Provider at 888-123-4567 at your earliest convenience. To repeat this information, press ‘0’.”       

      The prompt may also include the following: 
          “Stay on the line and press ‘8’ to be connected to a Prepaid Service Provider.”       

      The inmate will be disconnected after the called party presses ‘8’ on their keypad. An option may be provided to repeat the information.  
      The inmate can be disconnected after the first playing of the above prompt, however, the prompt may be available to the called party until the call processor  16  detects hang-up or silence for 10 seconds.  
      In certain embodiments, once a collect calling account has reached its credit limit or threshold, rather than blocking the call, the call processor  16  may deliver the voice notification set out below to the called party. After the called party answers and accepts the collect call by dialing ‘3’ on their keypad, the call processor  16  may notify the called party that they have reached their credit limit and must establish an account arrangement with Prepaid Service Provider. 
          “We are sorry, but your number has exceeded its credit limit for collect calling from this facility. Please contact a Prepaid Service Provider at 888-123-4567 at your earliest convenience for payment arrangements. To repeat this information, press ‘0’.”       

      The voice notification may include the following prompt: 
          “Stay on the line and press ‘8’ to be connected to a Prepaid Service Provider.”       

      The inmate may be disconnected after the called party presses ‘8’ on their keypad and be provided with an option to repeat the information.  
      The inmate may be disconnected after the first playing of this prompt, however the prompt may be available to the called party until the system detects hang-up or silence for 10 seconds.  
      If a call is initiated to a billing threshold account within a predetermined number of minutes of the previous call to the same number, the inmate may hear the following prompt: 
          “The number you have dialed has exceeded its credit limit on collect calls and cannot be called until your party makes prior payment arrangements. Your party should establish a prepaid account with a Prepaid Service Provider at 888-123-4567 to allow collect calling. Please allow sufficient time for the called party to deposit funds”       

      If the call is initiated to the billing threshold account after the predetermined number of minutes has lapsed, the call may be completed to the called party. After the called party answers and accepts the collect call, e.g., by dialing ‘3’ on their keypad, the call processor  16  may deliver the following notification to the called party: 
          “We are sorry, but your number has exceeded its credit limit for collect calling from this facility. Please contact a Prepaid Service Provider at 888-123-4567 at your earliest convenience for payment arrangements. To repeat this information, press ‘0’.        

      The following voice prompt may be included: 
          “Stay on the line and press ‘8’ to be connected to a Prepaid Service Provider.”       

      The inmate may be disconnected after the called party presses ‘8’ on their keypad and be provided with an option to repeat the information.  
      The inmate may be disconnected after the first playing of this prompt, however, the prompt may be available to the called party until the call processor  16  detects hang-up or silence for 10 seconds.  
      In certain embodiments, new account (e.g. called party) is identified as prepaid based upon a response code from the line number validation facility  20 . After the called party answers and accepts the collect call by dialing ‘3’ on their keypad, the call processor  16  may notify the called party that collect calls cannot be completed to this number and that an account relationship must be established with a Prepaid Service Provider. For example the following voice message may be played: 
          “We are sorry, but due to billing issues, your telephone number cannot receive collect calls from this facility [the facility name may be played after the party originally answered] without prior arrangements with the telephone service provider. Please contact a Prepaid Service Provider at 888-123-4567 at your earliest convenience. To repeat this information, press ‘0’.”       

      The message may include the following prompt: 
          “Stay on the line for a short one-time complimentary connection with your caller.” or     “Stay on the line and press ‘8’ to be connected to a Prepaid Service Provider.”       

      The inmate may be disconnected after the called party presses ‘8’ on their keypad.  
      At the end of the complimentary talk time the following may be played: 
          “Your time for this complimentary call is over. Please remember that your telephone number cannot receive collect calls from this facility without making prior arrangements with the Prepaid Service Provider. Please call Prepaid Service Provider at 888-123-4567 at your earliest convenience. To repeat this information, press ‘0’.”       

      The voice prompt may include the following: 
          “Stay on the line and press ‘8’ to be connected to a Prepaid Service Provider.”       

      The inmate may be disconnected after the called party presses ‘8’ on their keypad and be provided with an option to repeat the information.  
      The inmate may be disconnected after the first playing of the prompt, however, the prompt is available to the called party until the call processor  16  detects hang-up or silence for 10 seconds.  
       FIG. 10  shows a diagrammatic representation of machine in the exemplary form of the computer system  300  within which a set of instructions, for causing the machine to perform any one of the methodologies discussed above, may be executed. In alternative embodiments, the machine may comprise a network router, a network switch, a network bridge, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance or any machine capable of executing a sequence of instructions that specify actions to be taken by that machine.  
      The computer system  300  includes a processor  302 , a main memory  304  and a static memory  306 , which communicate with each other via a bus  308 . The computer system  300  may further include a video display unit  310  (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system  300  also includes an alphanumeric input device  312  (e.g. a keyboard), a cursor control device  314  (e.g. a mouse), a disk drive unit  316 , a signal generation device  318  (e.g. a speaker) and a network interface device  320 .  
      The disk drive unit  316  includes a machine-readable medium  322  on which is stored a set of instructions (i.e., software)  324  embodying any one, or all, of the methodologies described above. The software  324  is also shown to reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory  304  and/or within the processor  302 . The software  324  may further be transmitted or received via the network interface device  320 . For the purposes of this specification, the term “machine-readable medium” shall be taken to include any medium which is capable of storing or encoding a sequence of instructions for execution by the machine and that cause the machine to perform any one of the methodologies of the present invention. The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken to included, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, optical and magnetic disks, and carrier wave signals.