Patent Publication Number: US-6907111-B1

Title: Network and method for providing a name and number delivery telecommunications services with automatic speech recognition capability

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable. 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
     1. Field of Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to communications networks and, more particularly, to networks and methods for providing calling services with automatic speech recognition capability. 
     2. Description of the Background 
     Automatic recall service, also known as call return or *69, is a popular calling service offered by many telecommunications service providers. Automatic recall service typically allows a customer to dial a special feature code to receive an enunciation of the telephone number, and perhaps name, of the last incoming caller. The customer is then typically audibly presented the option of calling back the directory number associated with the last incoming call by dialing another special code. Thus, a customer may use the automatic recall service to screen his or her calls, or when the customer is unable to answer a call before the calling party hangs up. The automatic recall service may also be used when a customer does not know the directory number of that caller, but wants to call back the last incoming caller. 
     According to another popular call screening-type service, typically referred to as the “calling name service,” a called party may be presented with the name and/or directory number of a calling party visually, such as with a display unit including an LCD display, or audibly, by voicing the pertinent information to the called party over the telephone interface. The called party may then route the incoming call as desired by dialing certain codes. For example, the called party may dial one code to accept the incoming call, another code to reject the call, and yet a third code to, for example, route the call to a voice-mail messaging system. 
     According to either of these exemplary enhanced calling features, however, the customer is required to dial a code to realize certain benefits of the service. For instance, according to the call return feature, the called party is required to dial a code to call back the directory number associated with the last incoming call. Similarly, for the calling name party, the called party is required to dial a code to route the incoming call as desired. 
     Mandating that customers dial certain codes to realize the benefits of calling services to which they subscribe is not ideal for certain applications. For example, wireless telephone users may be unable to dial codes on their wireless telephones because their hands may be occupied with other tasks, such as driving. Similarly, the hands of personal computer (PC) users may be occupied with tasks such as typing, which do not facilitate the manual dialing of codes on a telephone. 
     Accordingly, there exists a need for a manner in which telecommunications customers may realize the benefits of enhanced calling features and services without the manual dialing of codes. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a practical implementation for allowing telecommunications customers to speak predetermined voice commands over their telephone to realize the benefits of enhanced calling features and services, thus obviating the need to manually dial feature codes, which is required in the prior art. The present invention may be utilized in conjunction with either landline or wireless telephones. In addition, the present invention may be implemented to provide such voice command functionality for such popular telecommunications services as the calling name service, the flexible call forwarding service, the automatic recall service (also called call return or “*69”), call screening services, the name and number delivery service (commonly referred to as directory assistance or “411”), and a user interface for the simultaneous ring service. 
     According to one embodiment, the present invention is directed to a network for providing a telecommunications service with automatic speech recognition to a telecommunications customer. The network includes a switch in communication with a telecommunications device associated with the telecommunications customer and an intelligent resource server in communication with the switch. The switch may be an SSP switch of a central office (CO) of an Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) in communication with, for example, a landline telephone of the telecommunication customer via a subscriber line or, according to another embodiment, may be a switch of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) of a wireless network in communication with a wireless telephone via an air-interface communication scheme. The switch may detect certain triggering events resulting from communications to or from the telecommunications device of the customer, and route the communications to the intelligent resource server in response to detection of the triggers. To facilitate routing of the communications from the switch to the intelligent resource server, the AIN or the wireless network may include a Service Control Point (SCP), which provides instructions to the switch to route the communications through the network in accordance with the particular telecommunications service being provided. 
     The intelligent resource server includes, among other things, an enunciation module and an Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) module. In response to receiving a communication from the switch, the enunciation module of the intelligent resource server may play an audible message for one of the parties to the communication, which for some services may be the calling party and for others may be the called party, prompting the party to enter a character with their telephone or speak a certain word over their telephone in response to the message to realize the benefits of the particular service. In response to the message, if the party voices the keyword, the ASR module automatically detects the spoken keyword and, in response thereto, the intelligent resource server may process the communication to implement the service in accordance with the instructions associated with the spoken keyword. In addition, the intelligent resource server may include a Dual Tone MultiFrequency (DTMF) decoder module for determining whether the party hearing the message entered the requested DTMF character in response to the message. Similarly, if the DTMF character is detected in response to the message, the intelligent resource server may implement the service in accordance with the instructions associated with the recognized DTMF character. 
     For example, for an embodiment of the network providing the name and number delivery service, the telecommunications customer may dial a feature code such as, for example, “411,” to obtain the directory number of another party. The switch may detect the feature code, and direct the call to an Operator Services System (OPSS), which supplies the customer with the desired directory number. The call may then be routed to the intelligent resource server. The enunciation module of the intelligent resource server may then play a message for the customer prompting the customer to place an outgoing call the party associated with the requested number. For example, the enunciation module may play a message such as: “To place a call to this party, please press or speak ‘one’ now.” In response to this exemplary message, if the intelligent resource server recognizes the utterance of the keyword by the customer or if one of the requested DTMF characters is detected, the intelligent resource server may place an outgoing call to the party associated with the requested directory number in accordance with the instructions associated with the detected keyword or DTMF character. 
     Thus, with the present invention, telecommunications customers may realize the benefits of popular telecommunications services without having to manually enter codes with their telephones. Consequently, persons whose bands are occupied, such as from typing or driving, may enjoy the benefits of these services without having to cease performing their hand-occupying tasks. 
     These and other benefits of the present invention will be apparent from the detailed description hereinbelow. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
       For the present invention to be clearly understood and readily practiced, the present invention will be described in conjunction with the following figures, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) for integration with a public switched telephone network; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of the intelligent resource server of the AIN of  FIG. 1  according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram of the communications network according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a block diagram illustrating a method of providing a calling name service with speech recognition with the network of  FIG. 3  according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating a method of providing a flexible call forwarding service with speech recognition with the network of  FIG. 3  according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a block diagram illustrating a method of providing an automatic recall service with speech recognition with the network of  FIG. 3  according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a block diagram illustrating a method of providing a call screening service with speech recognition with the network of  FIG. 3  according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a block diagram illustrating a method of providing a name and number delivery service with speech recognition with the network of  FIG. 3  according to one embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 9  is a block diagram illustrating a method of providing a subscriber interface for a simultaneous ring service with speech recognition with the network of  FIG. 3  according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     It is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of the present invention have been simplified to illustrate elements that are relevant for a clear understanding of the present invention, while eliminating, for purposes of clarity, other elements of a communication network. For example, certain operating system details and modules of certain of the intelligent platforms of the network are not described herein. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize, however, that these and other elements may be desirable in a typical communications network. However, because such elements are well known in the art, and because they do not facilitate a better understanding of the present invention, a discussion of such elements is not provided herein. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN)  10  for integration with a public switched telephone network (PSTN). The AIN  10  may be employed by a Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) servicing a Local Access and Transport Area (LATA) of the PSTN, and may be utilized by the LEC to allow the LEC to provide call processing features and services that are not embedded within conventional switching circuits of the PSTN. 
     A typical LEC includes a number of central office (CO) switches for interconnecting customer premises terminating equipment with the PSTN. For an LEC including the AIN  10  as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the central office switches may be provided as Service Switching Points (SSP) switches  12 . The dashed line  14  between the SSP switches  12  indicates that the number of SSP switches  12  in the AIN  10  may vary depending on the particular requirements of the AIN  10 . The AIN  10  may also include a non-SSP switch  16 . The difference between the SSP switches  12  and the non-SSP switch  16  is that the SSP switches  12  provide intelligent network functionality. Interconnecting the SSP switches  12  and the non-SSP switch  16  are communication links  18 , which may be, for example, trunk circuits. 
     Each SSP switch  12  and non-SSP switch  16  has a number of subscriber lines  20  connected thereto. The subscriber lines  20  may be, for example, conventional twisted pair loop circuits connected between the switches  12 ,  16  and the telephone drops for the customer premises, or the subscriber lines  20  may be trunk circuits, such as T-1 trunk circuits. Typically, the number of subscriber lines  20  connected to each switch  12 ,  16  is on the order of ten thousand to one hundred thousand lines. Each of the subscriber lines  20  is connected to a terminating piece of customer premises equipment, represented in  FIG. 1  by the landline telephones  22 . Alternatively, the terminating equipment may be, for example, a telecopier, a personal computer, a modem, or a private branch exchange (PBX) switching system. 
     For the AIN  10  illustrated in  FIG. 1 , each SSP switch  12  and the non-SSP switch  16  is connected to a signal transfer point (STP)  24  via a communication link  26 . The communication link  26  may employ, for example, an SS7 switching protocol. The STP  24  may be a multi-port high speed packet switch that is programmed to respond to the routing information in the appropriate layer of the switching protocol, and route the data packets to their intended destination. 
     One of the intended destinations of the data packets from the STP  24  is a service control point (SCP)  28 . The STP  24  is in communication with the SCP  28  via a communication link  30 , which may also employ the SS7 switching protocol. The SCP  28  may be an intelligent database server such as, for example, an Intelligent Network Service Control Point available from Lucent Technologies Inc., Murray Hill, N.J., and may have associated with it a network database  32  for storing network data. The intelligent functionality of the SCP  28  may be realized by application programs, such as Service Program Applications (SPA), which are run by the SCP  28 . The SCP  28  is normally employed to implement high volume routing services, such as call forwarding and 800 number translation and routing. The SCP  28  may also be used for maintenance of and providing access to the network databases for authorization of billing, such as credit card validations. In addition, another of the functions of the SCP  28  is maintenance of the network database  32 , which may store subscriber information, such as subscriber call management profiles, used in providing enhanced calling services. Such enhanced calling services may include call return, calling name, call forwarding, call screening and blocking, in addition to many other such services. 
     The AIN  10  illustrated in  FIG. 1  also includes an intelligent resource server (IRS)  34 . The IRS  34  may be, for example, a service node such as a Compact Service Node (CSN) available from Lucent Technologies Inc., Murray Hill, N.J., although the IRS available  34  may be any other AIN-compliant IRS such as, for example, an AIN/IP (Intelligent Peripheral) IRS from Nortel Networks Corp., Montreal, Quebec. The IRS  34  may be connected to one or more of the SSP switches  12  via a communications link  36 , which may be, for example, an Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN) including BRI (Basic Rate Interface) or PRI (Primary Rate Interface) lines. According to other embodiments, the communications link  36  may be, for example, a T-1 trunk circuit. 
     The IRS  34  may be used primarily when some enhanced feature or service is needed that requires an audio connection to the call such as, for example, the call return and calling name services, or when transfer of a significant amount of data to a subscriber over a switched connection during or following a call is required. Similar to the SCP  28 , the intelligent functionality of the IRS  34  may be realized by program applications executable by the IRS  34 , as described hereinbelow with reference to FIG.  2 . 
     In order to keep the processing of data and calls as simple as possible at the switches, such as at the SSP switches  12 , a set of triggers may be defined at the SSP switches  12  for each call. A trigger in an AIN is an event associated with a particular subscriber line  20  that generates a data packet to be sent from the SSP switch  12  servicing the particular subscriber line  20  to the SCP  28  via the STP  24 . The triggers may be originating triggers for calls originating from the subscriber premises or terminating triggers for calls terminating at the subscriber premises. A trigger causes a message in the form of a query to be sent from the SSP switch  12  to the SCP  28 . The SCP  28  in turn interrogates the database  32  to determine whether some customized call feature or enhanced service should be implemented for the particular call, or whether conventional dial-up telephone service should be provided. The results of the database inquiry are sent back from the SCP  28  to the SSP switch  12  via the STP  24 . The return packet includes instructions to the SSP switch  12  as to how to process the call. The instructions may be to take some special action as result of a customized calling service or enhanced feature. For example, for an enhanced calling feature requiring the capabilities of the IRS  34 , the return message from the SCP  28  may include instructions for the SSP switch  12  to route the call to the IRS  34 . In addition, the return message from the SCP  28  may simply be an indication that there is no entry in the database  32  that indicates anything other than conventional telephone service should be provided for the call. The query and return messages may be formatted, for example, according to conventional SS7 TCAP (Transaction Capabilities Application Part) formats. U.S. Pat. No. 5,438,568, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses additional details regarding the functioning of an AIN  10 . 
     The AIN  10  illustrated in  FIG. 1  includes only one STP  24 , one SCP  28 , one network database  32 , and one IRS  34 , although the AIN  10  may further include an additional number of these components as well as other network components which not are included in  FIG. 1  for purposes of clarity. For example, the AIN  10  may additionally include redundant STPs and STPs to take over if the STP  24  or the SCP  28  should fail. In addition, the AIN  10  may include an Automatic Electronic Switching System (AESS) Network Access Point (NAP) in communication with the STP  24 , which may be programmed to detect the trigger conditions. Further, the AIN  10  may include regional STPs and regional SCPs in communication with, for example, the local STP  24 , for routing and servicing calls between different LECs. 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of the IRS  34  according to one embodiment of the present invention. The IRS  34  includes a call processing module  40  for receiving call processing commands and performing conventional call processing logic. The IRS  34  also includes a DTMF decoder module  42  for recognizing the dialing of Dual Tone MultiFrequency (DTMF) characters from, for example, a touch-tone telephone in communication with the IRS  34  via the AIN  10 . In addition, the IRS  34  may include an enunciation module  44  and an Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) module  46 . 
     The enunciation module  44  may be programmed to enunciate voice output over the network  10  to a party using the telephone  22  (or any other telecommunications device in communication with the IRS  34 ). According to one embodiment, the enunciation module  44  may include text-to-speech translation capabilities to convert text into the voice output using speech synthesis techniques. The speech synthesis conversion techniques may convert text to speech in real time and without a predefined vocabulary. According to another embodiment, the enunciation module  44  may be implemented using a recorded voice file. 
     The ASR module  46  may be programmed to recognize certain predetermined keywords spoken by a party using the telephone  22  (or any other telecommunications device in communication with the IRS  34 ). The ASR module  46  may first digitize the spoken words and match them against a database of coded waveforms corresponding to the predetermined keywords. The ASR module  46  may be, for example, speaker-independent, and thus not require tuning and may be able recognize limited vocabularies such as numeric digits and a handful of words. The DTMF decoder module  42 , the enunciation module  44 , and the ASR module  46  permit the IRS  34  to mediate interaction between the caller and the applications executed by the IRS  34  in providing enhanced calling features for a customer, as described hereinbelow. 
     The modules  40 ,  42 ,  44 ,  46  may be implemented as software code to be executed by the IRS  34  using any type of computer instruction type suitable such as, for example, microcode, and can be stored in, for example, an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), or can be configured into the logic of the IRS  34 . According to another embodiment, the modules  40 ,  42 ,  44 ,  46  may be implemented as software code to be executed by the IRS  34  using any suitable computer language such as, for example, C or C++ using, for example, conventional or object-oriented techniques. The software code may be stored as a series of instructions or commands on a computer readable medium, such as a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a magnetic medium such as a hard-drive or a floppy disk, or an optical medium such as a CD-ROM. In addition, the modules  40 ,  42 ,  44 ,  46  may be implemented from commercially-available software such as, for example, TTS and ASR software available from Lucent Technologies, Inc., Murray Hill, N.J. 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a network  50  according to one embodiment of the present invention. The network  50  includes the AIN  10  illustrated in  FIG. 1 , including the SSP switch  12 , the STP  24 , the SCP  28 , and the IRS  34 . For clarity, only one SSP switch  12 , one STP  24 , one SCP  28 , and one IRS  34  are shown in  FIG. 3  although, as discussed hereinbefore, the AIN  10  may include a multiple number of these components. 
     The network  50  also includes a wireless network  52  in communication with the AIN  10  via a tandem office  54 . The wireless network  52  includes a Mobile Switching Center (MSC)  56 , a Home Location Register (HLR)  58 , a Visitor Location Register (VLR)  59 , and a Service Control Point (SCP)  60  with an associated database  62 . The MSC  56 , HLR  58 , VLR  59  and SCP  60  of the wireless network  52  may provide an intelligent wireless network capable of providing enhanced calling services and features for wireless subscribers, and which is the wireless complement to the landline-based AIN  10 . According to one embodiment, the intelligent wireless network  52  may be a Wireless Intelligent Network (WIN), such as used in TDMA-based wireless networks, or a CAMEL network, such as used in CDMA-based wireless networks. 
     The tandem office  54  provides a switching interface between the PSTN and the wireless network  52 . The tandem office  54  is in communication with the MSC  56  of the wireless network  52  via a communications link  64  employing, for example, an IS-41 signaling protocol. The tandem office  54  may be in communication with the SSP switch  12  of the AIN  10  via a communications link  66 , such as a trunk circuit. The tandem office  54  may also be in communication with the STP  24  of the AIN  10  via a communications link  68  employing, for example, an SS7 signaling protocol. 
     The MSC  56  is in communication with wireless telecommunications devices, such as the wireless telephone  70  via, for example, a base transceiver station (BTS) (not shown). The BTS may communicate with wireless telecommunications devices, such as the wireless telephone  70 , according to an air-interface communication scheme such as, for example, AMPS (ANSI-553), TDMA (IS-136), CDMA (IS-95), or GSM. The BTS may be in communication with the MSC  56  via, for example, an ISDN or SS7 communications link. The MSC  56  is an automatic switching system in a wireless telecommunications network that acts as the interface for subscriber traffic between the wireless network  52  and the PSTN or other MSCs in the same or other wireless networks. The MSC  56  performs the same general function as a central office switch in a landline based system, except that the MSC  56  provides for incoming calls through a radio telecommunications front-end. Accordingly, the MSC  56  may include SSP switches (not shown) for detecting, for example, originating and terminating triggers. 
     The MSC  56  is in communication with the HLR  58  and the VLR  59  via communications links  72  which may, for example, be SS7 signaling protocol links. The HLR  58  and VLR  59  are location registers to which the user identity of a wireless telecommunications device, such as the wireless telephone  70 , is assigned for record purposes. If the wireless telephone  70  is within its home location, the HLR  58  is assigned for record purposes. Conversely, if the wireless telephone  70  is in a visitor location, the VLR  59  is assigned for record purposes. The HLR  58  and VLR  59  may register subscriber information relating to the wireless telecommunications devices such as, for example, profile information, current location, and authorization period. When the MSC  56  detects a wireless telecommunications device entering the MSC&#39;s service area, the MSC  56  performs a registration process that includes requesting subscriber profile information from either the HLR  58  or the VLR  58  depending upon, as discussed hereinbefore, whether the wireless telephone  70  is within its home location or within a visitor location. The HLR  58  and VLR  59  may, or may not, be located within and be indistinguishable from the MSC  56 , and may be distributed over more than one physical entity. In addition, one HLR  58  and one VLR  59  may serve more than one MSC  56 . 
     The SCP  60  of the wireless network  52  is similar to the SCP  28  of the AIN  10 , and contains the logic, which in conjunction with the network data stored in the associated database  62 , is used to provide the enhanced calling services and features for wireless subscribers. The SCP  60  is in communication with the MSC  56  via a communications link  74 , which may be, for example, an SS7 signaling protocol link. The SCP  60  receives query messages from the MSC  56 , which may be routed through the MSC  56  from other network elements, and responds to the query, as described hereinbefore with respect to the SCP  28  of the AIN  10 , in a manner appropriate to the query in the context of the enhanced calling service or feature. For example, the SCP  60  may return a message to the MSC  56  to route a communication to the IRS  34  via the tandem office  54  and the SSP switch  12 . 
     The tandem office  54  may also provide a switching interface between the AIN  10  and another LEC central office (CO)  76 . The LEC CO  76  may be a central office switch for the same LEC as the AIN  10 , or the LEC CO  76  may be a central office switch for another LEC. The LEC CO  76  may include an SSP switch, and may be in communication with a landline telephone  77  via a subscriber line  78 . The LEC CO  76  may be in communication with the tandem office  54  via a communications link  79 , which may be, for example, a trunk circuit. 
     The communications network  50  of the present invention may be utilized to provided enhanced calling features and services with speech recognition capabilities, as described hereinbelow. Although the telephones  22 ,  70 , and  77  are illustrated as the pieces of terminating equipment, those skilled in the art will understand that such pieces include other telecommunication units or devices such as, for example, facsimile machines, computers, and modems. The term “calling party” is used herein generally to refer to the person or device that initiates a communication. The calling party may also be referred to herein as “caller.” In some cases, the calling party may not be a person, but may be a device such as a telecommunications device including a facsimile machine, answering service, modem, etc. The term “called party” is used herein generally to refer to the person or device that answers or responds to the call or communication. The term “subscriber” is used herein to generally refer to a subscriber of the one of the described calling features or services. The called party need not necessarily be the subscriber of a service, nor the party whom the caller is trying to reach. The term “communication” is used herein to include all messages or calls that may be exchanged between a calling party and a called party in the network  50  illustrated in  FIG. 3 , including voice, data and video messages. The term “communication” is used synonymously herein with the term “call” unless a distinction is noted. 
       FIG. 4  is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of how the network  50  may be utilized to provide the calling name service with speech recognition capabilities. The process starts at block  80 , with a calling party placing a call to a called party. With reference to  FIG. 3 , for the purposes of the illustrated embodiment, the calling party is a user of the wireless telephone  70  or the landline telephone  77 , and the called party is a user of the landline telephone  22 , although according to other embodiments, the called party may be a user of the wireless telephone  70 , as described hereinbelow. Calls from either the wireless telephone  70  or the landline telephone  77  are routed to the SSP switch  12  of the AIN  10  via the tandem office  54  according to conventional call processing. A terminating trigger at the SSP switch  12  specific to the calling name service is detected, causing the SSP switch  12  to send a query message to the SCP  28  at block  82 . The query message may be, for example, a terminating attempt trigger (TAT) query message. 
     At block  84 , in response to the query message from the SSP switch  12 , the SCP  28  may interrogate the network database  32  as to whether the called party (i.e., a user of the telephone  22 ) is a subscriber to the calling name service. If the called party is not a subscriber, the process proceeds to block  86 , where the SCP  28  returns a message to the SSP switch  12  with instructions to apply conventional telephone service. If, however, the called party is a subscriber, the process proceeds to block  88 , where the SCP  28  returns a message to the SSP switch  12  with instructions to route the call to the IRS  34  of the AIN  10 . The message may additionally include a message field including information as to the name and directory number of the calling party. 
     At block  90 , the call processing module  40  of the IRS  34  accepts the call and places an outgoing call to the called party/subscriber, thereby causing the landline telephone  22  to start ringing, alerting the called party/subscriber of the incoming call. The placement of the outgoing call to the called party/subscriber from the call processing module  40  may be simultaneous with &gt;acceptance of the call from the SSP  12 . After the called party/subscriber answers the call, at block  91 , the enunciation module  44  of the IRS  34  plays an audible message for the called party/subscriber announcing, for example, the calling party&#39;s name and telephone number. The IRS  34  may have knowledge of the calling party&#39;s name and telephone number based on the message received from the SCP  28  via the SSP switch  12 . 
     Next, at block  92 , the enunciation module  44  may play an audible message asking the called party/subscriber to instruct the network  50  as to how to route the incoming call. For example, the message may request that the called party/subscriber dial the character “1” or speak the word “accept” to accept the incoming call, dial the character “2” or speak the word “reject” to reject the call, or dial the character “three” or speak the word “message” to route the call to a voice messaging system for the called party/subscriber. 
     Having asked the called party/subscriber to instruct the network  50  how to route the incoming call, the process continues to block  93  where the IRS  34  collects the DTMF and/or voice data transmitted by the called party in response to the message played at block  92 . According to one embodiment, IRS  34  may provide a time window in which the data is to be entered. Thereafter, the process advances to block  94 , as discussed hereinbelow. 
     The process then proceeds to block  94 , where the DTMF decoder module  42  of the IRS  34  determines whether the called party/subscriber has dialed one of the requested characters. The DTMF decoder module  42  may determine whether the called party/subscriber has dialed one of the requested characters based on, for example, dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signal decoding of the data collected by the IRS at block  93 . If the DTMF decoder module  42  detects of the requested characters, the process continues to block  95 , at which the call processing module  40  of the IRS  34  routes the incoming call according to the call processing instructions associated with the character dialed by the called party/subscriber. 
     Conversely, if at block  94  the DTMF decoder module  42  does not detect one of the requested characters, the process continues to block  96 , where the ASR module  46  of the IRS  34  determines, for example, whether a predefined keyword was spoken by the called party/subscriber in response to the message played at block  92 . According to such an embodiment, the ASR module  46  may be programmed to recognize keywords from the data collected by the IRS  34  at block  93  such as, for example, “accept”, “reject”, or “message”, which may be detected and recognized by the ASR module  46  as call processing instructions. If the ASR module  46  does detect a recognized keyword at block  96 , the process flow continues to block  95 , where the call processing module  40  routes the call according to the call processing instructions associated with the recognized keyword. Conversely, if a keyword is not recognized at block  96 , the process advances to block  98 , where the IRS  34  determines whether the called party has exceeded the number of allowable attempts to transmit an identifiable and appropriate response in response to the message played at block  92 . If not, the process returns to block  92 , where the message is replayed for the calling party. Conversely, if the called party has been afforded the number of allowable attempts, the process may proceed to block  99 , where the IRS  34  routes the communication according to a default processing standard such as, for example, forwarding the communication to the called party&#39;s voice-mail messaging service. 
     At block  95 , according to an embodiment using the above-described exemplary call processing instructions, if the DTMF decoder module  42  detects the character “1” or if the ASR module  44  detects the keyword “accept”, the call processing module  40  may route the incoming call to the telephone  22  via the switch  12  and the subscriber line  20 . Alternatively, if the DTMF decoder module  42  detects the character “2” or if the ASR module  46  detects the keyword “reject”, the call processing module  40  may, for example, route the call at block  96  to the calling party (i.e., wireless telephone  70  or landline telephone  77 ) with an audible message stating, for example, that the called party/subscriber did not accept the call. In addition, if the IRS  34  detects the character “3” or the keyword “message”, the call processing module  40  may route the call at block  96  to a voice messaging system associated with the called party/subscriber. Of course, for other embodiments of the present invention, the ASR module  46  may be programmed to recognize different predetermined keywords as call processing instructions, such as the words “one”, “two”, and “three”. 
     According to other embodiments, the called party may be a user of the wireless telephone  70  and the calling party may be a user of the telephone  22  or the telephone  77 . According to such an embodiment, the serving MSC  56  may detect a terminating trigger specific to the calling name service, causing the serving MSC  56  to send a query message to the SCP  60  at block  82 . As discussed hereinbefore with respect to  FIG. 4 , the SCP  60  may then route the call to the IRS  34  (assuming the user of the wireless telephone  70  is a subscriber of the calling name service) to provide the calling name service with ASR capabilities according to the present invention. 
     According to another embodiment, the network  50  of  FIG. 3  may be used to implement flexible call forwarding (FCF) services with ASR capabilities. The call forwarding feature permits the network  50 , for example, to route an incoming call to the landline telephone  22  to a different directory number associated with the subscriber of the landline telephone  22 , such as a wireless directory number, a business directory number, or a pager number. The FCF feature permits the subscriber to modify the call forwarding number to which the network  50  is to direct incoming calls for the subscriber. 
       FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of how the network  40  may be utilized to provide the FCF service with ASR functionality according to the present invention. The FCF service will be described as being initiated from a calling party using the telephone  22 , although a user of the wireless telephone  70  may also benefit from the present invention, as described further hereinbelow. The illustrated process begins at block  100 , where the calling party dials, from the telephone  22 , a predefined feature code specific to the FCF service. The process continues to block  102 , where the SSP switch  12  detects the feature code trigger. In response to the trigger, at block  104 , the SSP switch  12  sends a query message to the SCP  28 . The SCP  28  receives the query message from the SSP switch  12 , and in response thereto, at block  106 , interrogates the database  32  to determine if the calling party is a subscriber to the FCF service. According to another embodiment, at block  106  the SCP  28  may determine whether the calling party is a subscriber by prompting the calling party to enter a personal identification number (PIN) unique to the subscriber for the telephone  22 . 
     If the calling party is not a subscriber to the FCF service, the process continues to block  108 , whereupon the SCP  28  returns a message to the SSP switch  12  with instructions to terminate the call. On the other hand, if the calling party is a subscriber to the FCF service, the process continues to block  110 , whereupon the SCP  28  returns a message to the SSP switch  12  with instructions to route the call to the IRS  34 . The return message routed to the IRS  34  may include message fields which may include the subscriber&#39;s call forwarding profile. 
     From block  110 , the process continues to block  112 , where the call processing module  40  of the IRS  34  receives the communication, and in response thereto, the enunciation module  44  plays an audible message for the calling party/subscriber prompting the calling party/subscriber to input data relative to the current call forwarding profile. For example, the enunciation module  44  may play an audible message such as: “Incoming calls to [the directory number for the landline telephone  22 ] are currently being forwarded to [the subscriber&#39;s business telephone number]. To deactivate the call forwarding service, please press or speak ‘one’ now. To forward incoming calls to [the subscriber&#39;s wireless telephone number], please press or speak ‘two’ now. To forward incoming calls to [the subscriber&#39;s vacation home telephone number], please press or speak ‘three’ now.” According to such an embodiment, the IRS  34  has knowledge of, for example, the directory numbers for the subscriber&#39;s business, wireless, and vacation home telephones. This knowledge may be conveyed to the IRS  34  from the database  32  with the return message sent from the SCP  28 . Of course, the above-described exemplary message is but one example of the type of message the IRS  34  may play for the calling party/subscriber to realize the FCF service of the present invention. In addition, according to other embodiments, the message may prompt the calling party/subscriber to speak the word “business” to direct incoming calls to his business telephone and the word “wireless” to direct incoming calls to his wireless telephone. Additionally, according to another embodiment, the message played by the IRS  34  may allow the calling party/subscriber to enter a new directory number to which incoming calls are to be directed. 
     Having prompted the calling party/subscriber to modify the call forwarding data at block  112 , the process continues to block  113 , where the IRS collects the DTMF and/or voice data transmitted by the calling party in response to the message at block  112 . According to one embodiment, IRS  34  may provide a time window in which the data is to be entered. Thereafter, the process advances to block  114 , as discussed hereinbelow. 
     The process next proceeds to block  114 , where the DTMF decoder module  42  of the IRS  34  determines whether the calling party/subscriber has dialed one of the requested characters. The DTMF decoder module  42  may determine whether the calling party/subscriber has dialed one of the requested characters based on, for example, dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signal decoding. If the IRS  34  detects of the requested characters, the process continues to block  116 , at which the call processing module  40  of the IRS  34  returns a message to the SCP  28  to modify the subscriber&#39;s call forwarding data (or profile) in the database  32  in accordance with the instructions associated with the character entered by the calling party/subscriber. 
     Conversely, if at block  114  the IRS  34  does not detect one of the requested characters, the process continues to block  118 , where ASR module  46  of the IRS  34  determines whether a predefined keyword was spoken by the calling party/subscriber in response to the message played at block  112 . According to such an embodiment, the ASR module  46  may be programmed to recognize keywords such as, for example, “one”, “two”, “business”, “wireless”, “pager”, etc. Such predefined keywords may be detected and recognized by the ASR module  46  as instructions to modify the subscriber&#39;s call forwarding profile. If the IRS  34  does detect a recognized keyword at block  118 , the process flow continues to block  116 , where the call processing module  40  sends a message to the SCP  28  to modify the subscriber&#39;s call forwarding data in the database  32  in accordance with the instructions associated with the recognized keyword spoken by the calling party/subscriber. 
     Conversely, if a keyword is not recognized at block  118 , the process may continue to block  119 , where the IRS  34  may determine whether the calling party has exceeded the number of allowable attempts to transmit an appropriate and identifiable response to the message played at block  112 . If the calling party has exceeded the number of allowable attempts, the process may return to block  108 , where the call processing module  40  sends a message to the SCP  28  to terminate the call. Conversely, if at block  119  it is determined that the number of allowable attempts has not been exceeded, rather than immediately terminating the call, the process may return to block  112 , where the enunciation module  44  may replay the message for the calling party/subscriber, hence re-prompting the calling party/subscriber to modify their call forwarding profile. 
     At block  1116 , according to an embodiment using the above-described exemplary FCF prompting message, if the IRS  34  detects the character “1” or the keyword “one”, the IRS  34  may send a message to the SCP  28  to modify the subscriber&#39;s call forwarding data in the database  32  to deactivate the subscriber&#39;s call forwarding service, such that incoming calls to the calling party/subscriber are routed to the telephone  22 . Alternatively, if the IRS  34  detects the character “2” or the keyword “two”, the IRS  34  may, for example, send a message to the SCP  28  to modify the subscriber&#39;s call forwarding data in the database  32  to route incoming calls to the directory number for the subscriber&#39;s wireless telephone. Similarly, if the IRS  34  detects the character “3” or the keyword “three”, the IRS  34  may, for example, send a message to the SCP  28  to modify the subscriber&#39;s call forwarding data in the database to route incoming calls to the directory number for the subscriber&#39;s vacation home telephone. 
     According to other embodiments, the calling party may be a user of the wireless telephone  70 . According to such an embodiment, the serving MSC  56  may detect an originating trigger specific to the FCF service, causing the MSC  56  to send a query message to the SCP  60  at block  104 . As discussed hereinbefore with respect to  FIG. 5 , the SCP  60  may then route the call to the IRS  34  (assuming the user of the wireless telephone  70  is a subscriber of the FCF service) via the tandem office  54  and the AIN  10  to provide the FCF service with ASR capabilities according to the present invention. 
     The network  50  of the present invention may also be utilized to provide the FCF service with ASR capability when a subscriber accesses the network  50  from a remote unit such as, for example, referring to  FIG. 3 , from the landline telephone  22 , to modify the call forwarding profile associated with, for example, the wireless telephone  70  or the landline telephone  77 . According to such an embodiment, the calling party may dial an administration number to remotely access the subscriber&#39;s call forwarding data. The SSP switch  12  may detect an originating trigger associated with the administration number, and in response thereto, send a query message to the SCP  28 . To avoid unauthorized modification of a subscriber&#39;s call forwarding data, the SCP  28  may send a return message to the SSP switch  12  to route the call to the IRS  34 . The call processing module  40  may receive the communication with instructions for the enunciation module  44  to play an audible message prompting the caller to enter a code, such as a personal identification number (PIN), to access the call forwarding data of the subscriber. A feature code trigger of the SSP switch  12  may detect the personal identification number dialed by the calling party, and the process of modifying the subscriber&#39;s call forwarding data pursuant to the FCF service using the ASR functionality of the present invention may continue as described hereinbefore with regard to  FIG. 5  if the number entered by the calling party matches the PIN for the subscriber. 
     Similarly, a user of the wireless telephone  70  may remotely modify the call forwarding profile associated with, for example, the telephone  22  or another wireless telephone (not shown), by dialing an administration number. The serving MSC  56  may then detect an originating trigger associated with the administration number, and in response thereto, send a query message to the SCP  60 . The SCP  60  may then route the call to the IRS  34  via the tandem office  54  to provide the FCF service with ASR capability of the present invention as described hereinbefore. 
       FIG. 6  is a block diagram of a method according to one embodiment for using the network  50  of the present invention for providing the automatic recall, or call return, feature with ASR functionality. The service will be described with reference to the network  50  illustrated in  FIG. 3  wherein the called party is a user of the telephone  22 , although, according to other embodiments, as described hereinbelow, the called party may be a user of the wireless telephone  70 . The process begins at block  120 , with the called party (i.e., a user of the telephone  22 ), dialing a feature code specific to the automatic recall service, such as “*69”, to learn, for example, the name and telephone number of an immediately previous calling party. Prior to the called party dialing the feature code for the automatic recall service, therefore, it is assumed that a calling party, such as from the wireless telephone  70  or the landline telephone  77 , placed a communication to the called party, which was routed according to conventional call processing logic to the SSP switch  12  servicing the called party, which stored automatic-recall related information such as, for example, a directory number of the calling party and a time stamp, in a line history block of the SSP switch  12 . By dialing the feature code for the automatic recall service at block  120 , the called party may seek to access the name and/or telephone number of the immediately previous calling party. 
     From block  120 , the process continues to block  122 , where an originating feature code trigger for the automatic recall service is detected by the SSP switch  12  servicing the telephone  22 . After detection of the trigger, at block  124 , the recall-related information stored in the line history block of the SSP switch  12  is embedded in a message, such as in a field of a TCAP message, and sent to the SCP  28 . As described hereinbefore, the automatic recall-related information may include, for example, the directory number for the last incoming calling party and a time stamp of the communication. 
     From block  124 , the process continues to block  126  where the SCP  28  determines whether the called party is a subscriber to the automatic recall service. According to one embodiment, the SCP  28  may determine whether the called party is a subscriber to the automatic recall service by interrogating the network database  32 . If the called party is not a subscriber to the service, the process advances to block  128 , where the SCP  28  returns a message to the SSP switch  12  to terminate the call. Conversely, if the called party is a subscriber, the process advances to block  130 , where the SCP  28  delivers the automatic recall-related information to the IRS  34  along with instructions for the IRS  34  to apply the automatic recall service. According to another embodiment in which the automatic recall service is a pay per use service rather than a subscription service, the SCP  28  may write to the database  32  to charge the subscriber of the telephone  22  for accessing the automatic recall service. Thereafter, the SCP  28  may deliver the automatic recall-related information to the IRS  34  along with the instructions for the IRS  34  to apply the automatic recall service. 
     From block  130 , the process continues to block  132  where the call processing module  40  of the IRS  34  receives the information from the SCP  28  and, in response thereto, the enunciation module  44  plays an audible message for the called party announcing, for example, the name and directory number of the last incoming calling party as well as the time of the communication. Then, at block  134 , the enunciation module  44  may play an audible message prompting the called party to dial, for example, a character such as the character “1” or speak the word “one” to place an outgoing call to the directory number associated with the last incoming call. 
     From block  134 , the process proceeds to block  135 , where the IRS  34  collects the DTMF and/or voice data transmitted by the called party in response to the message played at block  134 . According to one embodiment, IRS  34  may provide a time window in which the data is to be entered. Thereafter, the process advances to block  136 , as discussed hereinbelow. Next, the process proceeds to block  136 , where the DTMF decoder module  42  of the IRS  34  detects whether the called party dialed the requested character in response to the prompting message. Thus, for the example described hereinbefore, the DTMF decoder module  42  may detect whether the called party dials the character “1” to instruct the network  50  to place a call to the last incoming calling party. The DTMF decoder module  42  may detect whether the proper character is dialed using Dual Tone MultiFrequency (DTMF) signal decoding. If the DTMF decoder module  42  does detect the dialing of the proper DTMF character, the process continues to block  138 , where the call processing module  40  of the IRS  34  executes conventional call processing logic to place the call to the last incoming calling party. 
     Conversely, if at block  136  the IRS  34  does not detect the proper DTMF character, the process continues to block  140 , where ASR module  46  of the IRS  34  determines whether a predefined keyword was spoken by the called party in response to the message played at block  34 . According to such an embodiment, the ASR module  46  may be programmed to recognize certain keywords such as, for example, “one”. Such predefined keywords may be detected and recognized by the IRS  34  as instructions to place a call to the last incoming caller. If the IRS  34  does detect a recognized keyword at block  140 , the process flow continues to block  138 , where the call processing module  40  of the IRS  34  executes conventional call processing logic to place the call to the last incoming calling party. 
     Conversely, if the predetermined keyword is not recognized at block  140 , the process may continue to block  142 , where the IRS  34  determines whether the called party has exceeded the number of allowable attempts permitted to transmit an appropriate and identifiable response in response to the message played at block  134 . If the called party has exceed the number of allowable attempts, the process proceeds to block  128 , where the IRS  34  terminates the call. Conversely, if the called party has not exceeded the number of allowable attempts, the process may return to block  134 , where the messaging prompting the called party to dial the recalled number is replayed. 
     According to other embodiments, the called party may be a user of the wireless telephone  70 . According to such an embodiment, the serving MSC  56  may detect an originating feature code trigger specific to the call return service dialed by the called party from the wireless telephone  70 , causing the MSC  56  to send the recall-related information in, for example, TCAP message fields to the SCP  60 . As discussed hereinbefore with respect to  FIG. 6 , the SCP  60  may then route the call to the IRS  34  via the tandem office  54  with the recall related information to provide the call return service with ASR capabilities according to the present invention. 
     According to another embodiment, the network  50  of the present invention may be utilized to provide call screening services such as, for example, the Privacy Director® call screening service available from BellSouth Corp., Atlanta, Ga. (Privacy Director® is a registered trademark of BellSouth Intellectual Property Corp.). Such a service works in conjunction with a caller identification unit which visually displays to a called party in real-time the name and telephone number of the calling party. According to the service, when a calling party has a blocked or unknown telephone number, the service answers the call and then gives the calling party the option of identifying itself to the called party. If the calling party chooses not to identify itself, the call is terminated without disturbing the called party (i.e., the subscriber of the service). On the other hand, if the calling party chooses to identify itself, then a call is placed to the called party identifying the name and telephone number of the calling party on the caller identification unit. The subscriber is then provided the option of taking the call or refusing the call. The caller identification unit may be, for example, an LCD display unit connected between the telephone drop of the customer premises and a landline telephone, or the display unit may be integrated with the calling device, such as an LCD display on a wireless telephone. 
       FIG. 7  is block diagram of a method according to one embodiment for using the network  50  of the present invention to provide call screening services with ASR capabilities. The service will be described with reference to  FIG. 3  wherein the calling party is a user of the wireless telephone  70  or the landline telephone  77 , and the called party is a user of the landline telephone  22 , however, according to other embodiments, as described hereinbelow, the calling party may be a user of the telephone  22 , and the called party may be a user of the wireless telephone  70 . The process starts at block  150 , with the calling party, who has a blocked or unknown number with respect to caller identification units, placing a call to a called party (the telephone  22 ). Calls from either the wireless telephone  70  or the landline telephone  77  are routed by the tandem office  54  to the SSP switch  12  of the AIN  10  according to conventional call processing. A terminating trigger at the SSP switch  12  specific to the call screening service is detected, causing the SSP switch  12  to send a query message to the SCP  28  at block  152 . The query message may be, for example, a terminating attempt trigger (TAT) query message. 
     At block  154 , in response to the query message from the SSP switch  12 , the SCP  28  may interrogate the network database  32  as to whether the called party is a subscriber to the call screening service. If the called party is not a subscriber, the process proceeds to block  156 , where the SCP  28  returns a message to the SSP switch  12  with instructions to apply conventional telephone services. In this situation, the call from the calling party may be routed in a conventional fashion to the called party. If, however, the called party is a subscriber, the process proceeds to block  158 , where the SCP  28  returns a message to the SSP switch  12  with instructions to route the call to the IRS  34  of the AIN  10 . 
     At block  160 , the call processing module  40  of the IRS  34  accepts the call and the enunciation module  44  plays an audible message to the calling party (i.e., a user of either the wireless telephone  70  or the landline telephone  77 ) announcing, for example, that the call cannot be complete unless that calling party is identified. 
     Thereafter, at block  162 , the enunciation module  44  may play an audible message for the calling party asking if the calling party chooses to identify itself to the called party/subscriber. For example, the enunciation module  44  may play a message such as: “Press or speak ‘one’ now if you wish to provide your name and/or telephone number to the called party. Otherwise, if you wish to terminate the call, please hang up.” In addition, if the calling party&#39;s number is unknown to the network  50 , the enunciation module  44  may prompt the calling party to enter its phone number in order that this information may be provided to the subscriber/called party. 
     Having asked the calling party to identify itself, the process continues to block  163  where the IRS  34  collects the DTMF and/or voice data transmitted by the calling party in response to the message played at block  162 . According to one embodiment, IRS  34  may provide a time window in which the data is to be entered. Thereafter, the process advances to block  164 , as discussed hereinbelow. 
     From block  163 , the process advances to block  164 , where the DTMF decoder module  42  of the IRS  34  determines whether the called party has dialed the requested character. The DTMF decoder module  42  may determine whether the subscriber has dialed the requested character based on, for example, dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signal decoding. If the DTMF decoder module  42  detects the requested character, the process continues to block  166 , where the call processing module  40  of the IRS  34  routes the call to the called party/subscriber, allowing the name and/or telephone number of the calling party to be displayed on the caller identification unit of the called party/subscriber, who thereafter may choose whether or not to answer the call. Where the called party/subscriber also subscribes to the calling name service, such as described hereinbefore with respect to  FIG. 4 , the called party/subscriber may exercise his options with respect to the call by voicing commands to the IRS  34  which are recognized by the ASR module  46 . 
     Conversely, if at block  164  the DTMF decoder module  42  does not detect the requested character, the process continues to block  168 , where ASR module  46  of the IRS  34  determines, for example, whether a predefined keyword was spoken by the called party in response to the message played at block  162 . According to such an embodiment, the ASR module  46  may be programmed to recognize keywords such as, for example, “one” which may be detected and recognized by the ASR module  46  as call processing instructions. If the ASR module  46  does detect a recognized keyword at block  98 , the process flow continues to block  166 , where the call processing module  40  routes the call to the called party. Conversely, if a keyword is not recognized at block  168 , the process continues to block  169 , where the IRS  34  determines whether the calling party has exceeded the number of allowable attempts necessary to transmit an appropriate and identifiable response in response to the message played at block  162 . If the calling party has exceeded the number of allowable attempts, the process proceeds to block  170 , where the call is terminated. Conversely, if at block  169  it is determined that the calling party has not exceeded the number of allowable attempts, the process returns to block  162 , where the prompting message may be re-played for the calling party. 
     According to other embodiments of the present invention, the ASR module  46  may be programmed to recognize different predetermined keywords as call processing instructions such as, for example, the words “yes”, “no”, or “hang-up.” 
     According to other embodiments, the called party may be a user of the wireless telephone  70  and the calling party may be a user of the telephone  22  or the telephone  77 . The serving MSC  56  may detect a terminating trigger specific to the called party for the call screening service, causing the MSC  56  to send a query message to the SCP  60  at block  152 . The query message may be, for example, a terminating attempt trigger (TAT) query message. As discussed hereinbefore with respect to  FIG. 7 , the SCP  60  may then route the call to the IRS  34  (assuming the user of the wireless telephone  70  is a subscriber of the call screening service) via the tandem office  54  to provide the calling name service with ASR capabilities according to the present invention. 
     According to another embodiment, the network  50  of  FIG. 3  may be used to implement name and number delivery (NND) services with ASR capabilities. The NND service permits a calling party to access the name and telephone number of another party. The party about whom the information is requested may have the same local exchange carrier (LEC) as the calling party, or it may have a different LEC. The service is typically activated by the calling party dialing a feature code, such as “411”, which is detected by the AIN  10  or the wireless network  52 . Upon detection of the feature code, the call is routed to an Operator Services System (OPSS) (not shown). The OPSS typically includes one or more elements that serve as part of the infrastructure generally used by an LEC in the provision of directory assistance services. The OPSS may be included as part of an LEC CO or other network elements with the appropriate functional connections. 
     The OPSS is typically functionally connected to one or more computer terminals staffed by directory assistance operators. Once the call is routed to the OPSS, the calling party is generally asked to audibly identify the name and location of the party whose telephone number is being requested. With the name and location information, the OPSS directory assistance operators query network databases to determine the requested telephone number. The information is then provided audibly to the calling party. 
       FIG. 8  is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of how the network  50  may be utilized to provide the NND service with ASR functionality. The service will be described with respect to a call initiated from the telephone  22 , although a user of the wireless telephone  70  may also benefit from the present invention, as described further hereinbelow. The illustrated process begins at block  180 , where the calling party dials a predefined feature code specific to the NND service, such as “411”, from the telephone  22 . The process continues to block  182 , where the SSP switch  12  detects a feature code trigger associated with the NND service for the subscriber line  20  associated with the calling party. In response to the trigger, at block  184 , the SSP switch  12  sends a query message to the SCP  28 . 
     The SCP  28  receives the query message from the SSP switch  12 , and in response thereto, at block  186 , interrogates the database  32  to determine if the calling party is a subscriber to the NND service. If the called party is not a subscriber to the service, the process advances to block  188 , where the SCP  28  returns a message to the SSP switch  12  to terminate the call. Conversely, if the called party is a subscriber, the process advances to block  190 , where the SCP  28  returns a message to the SSP switch  12  to route the call to the OPSS (not shown). According to another embodiment in which the NND service is a pay-per-use service rather than a subscription service, the SCP  28  may write to the database  32  to charge the subscriber of the telephone  22  for accessing the NND service. Thereafter, the SCP  28  returns a message to the SSP switch  12  to route the call to the OPSS. 
     Once the call is routed to the OPSS, at block  192 , the calling party is then provided the telephone number of the party about whom the information is requested. U.S. Pat. No. 5,940,493, entitled “System and Method For Providing Directory Assistance Information,” which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses one system and method for providing directory assistance information from an OPSS. From block  192 , once the calling party has been provided the directory assistance information, the process advances to block  194  where the call is routed by the AIN  10  from the OPSS to the IRS  34  with a message containing the requested telephone number. 
     From block  194 , the process continues to block  196 , where the call processing module  40  of the IRS  34  receives the communication and the message from the OPSS, and in response thereto, the enunciation module  44  plays an audible message for the calling party prompting the calling party to place an outgoing call to the party about whom the directory assistance information was requested. For example, the enunciation module  44  may play an audible message such as: “If you wish to place a call to this party, please press or speak ‘one’ now.” Of course, this exemplary message is but one example of the type of message the IRS  34  may play for the subscriber to realize the NND service of the present invention. 
     Having prompted the calling party to place an outgoing call to the party about whom the information was requested at block  196 , the process continues to block  197 , where the IRS collects the DTMF and/or voice data transmitted by the calling party in response to the message played at block  196 . According to one embodiment, IRS  34  may provide a time window in which the data is to be entered. Thereafter, the process advances to block  198 , as discussed hereinbelow. 
     From block  197 , the process advances to block  198  where the DTMF decoder module  42  of the IRS  34  determines whether the calling party has dialed the requested character. The DTMF decoder module  42  may determine whether the subscriber has dialed one of the requested characters based on, for example, dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signal decoding. If the IRS  34  detects the requested character, the process continues to block  200 , at which the call processing module  40  of the IRS  34  executes conventional call processing logic to place the outgoing call. 
     Conversely, if at block  198  the IRS  34  does not detect the requested character, the process continues to block  202 , where the ASR module  46  of the IRS  34  determines whether a predefined keyword was spoken by the calling party in response to the message played at block  196 . According to such an embodiment, the ASR module  46  may be programmed to recognize keywords such as, for example, “one”. Such predefined keywords may be detected and recognized by the ASR module  46  as instructions to place the outgoing call to the party about whom the information was requested. If the IRS  34  does detect a recognized keyword at block  202 , the process flow continues to block  200 , where the call processing module  40  executes conventional call processing logic to place the outgoing call. 
     Conversely, if a keyword is not recognized at block  202 , the process advances to block  204 , where the IRS  34  determines whether the calling party has exceeded the number of allowable attempts necessary to transmit an appropriate and identifiable response in response to the message played at block  196 . If the calling party has exceeded the number of allowable attempts, the process proceeds to block  188 , where the call processing module  40  terminates the call. Conversely, if the calling party has not exceeded the number of allowable attempts, the process may return to block  196 , where the message prompting the calling party to place the outgoing call is replayed. 
     According to other embodiments, the calling party accessing the NND service may be a user of the wireless telephone  70 . According to such an embodiment, the serving MSC  56  may detect the feature code trigger specific to the NND service, causing the MSC  56  to send a query message to the SCP  60  at block  184 . As discussed hereinbefore with respect to  FIG. 8 , the SCP  60  may then route the call to the OPSS to provide the calling party with the requested directory assistance information. The call may then be routed from the OPSS to the IRS  34  with a message containing the requested telephone number to provide the NND service with the ASR functionality of the present invention, as described hereinbefore. 
     According to another embodiment, the network  50  of  FIG. 3  may be used to implement a subscriber interface with ASR capabilities for the simultaneous ring (SR) service. The SR service is an enhanced calling feature which causes a subscriber&#39;s landline and wireless telephones to ring simultaneously in response to an incoming call to the subscriber. Consequently, the subscriber could answer the incoming call with either the landline telephone or the wireless telephone, depending on which is more convenient for the subscriber. A subscriber interface for the service permits the subscriber to, for example, activate or deactivate the service. 
       FIG. 9  is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of how the network  40  may be utilized to provide a subscriber interface with ASR functionality for the SR service. The service will be described as being initiated by a communication from the telephone  22 , although a user of the wireless telephone  70  may also benefit from the present invention, as described further hereinbelow. The illustrated process begins at block  220 , where the calling party dials a predefined feature code specific to the subscriber interface for the SR service from the telephone  22 . The process continues to block  222 , where the SSP switch  12  detects the feature code trigger associated with the service for the subscriber line  20  for the calling party. In response to the trigger, at block  224 , the SSP switch  12  sends a query message to the SCP  28 . The SCP  28  receives the query message from the SSP switch  12 , and in response thereto, at block  226 , interrogates the database  32  to determine if the calling party is a subscriber to the SR service. According to another embodiment, at block  226  the SCP  28  may determine whether the calling party is a subscriber to the service by prompting the calling party to enter a personal identification number (PIN) unique to the subscriber for the telephone  22 . 
     If the calling party is not a subscriber to the SR service, the process continues to block  228 , whereupon the SCP  28  returns a message to the SSP switch  12  with instructions to terminate the call. On the other hand, if the calling party is a subscriber to the SR service, the process continues to block  230 , whereupon the SCP  28  returns a message to the SSP switch  12  with instructions to route the call to the IRS  34 . The message to the IRS  34  may include a message field indicating whether the subscriber&#39;s SR service is currently activated. 
     From block  230 , the process continues to block  232 , where the call processing module  40  of the IRS  34  receives the communication, and in response thereto, the enunciation module  44  plays an audible message for the calling party/subscriber prompting the calling party/subscriber to, for example, activate or deactivate the SR service. For example, the enunciation module  44  may play an audible message such as: “The simultaneous ring service is currently deactivated (or activated). If you wish to activate (or deactivate) the service, please press or speak ‘one’ now. If you wish to keep the service deactivated (or activated), please press or speak ‘two’ now.” Of course, the above-described exemplary message is but one example of the type of message the IRS  34  may play for the subscriber to realize the subscriber interface for the SR service of the present invention. In addition, the message may, for example, permit the subscriber to enter the telephone number for a different wireless telephone to be rung simultaneously with the subscriber&#39;s landline telephone. 
     Having prompted the calling party/subscriber to activate or deactivate the SR service at block  232 , the process continues to block  233 , where the IRS collects the DTMF and/or voice data transmitted by the calling party in response to the message played at block  232 . According to one embodiment, IRS  34  may provide a time window in which the data is to be entered. Thereafter, the process advances to block  234 , as discussed hereinbelow. 
     From block  233 , the process proceeds to block  234  where the DTMF decoder module  42  of the IRS  34  determines whether the calling party/subscriber has dialed one of the requested characters. The DTMF decoder module  42  may determine whether the calling party/subscriber has dialed one of the requested characters based on, for example, dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signal decoding. If the IRS  34  detects the requested digits, the process continues to block  236 , at which the call processing module  40  of the IRS  34  returns a message to the SCP  28  to modify the status of the subscriber&#39;s SR service in accordance with the instructions associated with the DTMF character entered by the calling party/subscriber. 
     Conversely, if at block  234  the IRS  34  does not detect one of the requested characters, the process continues to block  238 , where ASR module  46  of the IRS  34  determines whether a predefined keyword was spoken by the calling party/subscriber in response to the message played at block  232 . According to such an embodiment, the ASR module  46  may be programmed to recognize keywords such as, for example, “one” or “two”, etc. Such predefined keywords may be detected and recognized by the ASR module  46  as instructions to modify the status of the subscriber&#39;s SR service. If the IRS  34  does detect a recognized keyword at block  238 , the process flow continues to block  236 , where the call processing module  40  sends a message to the SCP  28  to modify the status of the subscriber&#39;s SR service in accordance with the instructions associated with the recognized keyword spoken by the calling party/subscriber. 
     Conversely, if a keyword is not recognized at block  238 , the process may continue to block  240 , where the IRS  34  determines whether the calling party has exceeded the number of allowable attempts necessary to transmit an appropriate and identifiable response in response to the message played at block  232 . If the calling party has exceeded the number of allowable attempts, the process proceeds to block  228 , where the call processing module  40  terminates the call. Conversely, if the calling party has not exceeded the number of allowable attempts, the process may return to block  232 , where the enunciation module  44  may replay the message for the calling party/subscriber, hence re-prompting the calling party/subscriber to modify the status of the SR service. 
     According to other embodiments, the calling party may be a user of the wireless telephone  70 . According to such an embodiment, the serving MSC  56  may detect a feature code trigger specific to the subscriber interface for SR service, causing the MSC  56  to send a query message to the SCP  60  at block  224 . As discussed hereinbefore with respect to  FIG. 9 , the SCP  60  may then route the call to the IRS  34  (assuming the calling party is a subscriber of the SR service) via the tandem office  54  and the AIN  10  to provide the subscriber interface for the SR service with ASR capabilities according to the present invention. 
     The network  50  of the present invention may also be utilized to provide the subscriber interface with ASR capability when a subscriber accesses the network  50  from a remote unit such as, for example, referring to  FIG. 3 , from the landline telephone  22 , to modify the status of the SR service associated with, for example, the wireless telephone  70  and the landline telephone  77 . According to such an embodiment, the calling party may dial from the telephone  22  an administration number for remotely accessing the subscriber interface for the SR service. The SSP switch  12  may detect an originating trigger associated with the administration number, and in response thereto, send a query message to the SCP  28 . To avoid unauthorized modification of the status of a subscriber&#39;s SR service, the SCP  28  may send a return message to the SSP switch  12  to route the call to the IRS  34 . The call processing module  40  may receive the communication with instructions for the enunciation module  44  to play an audible message prompting the caller to enter a code, such as a personal identification number (PIN), to access the subscriber interface. A feature code trigger of the SSP switch  12  may detect the code dialed by the calling party, and the process of modifying the status of the subscriber&#39;s SR service using the ASR functionality of the present invention may continue as described hereinbefore with regard to  FIG. 9  if the code entered by the calling party matches the subscriber&#39;s PIN. 
     Similarly, a user of the wireless telephone  70  may remotely modify the status of the SR service associated with, for example, the telephone  22  or another wireless telephone (not shown), by dialing an administration number. The serving MSC  56  may then detect an originating trigger associated with the administration number, and in response thereto, send a query message to the SCP  60 . The SCP  60  may then route the call to the IRS  34  via the tandem office  54  to provide the subscriber interface with ASR capability as described hereinbefore. 
     Although the present invention has been described herein with respect to certain embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that many modifications and variations of the present invention may be implemented. For example, for the methods illustrated in  FIGS. 4-9 , the IRS  34  may determine a predetermined keyword was spoken by the party prior to detecting whether the requested DTMF was entered. In addition, for the NND service described hereinbefore with respect to  FIG. 8 , the ASR module  46  may be incorporated with the OPSS, rather than routing the call from the OPSS to the IRS  34 . The foregoing description and the following claims are intended to cover all such modifications and variations.