Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US6748069
Timestamp: 2018-02-24 20:17:59
Document Index: 12301672

Matched Legal Cases: ['arty 160', 'arty 160', 'arty 160', 'arty 120', 'arty 120', 'arty 120', 'arty 120', 'arty 120', 'arty 160', 'arty 160']

US6748069B1 - Method and system for routing calling name queries - Google Patents
Method and system for routing calling name queries
US6748069B1
US6748069B1 US08934492 US93449297A US6748069B1 US 6748069 B1 US6748069 B1 US 6748069B1 US 08934492 US08934492 US 08934492 US 93449297 A US93449297 A US 93449297A US 6748069 B1 US6748069 B1 US 6748069B1
US08934492
A method and system for routing Calling Name queries in a locally competitive environment includes the creation of a Calling Name query having both the calling party number and the called party number. The query is routed to a service control point of the local exchange carrier, where the called party number is extracted to determine the Calling Name service provider for the called party. The service control point accesses a series of databases to route the Calling Name query to the proper service provider/destination. The databases include a database storing a table of subscribers and their choice for Calling Name service, a database storing porting status of telephone numbers, and a database storing information about distribution of other local number portability databases.
Calling Name Service is one of several popular telephone services offered by Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (“ILECs”) within a region. Calling Name allows a subscribing called party to obtain information about a calling party prior to initiation of the conversation. Information that can be obtained include the calling party's name, phone number, and address. The ILEC usually transfers the information to a display attached to the called party's telephone. The called party may thus identify the calling party prior to answering the call. Calling Name may be used for a variety of purposes, such as avoiding telemarketers and other unwelcome solicitors. Called parties may also use Calling Name to avoid more serious forms of harassment and stalking.
Calling Name is currently offered within certain regions by the ILEC for that region. Under the current paradigm, a Calling Name transaction begins in the called party's End Office (“EO”), a programmable switch that receives calls for the subscribing called party. Upon receiving a call for a Calling Name subscriber, the EO launches a Calling Name query to obtain the calling party's information. The EO formats the query using a TR1188 protocol and containing the ten-digit calling party telephone number. The query is sent to a signal transfer point (“STP”) to determine the proper Calling Name (“CNAM”) database storing the necessary information. The STP uses a lookup table to route the query to the proper CNAM database based upon the calling party number. The query may be routed to either an in-region database or to an out-of-region database. The CNAM database accesses the information and returns a response directly to the requesting switch (the EO).
The current method for routing Calling Name queries is suitable for an environment lacking “unbundled” local competition. The advent of local competition, however, complicates the telecommunications scenario. Pursuant to the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the FCC has mandated certain “interconnection” requirements to make it easier for new companies to enter a local telecommunications market. The goal of the Act is to offer a wider selection of local service providers to consumers. The two FCC mandates that, perhaps, significantly impact the Calling Name Service are: (1) FCC First Report & Order in the matter of Telephone Number Portability, docket 95-116, released Jul. 2, 1996 (Local Number Portability); and (2) FCC Report & Order in the matter of Local Competition, docket 96-98 released Aug. 8, 1996 (“Unbundling”).
Local number portability (“LNP”) allows subscribers to keep their phone numbers when they change residences and/or service providers. A mandate of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, this option must be available to subscribers in the top 100 markets by the end of 1998. The advantages of retaining one's phone number were recognized in exchange tariffs as early as the 1960s. The issue also cropped up in the 1980s and early 1990s, when portability for 800 numbers was instituted to encourage competition in the toll-free long-distance sector. More recently, a survey conducted by the Gallup poll found that nearly 80 percent of residential subscribers and 90 percent of business subscribers would be unwilling to change service providers if they had to surrender current phone numbers.
“Unbundling” is a regulatory requirement providing competitive local exchange carriers (“CLECs”) or other information providers the ability to separately lease discrete functional components of an ILEC's network to provide service. An unbundled local loop, for example, is an ILEC-provided transmission path between, and including, the customer network interface (e.g., the jack) located at the end-customer's premises and the central office loop termination located in the ILEC's central office building. As another example, an unbundled port provides a CLEC with local switching functionality, in addition to the local loop, on an ILEC's switch as an alternative to providing a standalone switch. Numerous components may be unbundled, including the local loop, switch ports, and Advanced Intelligent Network (“AIN”) triggers.
Further, the CLECs may desire to offer competitive vertical services (e.g., Calling Name, Call Forwarding, Follow Me Services) as an alternative to those services provided by the ILEC. In particular, offering Calling Name service in an unbundled environment, however, poses additional problems. In the current Calling Name scenario, which accounts for a local number portability environment, when a called party has subscribed to Calling Name service, her end office will send a query to a signal transfer point (“STP”). The STP will determine the location of the Calling Name database based upon the NPA-NXX of the calling party number. The STP will then route the Calling Name query to the appropriate Calling Name database. The Calling Name database typically includes the name information and city/state information for a group of telephone numbers. Additionally, the SS7 Network can check to see if the calling party number belongs to a portable NPA-NXX and, if ported, can route the query to the appropriate Calling Name database.
The present invention overcomes the problems and disadvantages of the prior art by creating a Calling Name query that includes not only the calling party telephone information, but additional identifying information about characteristics of the called party. By including this additional called party information within the query, the local exchange carrier may then determine the appropriate Calling Name service provider for the called party. In addition, the present invention includes a cooperative mechanism for working with multiple databases (e.g., Calling Name, LNP) in a manner that seeks to minimize the number of additional processing steps in providing the Calling Name service.
The service control point includes: (1) a CNAM Service Provider Identification (“CSPI”) database; (2) a local number portability (“LNP”) database; (2) an out-of-region (OOR”) data table; and information about the distribution of other LNP databases. Each service control point has a corresponding area of service, linking a group of NPA-NXXs to a particular service control point. The service control point is coupled to one or more Calling Name databases, each database having its own area of service. In the present invention, each service control point area of service includes one or more Calling Name areas of service, such that calling name queries may be routed directly to a Calling Name database. Thus, the need for the STP to determine the destination of a Calling Name query is eliminated. STPs may still be relied upon for routing the query to a destination.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a locally competitive telephone network in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary group of telephone networks interconnected via Signaling System #7 (“SS7”) and operating in a locally competitive environment, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. More specifically, the network includes a region 110 serviced by an incumbent local exchange carrier (“ILEC”) and one or more regions 150 serviced by a competitive local exchange carrier (“CLEC”). The CLEC region 150 and ILEC region 110 may overlap. The ILEC calling region 110 is further broken down into two Calling Name Routing/Local Number Portability Service Control Point (“CNAM Routing/LNP SCP”) areas of service 130, 140. Each CNAM Routing/LNP SCP area of service 130, 140 provides Calling Name Routing service for a particular group of NPA-NXXs.
The CLEC region 150 includes a calling party 160 and a CLEC end office 165 that switches calls to and from the calling party 160. The CLEC region 150 further includes a signal transfer point (“STP”) 175 for routing messages to and from other networks, such as network 110. The STP 175 may also route messages to its own internal SS7 nodes, including a Calling Name (“CNAM”) database 170 that stores Calling Name information, such as a calling party's name and telephone number. Although a CLEC is illustrated, it should be apparent that the principles described herein equally apply to other information providers.
When the calling party 160 initiates a telephone call to the called party 120, the calling party's end office 165 switches the call to the called party's end office 125. The calling party telephone number (in NPA-NXX-XXXX format) is automatically transmitted to the end office 125. Because the called party 120 is a Calling Name subscriber, the called party's end office 125 has been programmed to initiate a Calling Name query prior to connecting the call. Accordingly, the called party's end office 125 launches a Calling Name query, such as a TR1188 TCAP query message, to an STP 150 for routing to a CNAM database. The TR1188 standards are described in detail in “LATA Switching Systems Generic Requirements; Class Feature: Calling Name Delivery Generic Requirements,” Technical Reference TR-NWT-001188, published December, 1991 by Bell Communications Research, (the “TR1188 specification”) which is incorporated by reference herein.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the 9-octet length Digits [Called Number] field 263 of the calling name query 250. The Digits [Called Number] field 263 allows a ten-digit called party number to be sent in the query 250. The field 263 has a format similar to the Digits [Calling Directory Number] field 258. Thus, the field 263 is coded contextual, primitive, with identifier code 4 in national standard TCAP. The Type of Digits subfield 264 is coded to specify that the subfield is a Called Directory Number. The Nature of Number subfield 265 has Bit 1 coding of “0” to indicate a “national number” and Bit 2 coding of “0” if presentation is allowed. Bit 2 is coded “1” if presentation is restricted. Bits 3-8 of the Nature of Number subfield 264 are spare bits and are coded zeros. The Numbering Plan subfield 266 is coded 0001 to indicate the ISDN Numbering Plan. The Encoding Scheme subfield 268 is coded 0001 to indicate BCD encoding. The Number of Digits subfield 270 is binary coded to indicate the number of digits present in the Digits subfield 272. Since 10 digits will be sent (NPA-NXX-XXXX), this field 270 is coded 00001010. The ten BCD-encoded digits of the Called Party Number are then sent in subfields 280-298.
The CNAM Routing/LNP SCP 200 is a front end to a Local Number Portability database 210, a CNAM Service Provider Information (“CSPI”) database 215, and an out-of-region (“OOR”) data table 212. The CNAM Routing/LNP SCP 200 is further coupled to one or more Calling Name databases 225, 227 within the network 100. The CNAM Routing/LNP SCP 200 includes processing logic for both processing and routing messages. Although the CNAM Routing/LNP SCP 200 is not a database itself, it may be collocated with databases 210, 215, 225, 227.
The table 400 includes a called party field 420 and a routing point code field 440. The values shown in the fields 420, 440, as illustrated in FIG. 4, are for example purposes only. The called party field 420 contains a ten-digit telephone number for subscribers to alternate (non-ILEC-provided) Calling Name service providers. The routing point code field 440 includes an SS7 point code address corresponding to the Calling Name service provider of the party indicated in the adjacent called party field 420. For example, in FIG. 4, a called party with the telephone number “404-555-1111” subscribes to a Calling Name service provider having the SS7 point code “network1:cluster1:member1”. Similarly, a called party with the telephone number “404-555-2222” subscribes to a Calling Name Service Provider having a point code “network1:cluster2:member2”. The table 400 may include additional information, such as an identifier 460 for the calling party's CLEC and an identifier 480 for the Calling Name service provider. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the table 400 includes only those ten-digit telephone numbers for which the ILEC is not the Calling Name service provider. It should be apparent, however, to one of ordinary skill in the art that the table 400 may be configured, for example, to include all ten-digit telephone numbers receiving Calling Name service.
If the number of the called party 120 is listed in the table 400, the database 210 retrieves the appropriate Calling Name service provider point code address and provides the Calling Name service provider point code address to the CNAM Routing/LNP SCP 200. The CNAM Routing/LNP SCP 200 will “hand off” the query 250 to the called party's Calling Name Service Provider. Specifically, the CNAM Routing/LNP SCP 200 sends the query 250 and the point code address to the STP 150. The STP 150 will then route the query 250 to the specified address of the Calling Name service provider.
If the number of the called party 120 is not found in the table 400, the CNAM Routing/LNP SCP 200 assumes that the called party 120 is a subscriber to the ILEC's Calling Name service. The CNAM Routing/LNP SCP 200 then determines whether the calling party 160 is within the ILEC's coverage region 110 by examining the OOR data table 212. The CNAM Routing/LNP SCP 200 extracts the calling party number 255 from the query 250 to determine the NPA-NXX of the calling party 160. If the NPA-NXX is outside of the ILEC's coverage region 110, the CNAM Routing/LNP SCP 200 routes the query to an OOR LEC to access the Calling Name information. The OOR LEC must previously have agreed to provide Calling Name information to the ILEC's Calling Name subscribers. If the parties have agreed as such, the CNAM Routing/LNP SCP 200 routes the query 250 back to the STP 150 with a point code address for the LEC's Calling Name database. Since the address is outside the STP's region, the STP 150 must route the query through a Regional Signal Transfer Point (“RSTP”) 180. The RSTP then routes the query to the proper regional Calling Name database (not shown). The regional Calling Name database will return the Calling Name information to the end office 125.
1. A method for routing a TR-1188 Calling Name query to provide Calling Name information respecting a calling party to a called party, the method comprising:
receiving the TR-1188 Calling Name query including a calling party number and an identifier for the called party;
using the identifier to determine that an alternate service provider serves as a Calling Name service provider for the called party; and
causing the TR-1188 Calling Name query to be routed to the alternate service provider.
2. A method for routing a Calling Name query to provide Calling Name information respecting a calling party to a called party, the method comprising:
receiving the Calling Name query from a network element serving the called party with the Calling Name query including a calling party number and an identifier for the called party.
using the identifier to directly make a determination that a local service provider serves as a Calling Name service provider for the called party; and
in response to the determination, causing the Calling Name query to be routed to a database of the local service provider.
3. The method for routing a Calling Name query, as recited in claim 2, wherein making a finding that the calling party number is within a service region of the local service is a prerequisite to causing the Calling Name query to be sent to the database of the local service provider.
making a finding that the calling party number is not within a service region of the local service provider; and
based on the finding, instead of causing the Calling Name query to be sent to the database of the local service provider, then causing the Calling Name query to be sent to an out-of-region (OOR) data file.
5. The method for routing a Calling Name query, as recited in claim 2, further comprising:
based on the finding, checking whether an out-of-region (OOR) data file is available; and
if the OOR data file is unavailable, then causing the Calling Name query to be sent to the database of the local service provider.
6. The method for routing a Calling Name query, as recited in claim 2, further comprising:
making a finding that the calling party number is within a service area of a service region of the local service provider; and
based on the finding, then causing the Calling Name query to be sent to the database of the local service provider.
7. The method for routing a Calling Name query, as recited in claim 2, wherein the database of the local service provider serves a service area within a service region of the local service provider; and further comprising:
making a finding that the calling party number is not within the service area of the service region of the local service provider; and
in response to the finding, then causing the Calling Name query to be sent to another database of the local service provider instead of the database.
8. The method for routing a Calling Name query, as recited in claim 2, further comprising:
based on the finding, checking whether the calling party number is ported; and
if the calling party number is not ported, then causing the Calling Name query to be sent to the database of the local service provider.
9. The method for routing a Calling Name query, as recited in claim 2, further comprising:
if the calling party number is ported, causing the Calling Name query to be sent to a service provider serving the calling party instead of causing the Calling Name query to be sent to the database of the local service provider.
10. The method for routing a Calling Name query, as recited in claim 2, further comprising:
making a finding that the calling party number is ported; and
in response to the finding, sending the query to a service provider serving the calling party instead of sending the query to the database of the local service provider.
11. A system for routing a TR-1188 Calling Name query to provide Calling Name information respecting a calling party to a called party, the system comprising:
an intelligent device for receiving the TR-1188 Calling Name query, which includes a calling party number and an identifier for the called party;
the intelligent device operative to use the identifier to determine that an alternate service provider serves as a Calling Name service provider for the called party; and
the intelligent device operative to cause the TR-1188 Calling Name query to be sent to the alternate service provider.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein the intelligent device comprises a service control point (SCP).
receiving a Calling name query identifying a called number from a network element serving the called number;
determining a service provider that provides Calling Name service to the called number; and
routing the Calling Name query to the service provider.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the Calling Name query includes a calling number.
an intelligent device for receiving the TR-1188 Calling Name query identifying the called party;
the intelligent device operative to determine a service provider providing Calling Name service to the called party and
the intelligent device operative to cause the TR-1188 Calling Name query to be sent the service provider.
23. The system of claim 22, wherein the intelligent device comprises a service control point (SCP).
US08934492 1997-09-19 1997-09-19 Method and system for routing calling name queries Expired - Fee Related US6748069B1 (en)
US08934492 US6748069B1 (en) 1997-09-19 1997-09-19 Method and system for routing calling name queries
PCT/US1998/018367 WO1999016258A1 (en) 1997-09-19 1998-09-04 Method and system for routing calling name queries
US6748069B1 true US6748069B1 (en) 2004-06-08
ID=25465641
US08934492 Expired - Fee Related US6748069B1 (en) 1997-09-19 1997-09-19 Method and system for routing calling name queries
US (1) US6748069B1 (en)
WO (1) WO1999016258A1 (en)
US20070201648A1 (en) * 2006-02-28 2007-08-30 Miller Sam A Caller identification billing
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WO1999016258A1 (en) 1999-04-01 application
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:NIMMAGADDA, PRASAD;SIMPSON, ANITA H.;REEL/FRAME:008814/0884