Patent ID: 7032025

Claim:
A network-based hardware and software system for enabling priority-based Internet access telephone number switching from a lower priority access number to a higher priority access number during a data session through monitoring current connection states of a user node connected to the network during session and comparing those states with current states of known alternate access numbers available to the user node during the network session, comprising: a CTI-switch for establishing call connections and performing call switching according to instruction formulated through the monitoring; a network-hosted part of a software application for monitoring the current user-node connection states and the current states of the alternate access numbers and for directing the CTI-switch function based on results of the monitoring; at least two network-access nodes connected to the network, the access nodes each accessible through dialing a network-access telephone number from the user node; and a client-hosted part of the software application for listing access numbers, configuring priority states to the access numbers based on priority characteristics of the access numbers including one or both of call connection cost and bandwidth characteristics, and for communicating the pertinent data to the network-hosted part of the software application, characterized in that a user connected to the network using a lower priority access number may continue the network session while a higher priority access number available to the user's node is identified from a list of alternate numbers through the monitoring performed by the network-hosted software application during the session, the identified number, also identified as currently accessible to the user's node, is either secured by the CTI-switch on behalf of the user, the user's node then disconnected and then re-connected to the secured number, or rendered to the user in a network notification after which, the user may manually disconnect and then re-connect to the available number.