Patent ID: 7436943

Claim:
An apparatus for managing information regarding a telephone number of a user, the apparatus comprising: a storing unit that stores a first regular telephone number of a first telephone terminal of a first user and information indicating whether the first user approves redialing, and a second regular telephone number of a second terminal of a second user; a provisional-telephone-number generating unit that generates, in response to a request from the first telephone terminal, a first provisional telephone number of the first telephone terminal and a second provisional telephone number of the second telephone terminal, notifies the second provisional telephone number to the first telephone terminal, and stores the first and second provisional telephone numbers relative to the first and second regular telephone numbers respectively in the storing unit; a searching unit that searches the second regular telephone number corresponding to the second provisional number from the storing unit when the searching unit receives the second provisional telephone number and the first regular telephone number from the first telephone terminal; and a call establishing unit that establishes a call between the first telephone terminal and the second telephone terminal based on a result of the search, and notifies the first provisional telephone number to the second telephone terminal when the information stored in the storing unit indicates that the first telephone terminal appoves redialing.