Patent ID: 8155298

Claim:
A method for providing user control selections for routing of one or more communications between users of one or more communications networks, wherein the users either 1) initiate a communication, 2) receive a communication, or 3) control a communication, the user control selections provided by a user via access to a web server of a web-enabled processing system connected to operate at least in part with the one or more communication networks, wherein at least one of the communication networks is a network comprising edge switches for routing calls from and to users within a local geographic area and switching facilities for routing calls to other edge switches or other switching facilities local or in other geographic areas, the web server of web-enabled processing system facilitating direct access by a user for providing user control selections to the at least one of the switching facilities, the user having a communications device with which to communicate with the web server of the web-enabled processing system, the method comprising the steps of: facilitating access by authorized users to the web-enabled processing system, via the web server, the web-enabled processing system coupled to at least one of the switching facilities of the network, the web-enabled processing system configured to route a communication from a specific one of the users to an intended recipient of the users; executing control criteria, via the web-enabled processing system, to control the routing of the one or more communications via the web-enabled processing system, the control criteria predetermined by the users control selections via the web server before the control criteria are executed via the web-enabled processing system, wherein the web-enabled processing system is configured to perform the following operations to execute the control criteria: first, receive a message indicating a communication request from a user initiating a communication for an intended recipient user, wherein the message request is transmitted using a signalling protocol of the at least one communication network; second, validate and acknowledge said communications request without first forwarding said request to a terminating edge switch within the geographic area of the intended recipient of the users; third, determine the control criteria for access to the intended recipient of the users; fourth, facilitate selection of a routing path over the at least one communication network in accordance with the control criteria for the intended recipient user; fifth, route the communication in accordance with the control criteria, and sixth, complete a communications link between the user initiating the communication and the intended recipient of the users, when the intended recipient of the users accepts the communication from the user initiating the communication.