Patent ID: 8774374

Claim:
A system comprising: one or more network devices including: one or more memories including a first database to store voicemail message information associated with a voicemail mailbox, and a second database to associate a plurality of device numbers with the voicemail mailbox, where each of a plurality of communication devices is associated with a different one of the plurality of device numbers; a receiver to receive a new voicemail message associated with the voicemail mailbox; a processor to query to the second database to retrieve the plurality of device numbers associated with the voicemail mailbox; a transmitter to send a notification of the new voicemail message to each of the plurality of communication devices associated with the plurality of device numbers, wherein the notification indicates a number of new voicemail messages associated with the voicemail mailbox, indicates a total number of voicemail messages associated with the voicemail mailbox, and includes an identifier of the new voicemail message, where the notification causes each of the plurality of communication devices to determine whether or not to request a list of voicemail messages associated with the voicemail mailbox based on the number of new voicemail messages from the notification, the total number of voicemail messages from the notification, or the identifier of the new voicemail message from the notification, wherein the notification causes one of the plurality of communication devices to determine to request the list of voicemail messages based on the number of new voicemail messages from the notification, the total number of voicemail messages from the notification, or the identifier of the new voicemail message from the notification, and wherein the notification causes at least another one of the plurality of communication devices to determine not to request the list of voicemail messages based on the number of new voicemail messages from the notification, the total number of voicemail messages from the notification, or the identifier of the new voicemail message from the notification; and a receiver to receive, from the one of the communication devices in response to the notification, a request for the list of voicemail messages associated with the voicemail mailbox, where the transmitter sends, to the one of the plurality of communications devices, the list of voicemail messages associated with the voicemail mailbox, the list of voicemail messages listing the new voicemail message.