Patent ID: 8774386

Claim:
A system for initiating a call by a caller to a called party on at least one alternate number, comprising: an endpoint for communicating with the called party via a primary number; at least one other endpoint for communicating with the called party via at least one alternate number; at least one database for storing a list of numbers including said primary number and said at least one alternate number, each said caller having their own list of alternate numbers for each called party; a presence server for tracking presence status of said called party; and a switch for obtaining said primary number from said database and said presence status of said called party from said presence server and in the event said called party is available then routing said call to said endpoint via said primary number, and otherwise determining whether call forwarding is enabled for said endpoint and in the event call forwarding is not enabled or call forwarding is enabled but does not permit said called party to be found then accessing said at least one alternate number from said caller list indexed by availability status of said called party in said database and routing said call to said other endpoint via said alternate number, and in the event calf forwarding is enabled and permits said called party to be found then routing said call in accordance with said call forwarding.