Patent ID: 7042994

Claim:
A method for making a long distance or international telephone call, comprising: calling an assigned telephone number to access a sign-up calling plan service billed to a home plan at a home plan rate, the calling the assigned telephone number accessing a service switching point, the service switching point encountering a specific digit string trigger in response to the calling, the service switching point sending a call-related query to a service control point in response to the specific digit string trigger; the service control point prompting generation of a calling plan service announcement; responding to the calling plan service announcement by entering a selection responsive to whether the long distance call is to be billed to a home long distance calling plan, a calling card plan, or a toll-free calling plan; responding to the calling plan service announcement by entering the a telephone number associated with the sign-up calling plan service and a personal identification number to validate the caller; and entering the long distance telephone number to complete the call.