Patent ID: 8498660

Claim:
An apparatus for providing connected portfolio services in a wireless communications system, comprising: a wireless network for making calls between handsets, wherein the calls are initiated by call setup and in-band signaling within the wireless network and voice frames for the calls are switched between the handsets by one or more mobile switching centers across bearer paths in the wireless network; and a real-time exchange that interfaces to at least one of the mobile switching centers in the wireless network to provide connected portfolio services therein, without requiring any changes to the at least one of the mobile switching centers or other equipment of the wireless network to provide the connected portfolio services; wherein both the real-time exchange and the handsets that use the connected portfolio services communicate with each other using the call setup and in-band signaling within the wireless network, such that a user enters a dialed number for a call on an originating handset, which initiates an originating leg of the connected portfolio services, the at least one of the mobile switching centers analyzes the dialed number and routes the originating leg of the connected portfolio services from the originating handset to the real-time exchange, the real-time exchange identifies a logical group of numbers for one or more terminating handsets of the connected portfolio services from the dialed number and allocates a single number that is assigned to the call to represent the logical group of numbers for the one or more terminating handsets of the connected portfolio services, the real-time exchange initiates one or more terminating legs of the connected portfolio services to the one or more terminating handsets through the at least one of the mobile switching centers, and the real-time exchange switches the voice frames for the connected portfolio services from the originating handset to the one or more terminating handsets across the bearer paths and through the at least one of the mobile switching centers that switches the voice frames for both the calls and the connected portfolio services in the wireless network.