Patent ID: 7167553

Claim:
A routing method for connecting a communication session based on an identifier of a first party to a location selected from multiple potential locations, the method comprising: obtaining an identifier of a first party during a network communication session; accessing a computer system to attempt to retrieve data based on the identifier to permit connecting the network communication session to a location selected from multiple potential locations based at least in part on one or more precise geographic criteria; if the attempt to retrieve data to permit connecting the communication session is successful then connecting the network communication session to a selected location based on the retrieved data; and if the attempt to retrieve data to permit connecting the communication session is unsuccessful then (a) attempting to acquire data to permit connecting the network communication session to a location selected from multiple potential locations based at least in part on one or more precise geographic criteria, and (b) if the attempt to acquire data to permit connecting the communication session is successful then connecting the network communication session to a selected location based on the acquired data.