Patent ID: 7760707

Claim:
A method for applying services to calls placed to or from subscribers to a telephony services provider, the method comprising: receiving, at a first telephony proxy server controlled by a telephony infrastructure provider, a request to place a call to or from a first call participant; identifying a second telephony proxy server also controlled by the telephony infrastructure provider but associated with a second call participant; in response to the request, determining whether the first call participant is a subscriber to telephony services provided by the telephony services provider; if the first call participant is determined to not be a subscriber to telephony services provided by the telephony services provider, establishing a direct signaling path and a direct voice path for the call directly between the first telephony proxy server and the second telephony proxy server bypassing the telephony services provider; and if the first call participant is determined to be a subscriber to telephony services provided by the telephony services provider: (i) establishing a first signaling path for the call between the first telephony proxy server and the telephony services provider, (ii) establishing a second signaling path for the call between the second telephony proxy server and the telephony services provider, (iii) sending an indication of the call to the telephony services provider over the first signaling path, (iv) receiving the indication of the call at the telephony services provider over the first signaling path, (v) identifying, at the telephony services provider, one or more control signals configured to affect a voice path of the call that is established between the first telephony proxy server and the second telephony proxy server, and (vi) sending the identified control signals to the first telephony proxy server over the first signaling path and to the second telephony proxy server over the second signaling path.