Patent ID: 8060624

Claim:
One or more non-transitory computer-storage media having computer-usable instructions embodied thereon for causing a presence enabled media host device to perform a method for requesting the initiation of a communication session, the method comprising: accessing presence information on the presence enabled media host device (â€œhost deviceâ€), wherein the presence information comprises information relating to the availability of one or more first communication endpoints; aggregating presence information for a plurality of second communication endpoints connected to the host device, wherein the second communication endpoints and the media host device are located at a customer premises; communicating the presence information for the plurality of second communication endpoints from the host device to a presence server, wherein the presence information includes information indicating that a user associated with the one or more second communication endpoints is online, offline, busy, or idle; receiving a command on the host deviceËœthe command requesting establishment of a communication session between at least one of the one or more first communication endpoints and at least one of the one or more second communication endpoints; and communicating a request for the communication session from the media host device to a proxy server, wherein the request is communicated from the host device to the proxy server over a communication pathway comprising: (A) the host device, (B) a hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) network of a television-delivery network connected to the presence enabled media host device, (C) a headend of the television delivery network in communication with the hybrid fiber coaxial network, wherein communication between the host device and the headend occurs via the HFC network, (D) a packet network in communication with the headend, and (E) the proxy server in communication with the packet network, wherein communication between the headend and the proxy server occurs via the packet network, wherein the request for the communication session from the host device is communicated via the HFC network to the headend and from the headend via the packet network to the proxy server.