Patent ID: 7260384

Claim:
A method comprising: receiving into a cellular radio access network (RAN), from a cellular wireless subscriber operating in a wireless coverage area of the RAN, a voice mail call request; responsively setting up a first leg of the call from the subscriber, via the RAN, to a media gateway system; determining which of a plurality of voice mail systems associated with the subscriber should receive the call; and setting up a second leg of the call from the media gateway system to the determined voice mail system, thus connecting the subscriber to the determined voice mail system, wherein the method further comprises maintaining a profile record for the subscriber, wherein the profile record includes at least one criterion for use in determining which of the plurality of voice mail systems associated with the subscriber should receive the call, wherein determining which of the plurality of voice mail systems associated with the subscriber should receive the call comprises (i) querying the profile record to determine the at least one criterion, and (ii) using the at least one criterion as a basis to determine which of the plurality of voice mail systems associated with the subscriber should receive the call, wherein the at least one criterion comprises a rule specifying (a) that the call should be routed to a first voice mail system if the subscriber is checked-into a cellular-PBX integration service to which the subscriber subscribes and (b) that the call should be routed to a second voice mail system if the subscriber is checked-out of the cellular-PBX integration service, and wherein determining which of the plurality of voice mail systems associated with the subscriber should receive the call comprises (i) making a determination whether the subscriber is checked-into or checked-out of the cellular-PBX integration service, (ii) if the determination is that the subscriber is checked-into the cellular-PBX integration service, then determining that the first voice mail system should receive the call, and (iii) if the determination is that the subscriber is checked-out of the cellular-PBX integration service, then determining that the second voice mail system should receive the call.