Patent ID: 7693135

Claim:
A method of servicing a call originating from a first telephone device coupled to an Internet Protocol based network, the first telephone device using Internet Protocol packets and being used by a telephone service subscriber with whom a first telephone number is associated, the call being directed to a second telephone device coupled to a telephone switch included in a public switched telephone network, a second telephone number being associated with the second telephone device, the method comprising the steps of: setting a trigger at a telephone switch which interconnects the Internet Protocol based network and public switched telephone network, said switch at which the trigger is set being said telephone switch or a different telephone switch, the trigger being activated in response to a telephone call including the first telephone number in a field included in said telephone call; in response to the trigger being activated by said telephone call, contacting a service control point for call processing instructions; and operating the service control point to control the telephone switch where said first trigger is set to route the call using the second telephone number as the called party telephone number and to send a billing signal to another telephone switch included in the public switched telephone network to bill the first telephone service subscriber for the telephone call.