Patent ID: 8615004

Claim:
A method for supporting on-net calls in a voice over internet protocol network, comprising: registering a first cellular endpoint device of a subscriber with the voice over internet protocol network to be a registered on-net endpoint device, wherein the first cellular endpoint device is also registered with a cellular access network, wherein the registering comprises registering a telephone number of the first cellular endpoint device with the voice over internet protocol network, wherein the first cellular endpoint device only connects to the voice over internet protocol network via the cellular access network; receiving a call setup message in the voice over internet protocol network for a call from an originating registered on-net endpoint device to a terminating registered on-net endpoint device, where the originating registered on-net endpoint device is the first cellular endpoint device that is accessed via the cellular access network for the call, and where the terminating registered on-net endpoint device is a second cellular endpoint device that only connects to the voice over internet protocol network via a cellular access network; categorizing the call as an on-net call in the voice over internet protocol network, wherein the on-net call is a call that is originated from a registered on-net endpoint in the voice over internet protocol network and is terminated on another registered on-net endpoint in the same voice over internet protocol network, wherein the categorizing comprises consulting the telephone number to determine that the first cellular endpoint device is a registered on-net endpoint device; and applying an on-net billing rate to the call, wherein the subscriber has an account with the voice over internet protocol network that defines the on-net billing rate, wherein the on-net billing rate includes unlimited on-net to on-net calling along with a flat rate for a bucket of long distance minutes.