Patent ID: 7133503

Claim:
A method implemented in a telecommunications system for providing a called party with selectable control for handling an incoming call from a calling party, the method comprising the steps of: receiving on a called party's wireless telephony device an alert of an incoming call; transmitting a defer answer wireless signal from the called party's wireless telephony device to an infrastructure switch handling the telephone call in response to activation of a corresponding special purpose button; in response to receipt of the defer answer signal by the switch, the switch putting the incoming call on hold and playing a recorded voice message customized by the called party to the calling party; transmitting a connect call wireless signal from the called party's telephony device to the switch in response to an activation initiated by the called party; in response to receipt of the connect call wireless signal, the switch connecting the incoming call to the called party wherein said wireless telephony device includes said special purpose button and wherein said defer answer signal is transmitted as an out-of-band signal to the switch.