Patent ID: 8817776

Claim:
A method for a first Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) device connected to an IP network and a first telephone system to share its telephone resource, comprising: joining a group of VoIP devices connected to the IP network, the group sharing its telephone resources; receiving from a caller a telephone number to call a device; determining a subgroup of the VoIP devices located in the same region as the device; selecting, from the subgroup of the VoIP devices, a second VoIP device that offers the best performance value less than a threshold, the performance value having an initial value, the performance value being credited each time or each minute that telephone resources of the second VoIP device are shared, the performance score being debited each time or each minute the telephone resources of the group are used by the second VoIP device; connecting to the second VoIP device over the IP network; transmitting the telephone number to the second VoIP device, wherein the second VoIP device connects to the device through a second telephone system; and transmitting to and receiving from the second VoIP device voice signals between the caller and a recipient at the device.