Patent ID: 7035385

Claim:
A method for enabling a voicemail subscriber to screen telephone calls, the method comprising: detecting that an incoming call intended for a subscriber's telephone is unanswered; forwarding the incoming call to a service node upon detecting that the incoming call is unanswered; searching a voicemail access table to determine a voicemail access number associated with the subscriber's telephone line; placing a first outgoing call from the service node to the subscriber's telephone; when the subscriber's telephone operates in a wireless network, delaying placing a second outgoing call from the service node to the subscriber's voicemail box to account for a longer call set-up time in the wireless network, the delayed second outgoing call ensuring the subscriber may screen an entire message recorded by a voicemail system; connecting the incoming call, the first outgoing call, and the second outgoing call to a three-way conference bridge, wherein the first outgoing call to the subscriber's telephone is connected via a connect_oneway_path to the subscriber's telephone without any further subscriber intervention upon detecting that the first outgoing call to the subscriber's telephone is answered, such that the subscriber can monitor a voicemail message as it is being recorded into the subscriber's voicemail box.