Patent ID: 7106743

Claim:
A telecommunications system adapted to perform as a geographically-distributed call receiving center for an inbound telemarketing campaign while minimizing capital expenditures associated with constructing the telecommunications system, enhancing utilization levels of the call receiving center, the telecommunications system comprising at least the following: a single, centralized hub having at least one voice response unit (VRU) for initially receiving and processing incoming telephone calls, a server coupled to the VRU unit, a programmable switch, and at least a first Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) switch adapted to transfer ones of said calls for routing to a remote location corresponding to the number dialed for said calls, wherein the programmable switch is coupled to the VRU and to the first ATM switch; a plurality of remote sites distributed to respective locations that are geographically remote from the hub, each site having a respective second ATM switch adapted to receive ones of the calls as transferred from the first ATM switch, at least one telephone receiver to enable live operators at the sites to receive the transferred calls from the second ATM switch, and at least one server coupled at least to the second ATM switch, wherein a respective parameter representing a peak hours of operation is associated with each one of the remote sites, wherein the respective parameters associated with corresponding ones of the remote sites are staggered relative to one another, wherein all of said calls are received by the hub and routed to given ones of the remote sites based on the parameter, thereby utilizing the hub more efficiently over time, and wherein capital assets located at the respective sites are minimized in favor of maximizing the capital assets located at the hub; a first connectivity member coupled to provide voice communications between the hub and the sites so that the hub has a one-to-many relationship with the sites; a second connectivity member coupled to provide data communications between the hub and the sites, the server at the hub coupled to communicate with each of the servers at the sites via the second connectivity member; and at least a third connectivity member coupled to provide a redundant voice communications link between the hub and the sites in the event that the first connectivity member fails; wherein the incoming telephone calls received and processed at the VRU are each assigned an internal Dialed Number Information Service (DNIS) that associates each of the calls with their proper remote sites; wherein the first ATM switch uses the internal DNIS associated with each of the calls to route the calls to their proper remote sites; and wherein the programmable switch is programmed to route each of the calls to their proper remote sites in an event of a system failure, based upon the internal DNIS associated with each of the calls.