Patent ID: 8000317

Claim:
At least one computer readable medium, being a non-transitory signal, encoded with instructions capable of being executed by a computer embodied thereon for performing a method, at a customer's premises, of automatically routing calls in a voice-over-packet (VOP) environment without using a private branch exchange (PBX), the method comprising: monitoring, at a VOP automatic call distribution (VOP-ACD) device located at the customer's premises, an incoming packet-based data stream to identify VOP data that is associated with one or more voice communications; receiving packets, at the VOP-ACD device located at the customer's premises, the received packets having a first format, including a header for each packet, according to a first packet-based protocol; identifying the packets, at the VOP-ACD device located at the customer's premises, that make up a communications stream, wherein identification is determined from the header information included in the incoming data stream; identifying, by the VOP-ACD device located at the customer's premises, a first target recipient at the customer's premises who should be the object of the communications stream wherein identification is determined from the header information included in the incoming-data stream; determining, at the VOP-ACD device located at the customer's premises, whether automatic call distribution is applicable; and forwarding, by a routing component of the VOP-ACD device located at the customer's premises, in the first packet-based protocol, the received packets associated with the communications stream to the first target recipient.