Patent ID: 6965592

Claim:
A distributed call signaling message routing gateway comprising: (a) a first distributed gateway routing element including a first interface for sending SS7 call signaling messages to and receiving SS7 call signaling messages from a first SS7 network element via a first SS7 signaling link and for performing SS7 routing functions for the SS7 messages received from the first SS7 network element and a second interface for sending the SS7-routed messages over a virtual bus and for setting quality of service parameters in the SS7-routed messages sent over the virtual bus, wherein the SS7 call signaling messages sent over the second interface include a plurality of different signaling message types and wherein setting quality of service parameters includes determining a required quality of service parameter for each SS7 call signaling message sent over the second interface based on the signaling message type of each SS7 call signaling message; and (b) at least one second distributed gateway routing element including a first interface for receiving the SS7-routed messages from the first distributed gateway routing element and a second interface for SS7-routing the received messages to a second SS7 network element via a second SS7 signaling link, wherein the first and second distributed gateway routing elements are adapted to be located at geographically diverse locations and to share an SS7 point code and thereby function as a geographically distributed STP associated with different SS7 signaling points.