Patent ID: 8073977

Claim:
A method for providing telephony services through the Internet, the method comprising: by a server available through the Internet, communicating with a plurality of hosts, said plurality of hosts comprising personal computers, each host being connected to a local phone service via a local phone line and to the server via the Internet, the server communicating with clients through the Internet to provide clients access to local phone services and communications through the local phone lines of the plurality of hosts, wherein the server routes a phone call from a client through the Internet to an available host that is in the local area of the destination of the phone call by searching a directory of available hosts and providing a client an available host for the phone call so that the client and available host can communicate directly without sending data through the server, and the phone call proceeds through the local phone service of the available host that is in the local area via the local phone line of the available host that is in the local area via data exchange between the available host and the client without sending data through the server.