Patent ID: 8289365

Claim:
A method for controlling the operation of a teleconference across a telecommunications network comprising a plurality of nodes including one or more source locations and one or more remote locations, the teleconference including teleconference participants at each of said one or more source locations and at each of said one or more remote locations, the method performed by a teleconference controller, the method comprising: receiving, at the teleconference controller, a request from a first one of said remote locations to deliver a media signal from a first one of said source locations to said first one of said remote locations; automatically selecting, at the teleconference controller, a second one of said remote locations to serve as a peer-to-peer forwarding node for said delivery of said media signal from said first one of said source locations to said first one of said remote locations; and initiating, by the teleconference controller, a transmission of said media signal from said first one of said source locations to said selected second one of said remote locations, said media signal for use by teleconference participants located at said second one of said remote locations and for further use by said selected second one of said remote locations in forwarding said media signal to said first one of said remote locations.