Patent ID: 7403600

Claim:
A method of processing a call, comprising: establishing a subscriber number that is shared amongst multiple subscribers; receiving a trigger to detect the call; querying a database for call services to be applied to the call, the query including a calling party's telephone number and the subscriber number, the database associating the calling party's telephone number and the subscriber number to multiple call services; retrieving a buddy list associated with the subscriber number, the buddy list identifying buddy numbers for the multiple subscribers to the subscriber number, the buddy list associating at least one buddy rule to each buddy number; if the calling party's telephone number is not found in the buddy list, then terminating the call according to a default rule for when the calling party is not a buddy; if the calling party's telephone number is found in the buddy list, then querying for a buddy rule that applies a distinctive ringtone associated with the calling party's telephone number and with the subscriber number; receiving a distinctive ringtone response having a ControllingLegTreatment field identifying the distinctive ringtone to be applied; recording the distinctive ringtone that was played for the call; querying for a mailbox number that indicates which of multiple voicemail boxes are associated with the calling party's telephone number and with the subscriber number; receiving a mailbox response in which a CallingPartyID field is preceded by the mailbox number; when the subscriber number has an idle status, then ringing a device of the subscriber number for a predetermined amount of time; when the predetermined amount of time has passed without answer, then forwarding the call to the mailbox number; receiving a second incoming call while the subscriber number is engaged in the call; determining if a second calling party is a buddy of a subscriber engaged in the call by comparing the recorded distinctive ringtone and a second calling number; when the second calling party is a buddy of the subscriber engaged in the call, then retrieving a distinctive call waiting tone to alert the subscriber engaged in the call of the buddy's incoming second call; and if, however, the second calling party is not the buddy of the subscriber engaged in the call, then declining to alert of the second incoming call.