Patent ID: 7200415

Claim:
A method of communicating within a pre-defined calling group having a plurality of members, the method comprising: receiving from a first personal communication device (PCD) of a first member of a pre-defined calling group, a system ID of a first PCD and a group ID of a second PCD, wherein the pre-defined calling group comprises a plurality of members, each member of the group assigned a respective PCD comprising a system ID and a group ID that are unique from system IDs and group IDs of other members of the group; locating a record for the first PCD in a database based on the system ID of the first PCD; determining, based on the record for the first PCD, whether the first PCD is a restricted member or a non-restricted member of the pre-defined calling group, wherein restricted members of the calling group are prohibited from contacting PCDs of those outside the calling group; determining that the first PCD is allowed to contact the second PCD by way of the group ID of the second PCD based on the determination of whether the first PCD is a restricted member or a non-restricted member of the pre-defined calling group; determining the system ID of the second PCD based on the group ID of the second PCD; and establishing a telecommunications connection between the first PCD and the second PCD.