Patent ID: 7203294

Claim:
A method for selectively forwarding an incoming call over the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), the method comprising; receiving the incoming call; identifying the incoming call by originating number, wherein identifying comprises determining whether the originating number is associated with a subscriber-defined group; retrieving a subscriber-defined routing rule associated with the originating number of the incoming call, wherein the subscriber-defined routing rule is based on said subscriber-defined group; and routing the call over the PSTN according to subscriber-defined information including the subscriber-defined routing rule, wherein the subscriber-defined routing rule comprises a routing instruction selected from the group consisting of: route the incoming call to a called number, route the incoming call according to subscriber calendar information, route the incoming call according to subscriber presence information, route the incoming call to a voicemail system, route the incoming call to a messaging system, forward a message to a calling party, forward a notification to the subscriber, and disconnect the incoming call.