Patent ID: 7369545

Claim:
A network service provider system comprising: a first coding unit that is communicatively coupled to a first endpoint via a circuit-switching telephone network and communicatively coupled to a first packet-switching network; a first signaling unit that is communicatively coupled to the first coding unit, and to a second signaling unit via a second packet-switching network; a second coding unit communicatively coupled to a second endpoint and to the second signaling unit; and a first memory of the first signaling unit and a second memory in the second signaling unit having one or more sequences of instructions stored therein, which instructions, when executed by the first signaling unit and the second signaling unit, respectively, cause the first signaling unit and second signaling unit to process call signaling information separately from voice information, by performing the steps of in response to receiving, from the circuit-switching telephone network, signaling data that is associated with establishment of a voice call, obtaining a network address of a bearer channel port of the first coding unit on the first packet-switching network; determining that the second signaling unit should receive the voice call; and sending a message to the second signaling unit, through the second packet-switching network, the message including a call identifier that uniquely identifies the voice call throughout the network service provider system, a first address identifier that identifies a network address of the first signaling unit on the second packet-switching network, a second address identifier that identifies a network address of the second signaling unit on the second packet-switching network, a connection descriptor that identifies the network address of the bearer channel port of the first coding unit on the first packet-switching network.