Patent ID: 8654759

Claim:
A method for preventing a loop condition on a network boundary interface between a plurality of telephone networks, comprising the steps of: receiving at a first network server on a first network a first call parameter value associated with a first telephone call, said first call parameter value being a predetermined number of remaining transmissions of the first telephone call to one or more nodes that will be permitted before the first telephone call is cleared from the system as an unconnectable telephone call; generating a second call parameter value associated with the first telephone call using the first call parameter value, said second call parameter value is a parameter that will be used on a second network to determine the remaining transmissions of the first telephone call to one or more nodes that will be permitted before the first telephone call is cleared from the system as an unconnectable telephone call; receiving at the first network server on the first network a third call parameter value associated with the first telephone call as calculated using the second call parameter value, said third call parameter value being less than the first call parameter value and said third call parameter value being a number of remaining transmissions of the first telephone call to one or more nodes that will be permitted before the first telephone call is cleared from the system as an unconnectable telephone call; said second call parameter value being calculated using an intelligent factor that will assure a decrease by at least one in the call parameter values even if the telephone call takes the shortest possible loop back to the first server on the first network so as to break any loop condition.