Patent ID: 7881282

Claim:
A method for managing a communications session using a gateway device, the method comprising: positioning the gateway device logically at a convergence point between a circuit switch network and a broadband network, wherein the gateway device is operable to act as an integrated digital terminal when interfacing with the broadband network and operable to act as a remote digital terminal when interfacing with the circuit switch network; intercepting a call request sent to a resource of the circuit switch network with the gateway device such that the gateway device determines whether to prevent the request from reaching the resource of the circuit switched network, wherein the call request is sent by an integrated access device (IAD) of the broadband network having a remote digital terminal (RDT) interface to a class 5 network switch of the circuit switch network having an integrated digital terminal (IDT) interface; determining a destination of the call and a path by which to route the call to the destination using the gateway device, wherein the path includes at least one of the broadband network associated with the IAD and a circuit switched network associated with the class 5 network switch, wherein determining the path to the destination the gateway device determines whether the destination is only accessible via the circuit switch network; accessing, by the gateway device, the class 5 network switch only if the path to the destination is only accessible via the circuit switched network; and routing the call by the gateway device via the path independent of a quality of the broadband network, wherein resources associated with the class 5 network switch and circuit switched network are not used unless the path to the destination is only accessible via the circuit switched network, wherein the at least one resource of the circuit switch network is a class 5 network switch of the circuit switch network.