Patent ID: 7123609

Claim:
A system for managing and supporting packet-based telephony, the system comprising: a user database; an account server for receiving data from a packet-based telephony service provider indicating that a user is registered therewith, and for storing data in the user database indicating that the user is registered with the packet-based telephony service provider; a configuration server for determining, by accessing the user database, that the user is registered with the packet-based telephony service provider, and for sending data to a computer device associated with the user which enables the computer device to exchange data related to a packet-based telephone call with the packet-based telephony service provider; a proxy server for receiving signaling data for the packet-based telephone call from the computer device, and for sending the received signaling data to the packet-based telephony service provider; and a referral server for sending to the computer device a list of a plurality of packet-based telephony service providers, the plurality including said packet-based telephony service provider, for receiving from the computer device a selection by the user of said packet-based telephony service provider, and for storing data in the user database indicative of the selection by the user, said referral server being configured for storing data in the user database indicating that registration of the user with said packet-based telephony service provider is pending, and said account server being configured for, in response to receiving said data from the packet-based telephony service provider indicating that the user is registered therewith, modifying data stored in the user database to indicate that registration of the user with said packet-based telephony service provider has occurred.