Patent ID: 7912456

Claim:
A voicemail system, comprising: a wireless unit for conveying wireless messages to a multimode mobile device of a called party by way of a wireless cellular communication network; and a voicemail server providing voicemail services to a telephony system, wherein the telephony system is adapted for communications with a multimode device of a calling party using at least first and second modes of voice communication, and wherein the telephony system determines a voice mode of voice communication to utilize and provides the multimode device of the calling party with voice services using the first mode of voice communication based on the determined voice mode, wherein the wireless cellular communication network provides the multimode mobile device of the called party with voice and data services using third and fourth modes of communication, wherein the first, second, third and fourth modes of communication utilize different communication protocols, and wherein the voicemail server is programmed to: store a voicemail message from the multimode device of the calling party when the multimode mobile device of the called party is non-responsive to a call initiated by the calling party by way of the telephony system using the first mode of voice communication of the multimode device; construct a voicemail notification corresponding to the recorded message; detect that the multimode mobile device of the called party is not roaming on the telephony system; and responsive to said detection, transmit to the multimode mobile device by way of the wireless cellular communication network a wireless message including the voicemail notification using the third mode of communication of the multimode mobile device.