Patent ID: 8107625

Claim:
A method, comprising: providing a plurality of voice communications terminals within a premises serviced by a contact processing switch or server, each of the voice communications terminals having a corresponding internal telephone extension, wherein the voice communications terminals are operable to receive incoming telephone calls to the internal telephone extensions and send outgoing telephone calls to the contact processing switch or server, wherein the contact processing switch or server directs incoming telephone calls to and receives outgoing telephone calls from the internal telephone extensions; receiving, by a first selected voice communications terminal, an audio stream through a microphone when the first selected voice communications terminal is not engaged in a telephone call; determining, by the first selected voice communications terminal, that the audio stream comprises nonbackground audio signals; in response to determining that the audio stream comprises the nonbackground audio signals, at least one of notifying, by the first selected voice communications terminal, the contact processing switch or server and providing, by the first selected voice communications terminal, at least a portion of the audio stream to the contact processing switch or server; receiving, by a second selected voice communications terminal, the audio stream through a microphone when the second selected voice communications terminal is not engaged in a telephone call; determining, by the second selected voice communications terminal, that the audio stream comprises nonbackground audio signals; in response to determining, by the second selected voice communications terminal, that the audio stream comprises the nonbackground audio signals, at least one of notifying, by the second selected voice communications terminal, the contact processing switch or server and providing, by the second selected voice communications terminal, at least a portion of the audio stream to the contact processing switch or server; determining, by the contact processing switch or server, an approximate physical location of a source for the audio stream based on a first physical location of the first selected voice communications terminal and a second physical location of the second selected voice communications terminal; forwarding, by the first selected voice communications terminal, at least a portion of the audio stream to the contact processing switch or server.