Point-of-presence call center management system

Abstract

A point-of-presence (POP) call center system capable of answering, servicing, queuing and routing of calls at local points of presence to reduce communications costs and enhance operational efficiency for inbound call centers. The POP call center system includes a set of point-of-presence call center gateways distributed at points of presence close to the point of call origination that are connected by a virtual private network to premises call center gateways at business locations where the call centers reside.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method, comprising: 
 redirecting an inbound call to a universal telephone number associated with a remote call center to a local call center; and    automatically answering the redirected universal telephone number call in the local call center to determine whether connection to the remote call center is necessary.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising bridging the redirected call with a proxy connection in the remote call center via a communication network adaptable to be coupled between the local call center and the remote call center if connection to the remote call center is necessary.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising signaling the remote call center via a data network coupled between the local call center and the remote call center to request that a proxy call be established in the remote call center if connection to the remote call center is necessary.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein redirecting the call comprises translating the universal telephone number associated with the inbound call to a translated number that terminates at the local call center.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2  wherein bridging the redirected call comprises: 
 determining when the proxy connection in the remote call center is about to be serviced at the remote call center; and  
 forwarding the redirected call to the remote call center via the communication network to be bridged with the proxy connection in the remote call center.  
 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5  wherein determining when the proxy connection in the remote call center is about to be serviced comprises receiving a signal from the remote call center via a data network coupled between the local call center and the remote call center, the signal indicating that the proxy connection in the remote call center is about to be serviced.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5  further comprising storing an entry in a queue in the remote call center to indicate the request for the proxy connection to be established in the remote call center, and wherein determining when the proxy connection in the remote call center is about to be serviced comprises determining when the entry in the queue in the remote call center has advanced to a specified position within the queue.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 2  wherein bridging the redirected call with the proxy connection comprises bridging the redirected call with a telephone connection in the remote call center via a voice communication channel established over a data network coupled between the local call center and the remote call center.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein automatically answering the redirected universal telephone number call in the local call center to determine whether connection to the remote call center is necessary comprises: 
 automatically answering the call using an automated call answering system; and    executing an interactive application in the automated call answering system to interact with a caller.    
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9  further comprising downloading at least a portion of the interactive application from the remote call center to the local call center via a data network coupled between the local call center and the remote call center.  
     
     
         11 . A call servicing system, comprising: 
 a remote call center for servicing calls to a universal telephone number;    a local call center coupled to the remote call center via a data network, and configured to (a) automatically answer calls directed to the universal telephone number, and (b) determine whether connection of the calls to the remote call center is necessary.    
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the local call center is further configured to signal the remote call center via the data network to request that corresponding proxy connections be established in the remote call center when connection of the calls to the remote call center is necessary.  
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11  wherein the data network comprises a virtual private network that provides industry standard connection and transport protocols.  
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11  wherein the data network coupled between the local call center and the remote call center forms a long distance network used to bridge one or more of the calls with corresponding proxy connections in the remote call center.  
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 11  further comprising a database of network addresses coupled to the local call center via the data network, the local call center being configured to access the database of network addresses to determine a network address of the remote call center in response to answering a call that was placed to the universal telephone number.  
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15  wherein the local call center indexes the database of network addresses based on a phone number generated by translating the universal telephone number.  
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16  wherein the phone number generated by translating the universal telephone number is a phone number assigned to the local call center.  
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 11  wherein the local call center includes an automated call answering system that executes an interactive application to interact with callers.  
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18  wherein the local call center is further configured to download at least a portion of the interactive application from the remote call center via the data network.  
     
     
         20 . A distributed call servicing system comprising: 
 a remote call center configured to service calls to a universal telephone number;    a plurality of local call centers that are distributed within respective service regions each being communicatively coupled to the remote call center and configured to (a) automatically answer calls to the universal telephone number that originate within their respective service regions, and (b) to determine, for each call received, whether connection to the remote call center is necessary.    
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 20  further comprising one or more data networks interconnecting one, some, or all of the plurality of local call centers with the remote call center, the local call centers each being further configured to signal the remote call center via the data network to request that a corresponding proxy connection be established in the remote call center when it is determined for a remote call that connection to the remote call center is necessary.  
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 21  wherein one or more of the data networks interconnecting the plurality of local call centers with the remote call center form a long distance network used to bridge one or more received calls with respective proxy connections in the remote call center.  
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 20  wherein each of the plurality of local call centers includes an automated call answering system that executes an interactive application to interact with callers.  
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 23  wherein at least one of the plurality of local call centers is configured to download at least a portion of the interactive application from the remote call center via the data network.  
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 21  wherein the one or more data networks comprise a virtual private network that provides industry standard connection and transport protocols.  
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 20  wherein the service regions correspond to geographic regions.  
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 20  wherein the service regions are local telephone network service regions.  
     
     
         28 . A telephone call handling system, comprising: 
 a telephony switch to receive calls directed to a universal telephone number through a local switched telephone network;    a computer telephony server coupled to the telephony switch to detect when a call to a universal telephone number is received in the telephony switch and to automatically answer the call to determine whether connection to a remote call center is necessary.    
     
     
         29 . The call handling system of  claim 28  wherein the computer telephone server is configured to bridge calls to the remote call center over a long distance network when connection to the remote call center is necessary.  
     
     
         30 . The call handling system of  claim 28  wherein the computer telephony server is configured to issue a request to the remote call center to initiate a proxy call in the remote call center, the proxy call being a request for connection to a human operator that is managed within the remote call center without a long distance voice connection being established between the remote call center and the call handling system.  
     
     
         31 . The call handling system of  claim 30  wherein the computer telephony server is further configured to (a) receive communications via a data network indicating progress of the proxy call in the remote call center, and (b) to bridge the received universal telephone number call with a telephone connection in the remote call center by bridging the universal telephone number call with the proxy call in response to detecting that the proxy call is about to be answered by a human operator.  
     
     
         32 . A method of handling an inbound universal telephone number call that is directed to a remote call center, the method comprising: 
 redirecting the inbound universal telephone number call from the remote call center to a local call center that is coupled to the remote call center via a data network; and    responding to the redirected universal telephone number call in the local call center by determining whether connection to the remote call center is necessary.    
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32  further comprising: 
 signaling the remote call center via the data network to request a proxy connection be established in the remote call center; and  
 bridging the redirected universal telephone number call with the proxy connection in the remote call center via a communication network when the proxy connection is established in the remote call center.  
 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33  wherein bridging the redirected universal telephone number call comprises: 
 establishing a connection between the proxy connection in the remote call center and the communication network; and  
 establishing a connection between the redirected universal telephone number call in the local call center and the communication network.  
 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 33  wherein responding to the redirected universal telephone number call in the local call center includes servicing the redirected universal telephone number call in the local call center before bridging the redirected universal telephone number call with the proxy connection in the remote call center.  
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 35  wherein servicing the redirected universal telephone number call in the local call center comprises placing the redirected universal telephone number call on hold in the local call center while awaiting the proxy connection to be established in the remote call center.  
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 33  wherein signaling the remote call center via the data network comprises instructing an automated call distributor to establish a connection with a call servicing agent.  
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 37  wherein the call servicing agent is a human call servicing agent.  
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 33  wherein bridging the redirected universal telephone number call comprises placing a long distance call from the local call center to the remote call center.  
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 33  wherein responding to the redirected universal telephone number call in the local call center comprises servicing the redirected universal telephone number call in the local call center with an automated call answering system that signals the remote call center via the data network to request that the proxy connection be established in the remote call center.  
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 33  wherein responding to the redirected universal telephone number call in the local call center comprises: 
 automatically answering the redirected universal telephone number call using an automated call answering system; and  
 executing an interactive application on the automated call answering system to interact with a caller.  
 
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 41  wherein executing an interactive application on the automated call answering system to interact with the caller comprises executing an interactive voice response application that has been customized according to needs of the caller.  
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 41  wherein redirecting the inbound universal telephone number call from the remote call center to the local call center includes translating the universal telephone number to a translated number that terminates at the local call center, and wherein responding to the redirected universal telephone number call in the local call center further comprises identifying the interactive application based on the translated number.  
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 43  further comprising downloading at least a portion of the interactive application from the remote call center to the local call center via the data network after identifying the interactive application.  
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 41  wherein executing an interactive application to interact with the caller comprises executing an interactive application that prompts the caller to input information useful for servicing the inbound universal telephone number call.  
     
     
         46 . The method of  claim 45  wherein executing an interactive application that prompts the caller to input information comprises issuing a voice prompt to the caller prompting the caller to input the information.  
     
     
         47 . The method of  claim 45  wherein executing an interactive application that prompts the caller to input information comprises communicating a menu of choices to the caller and prompting the caller to select a choice from the menu.  
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 41  further comprising downloading at least a portion of the interactive application from the remote call center to the local call center via the data network.  
     
     
         49 . The method of  claim 41  wherein executing the interactive application on the automated call answering system comprises accessing an application server in the remote call center via the data network to obtain information useful for servicing the redirected universal telephone number call.  
     
     
         50 . The method of  claim 49  wherein the information useful for servicing the redirected universal telephone number call includes at least one of a voice prompt, a menu, a message, a form, a script and data.  
     
     
         51 . The method of  claim 49  wherein executing the interactive application on the automated call answering system includes receiving user-input from the caller and wherein accessing the application server in the remote call center via the data network comprises supplying the user-input to the application server in the remote call center to select the information useful for servicing the redirected universal telephone number call.  
     
     
         52 . The method of  claim 49  wherein accessing the application server in the remote call center via the data network to obtain information useful for servicing the redirected universal telephone number call includes accessing the application server multiple times to access the information in response to input from the caller.  
     
     
         53 . The method of  claim 41  wherein redirecting the inbound universal telephone number call from the remote call center to the local call center includes translating the universal telephone number to a translated number that terminates at the local call center, and wherein responding to the redirected universal telephone number call in the local call center further comprises identifying the interactive application based on the translated number and downloading at least a portion of the interactive application from the remote call center after identifying the interactive application.  
     
     
         54 . The method of  claim 33  wherein signaling the remote call center via the data network to request a proxy connection comprises signaling the remote call center to request a telephone connection to a human operator at the remote call center.  
     
     
         55 . The method of  claim 54  further comprising: 
 queuing the request for the telephone connection to a human operator in a queue within the remote call center;  
 advancing the request for the telephone connection toward the head of the queue as previously queued requests for telephone connections are serviced; and  
 establishing the telephone connection to the human operator in response to the request for the telephone connection reaching the head of the queue.  
 
     
     
         56 . The method of  claim 55  wherein bridging the redirected universal telephone number call comprises determining when the telephone connection in the remote call center has reached the head of the queue and, in response, forwarding the redirected universal telephone number call to the remote call center via the communication network to be bridged with the telephone connection in the remote call center.  
     
     
         57 . The method of  claim 33  wherein the remote call center includes a plurality of call center gateways that are interconnected with the local call center via the data network, at least one of the plurality of call center gateways being a master call center gateway, and wherein signaling the remote call center via the data network comprises: 
 signaling the master call center gateway via the data network to request telephone call service;  
 the master call center gateway responding to the request for telephone call service by selecting one of the plurality of call center gateways appropriate to provide the telephone call service;  
 the master call center gateway communicating a value identifying the selected one of the plurality of call center gateways to the local call center; and  
 signaling the selected one of the plurality of call center gateways via the data network to request the telephone connection be established in the remote call center.  
 
     
     
         58 . The method of  claim 33  wherein bridging the redirected universal telephone number call with the proxy connection in the remote call center via a communication network comprises bridging the redirected universal telephone number call with the proxy connection in the remote call center via a voice communication channel established over a data network.  
     
     
         59 . A method of servicing a telephone call that is directed to a master remote call center of a plurality of remote call centers, the method comprising: 
 redirecting the telephone call from the master remote call center to a local call center that is coupled to the master remote call center via a data network; and    responding to the redirected telephone call in the local call center by determining whether connection to any of the remote call centers is necessary.    
     
     
         60 . The method of  claim 59  further comprising: 
 signaling the master remote call center via the data network to request telephone call service;  
 responding to the request for telephone call service in the master remote call center by selecting one of the plurality of remote call centers appropriate to provide the telephone call service; and  
 bridging the redirected telephone call with a connection in the selected one of the plurality of remote call centers via a communication network.  
 
     
     
         61 . The method of  claim 60  further comprising: 
 the master remote call center communicating a value identifying the selected one of the plurality of remote call centers to the local call center; and  
 wherein bridging the redirected telephone call with the connection in the selected one of the plurality of remote call centers via the communication network comprises bridging the redirected telephone call with a telephone connection in the identified one of the plurality of remote call centers when the telephone connection is established in the identified one of the plurality of remote call centers.  
 
     
     
         62 . The method of  claim 60  wherein bridging the redirected universal telephone number call with the connection comprises establishing a connection between the telephone connection in the selected one of the plurality of remote call centers and the communication network and establishing a connection between the redirected telephone call in the local call center and the communication network.  
     
     
         63 . The method of  claim 62  wherein responding to the redirected telephone call in the local call center includes servicing the redirected telephone call in the local call center before bridging the redirected telephone call with the telephone connection in the selected one of the plurality of remote call centers.  
     
     
         64 . The method of  claim 59  wherein the one of the plurality of remote call centers appropriated to provide the telephone call service is the master remote call center.  
     
     
         65 . The method of  claim 59  further comprising: 
 the local call center signaling the identified one of the plurality of remote call centers via the data network to request a telephone connection to be established in the identified one of the plurality of remote call centers.  
 
     
     
         66 . A method, comprising: 
 answering a telephone call directed to a remote call center in a local call center coupled to the remote call center via a data network; and    determining whether a connection to a human operator in the remote call center is necessary based on interaction between a caller and an interactive application executing at the local call center.    
     
     
         67 . The method of  claim 66  wherein a telephone number associated with the telephone call to the remote call center is translated to a translated number that terminates at the local call center.  
     
     
         68 . The method of  claim 66  further comprising: 
 when necessary, bridging the telephone call to the connection to a human operator at the remote call center via a communication network coupled between the local call center and the remote call center.  
 
     
     
         69 . The method of  claim 68  further comprising performing the bridging when the connection to a human operator is imminent by monitoring progress of the request for connection to a human operator in a queue to determine when the request for connection to a human operator reaches a specified position within the queue.  
     
     
         70 . The method of  claim 66  wherein at least a portion of the interactive application is downloaded to the local call center from the remote call center.