Method and apparatus for enhanced call routing in a telecommunication system

Abstract

A method for routing calls in a telecommunication system includes detecting data for a call from a calling party to a called party, providing a menu of options to the calling party and routing the call in accordance with information about the calling party, information about the called party or a menu selection.

1 . A data communication method for an Advanced Intelligent Network, the method comprising: 
 receiving a GR 1129 message containing a selected code;    using the selected code, retrieving at least one of data and program instructions from storage; and    executing the retrieved at least one of data and program instructions.    
     
     
         2 . An Advanced Intelligent Network comprising: 
 a first network element;    a second network element in communication with the first network element using GR 1129 protocol; and    a program code stored at the second network element and selectable in response to a code included in a GR1129 message received from the first network element.    
     
     
         3 . The Advanced Intelligent Network of  claim 2  wherein the second network element comprises: 
 a memory; and    a processor configured to execute instructions stored in the memory including the program code upon receipt of the code.    
     
     
         4 . The Advanced Intelligent Network of  claim 3  wherein the memory comprises: 
 a table indexed by the code.    
     
     
         5 . A data communication method for telecommunications network, the method comprising: 
 at a service node/intelligent peripheral (SN/IP) of the telecommunications network, receiving an encrypted message in accordance with GR 1129 protocol from another network element of the network; and    invoking a series of program instructions based on the encrypted message in the GR 1129 protocol.    
     
     
         6 . The data communication method of  claim 5  further comprising: 
 returning a GR 1129 resource_clear message.    
     
     
         7 . The data communication method of  claim 6  wherein returning a GR 1129 resource_clear message comprises encrypting to have another meaning.  
     
     
         8 . A data communication method in a telecommunication network, the method comprising: 
 at a local end of a communication connection, selecting instructions or data to be executed at a remote end of the communication connection;    at the local end of the communication connection, identifying a code for the selected instructions and data;    formatting a GR 1129 message using the identified code; and    communicating the GR 1129 message from the local end of the communication connection to the remote end of the communication connection.    
     
     
         9 . The data communication method of  claim 8  wherein the instructions and data comprise instructions and data necessary to implement a subscriber profile for customized call routing based on providing a menu of options to a caller.  
     
     
         10 . The data communication method of  claim 9  wherein the instructions and data comprise types of announcements to play to the caller, and types of menu options to expect or to receive from the caller.  
     
     
         11 . The data communication method of  claim 10  wherein the instructions and data further comprise content of a message to be played and corresponding menu options to provide to the caller.  
     
     
         12 . The data communication method of  claim 8  wherein identifying a code for the selected instructions and data comprises a look-up table procedure in which the selected instructions or data are provided to a table to extract a table value which may be used for transmission of a message.  
     
     
         13 . The data communication method of  claim 8  wherein identifying a code for the selected instructions and data comprises inserting an instruction code in a GR 1129 message for subsequent decoding.  
     
     
         14 . The data communication method of  claim 8  wherein formatting a GR 1129 message comprises: 
 encoding the identified code in the GR 1120 message; and    providing necessary header data, footer data and other data required to form a complete GR 1129 message.    
     
     
         15 . The data communication method of  claim 8  wherein communicating the GR 1129 message comprises: 
 sending the GR 1129 message from a Service Control Point (SCP) to a service node/intelligent peripheral (SN/IP) or the reverse path, from the SN/IP to an SCP.    
     
     
         16 . The data communication method of  claim 8  further comprising: 
 receiving the encoded GR 1129 message at the remote end of the communication connection;    decoding the message to extract the code which defines the necessary instructions and data;    using the code, retrieving the stored data and instructions.    
     
     
         17 . The data communication method of  claim 16  wherein retrieving the stored data and instructions comprises: 
 at the remote end of the communication connection, applying the extracted code to a look-up table to identify a portion of code or an application or series of programming instructions; and    invoking the portion of code or the application or the series of programming instructions.    
     
     
         18 . A data communication method in a telecommunication network, the method comprising: 
 at the local end of a communication connection, receiving an encoded GR 1129 message from the remote end of the communication connection;    decoding the GR 1129 message to extract the code which defines selected instructions or data to be executed at the local end of the communication connection and which have been encoded using the code at the remote end of the communication connection;    using the code, retrieving from storage at the local end the data and instructions.    
     
     
         19 . The data communication method of  claim 18  wherein the selected instructions and data comprise instructions and data necessary to implement a subscriber profile for customized call routing based on providing a menu of options to a caller.  
     
     
         20 . The data communication method of  claim 19  wherein the instructions and data comprise types of announcements to play to the caller, and types of menu options to expect or to receive from the caller.  
     
     
         21 . The data communication method of  claim 20  wherein the instructions and data further comprise content of a message to be played and corresponding menu options to provide to the caller.  
     
     
         23 . The data communication method of  claim 18  wherein retrieving the stored data and instructions comprises: 
 at the local end of the communication connection, applying the extracted code to a look-up table to identify a portion of code or an application or series of programming instructions; and    invoking the portion of code or the application or the series of programming instructions.