System and method to handle phone line services during modem dial-up connection

Abstract

A method and system provides for notification of a called party of an incoming voice phone call intended for the called party even while the called party is engaged in data communications via a dial-up modem. In response to a calling party placing a call, a telecommunications network determining whether the called number is busy. If the called number is busy, the telecommunications network determines whether the called number is engaged in data communications. If the called number is engaged in data communications, the telecommunications network further: determines a data communication protocol being used by the called party to access the data network via a modem device, retrieves from a user profile of the called party one or more user notification addresses associated with the data communication protocol, and transmits an incoming call notification message to the one or more user notification addresses of the called party. A reporting notification message is further transmitted by the telecommunications network to the calling party to let the calling party know that the called party has been notified of the incoming call.

1 . A telecommunications network system operable to provide user notification of incoming calls received during on-going data communications, comprising:
 an incoming calls engine element that receives a call placed by a calling party from a calling number on a first analog telephone line and intended for receipt by a called party at a called number;   a switchboard element coupled to the first analog communication line used by the calling number of the calling party to access a telecommunications network and to a second analog communication line used by the called party at the called number to access the telecommunications network;   a connection protocol analyzer element, coupled to the incoming calls engine element and the first and second analog communication lines, operable to determine whether the called number is busy and if so whether the called number is engaged in data communications by analyzing traffic on the second analog communications line being used by the called number;   a user profile database element comprising a user profile of the called party and one or more user notification addresses of the called party associated with a corresponding one or more data communications protocols by which the called party can access the data network via a modem device;   wherein in response to the calling party placing a call from the calling number to the called number of the called party on the first analog telephone line the connection protocol analyzer element communicates with the switchboard element to determine whether the called number is busy, and if the called number is busy, whether the called number is engaged in data communications on the second analog communications line via the modem device by analyzing traffic on the second analog communications line being used by the called number;   wherein if the called number is engaged in data communications the connection protocol analyzer element communicates with the switchboard element to determine a data communication protocol of the one or more data communications protocols being used by the called party to access the data network via the modem device and communicates the data communication protocol to the incoming calls engine element;   wherein in response to receiving the data communication protocol used by the called party to access the data network via the modem device, the incoming calls engine element retrieves the one or more user notification addresses associated with the data communication protocol from the user profile database element and provides the one or more user notification addresses and an incoming call notification message to the switchboard element to deliver the incoming call notification message to the called party at the one more user notification addresses.