Method for collect call service based on voip technology and system thereof

Abstract

One embodiment of the present invention provides a collect call method and system thereof, more particularly, in order to charge the called party with a uniform toll for collect call, which is determined by only the type and location of called party terminal. In one embodiment, the collect call method, system and a counsel service providing method use a free VoIP network for part of the voice call link and a charge PSTN network for the rest of the voice call link. In one embodiment, if the first link corresponding to the collect call request is established, the collect call switch calls the called party terminal to establish the second link, and billing on the second link is initiated.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A post-paid collect call system based on voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), comprising:
 a calling gateway configured to receive a collect call request generated by a caller telephone, the collect call request including a collect call identifier and a phone number of a called terminal;   a called gateway configured to receive the collect call request via a VoIP network; and   a collect call switch, wherein the collect call switch is in a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), and the collect call switch is configured to:
 a) establish a first communication link only between the collect call switch and the called gateway upon receiving the collect call request from the caller telephone; 
 b) subsequent to establishing the first communication link, establish a second communication link via the PSTN between the collect call switch and the called terminal; 
 c) transmit a recorded caller identification to the called terminal when the second communication link is established; and 
 d) connect the first communication link and the second communication link based on a collect call acceptance from the called terminal to establish a voice call link between the caller-telephone and the called terminal; 
   wherein the collect call switch is further configured to determine a collect call toll only for the second communication link and to initiate a billing process responsive to the collect call acceptance.   
     
     
         2 . The post-paid collect call system of  claim 1 , wherein the collect call switch is further configured to determine the collect call toll only for the second communication link. 
     
     
         3 . The post-paid collect call system of  claim 2 , wherein the collect call switch is further configured to determine the collect call toll as the product of i) a unit collect call rate according to a type of the called terminal and ii) a total collect call time. 
     
     
         4 . The post-paid collect call system of  claim 1 , wherein the collect call switch is further configured to initiate the billing process responsive to the collect call acceptance. 
     
     
         5 . The post-paid collect call system of  claim 1 , wherein the collect call acceptance is in the form of a dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signal from the called terminal. 
     
     
         6 . The post-paid collect call system of  claim 1 , wherein the collect call request is received from a collect call proxy server configured to authenticate the caller telephone. 
     
     
         7 . A method of providing post-paid collect call based on voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), comprising:
 establish a first communication link only between a collect call switch and a called gateway upon receiving a collect call request from a caller telephone, wherein:
 a calling gateway is configured to receive the collect call request, the collect call request generated by the caller telephone; 
 the collect call request including a collect call identifier and a phone number of a called terminal; 
 the called gateway is configured to receive the collect call request via a VoIP network; and 
 the collect call switch is in a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN); 
   establishing, subsequent to establishing the first communication link, a second communication link via the PSTN between the collect call switch and the called terminal;   transmitting a recorded caller identification to the called terminal when the second communication link is established; and   connecting the first communication link and the second communication link based on a collect call acceptance from the called terminal to establish a voice call link between the caller telephone and the called terminal.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7  further comprising determining the collect call toll only for the second communication link. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7  further comprising determining the collect call toll as the product of i) a unit collect call rate according to a type of the called terminal and ii) a total collect call time. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7  further comprising initiating the billing process responsive to the collect call acceptance. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the collect call acceptance is in the form of a dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signal from the called terminal. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the collect call request is received from a collect call proxy server configured to authenticate the caller telephone.