MX2008004156A - Blocking calls to destinations which are registered in a do-not-call database - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of implementing call compliance at a central facility through account specific access, the method involving:receiving a call from a caller on an incoming connection;obtaining and verifying account information;enabling the caller on the incoming connection to initiate an outgoing call on an outgoing connection depending on account information;receiving over the incoming connection an identifier of a destination to which a call is to be initiated over the outgoing connection;checking a do-not-call database for an indication of whether the destination is a do-not-call destination;if it is determined that the destination is a do-not-call destination, blocking the outgoing call from taking place over the outgoing connection;and if it is determined that the destination is not a do-not-call destination, allowing the outgoing call to take place over the outgoing connection.

Description

BLOCKING CALLS TO DESTINATIONS REGISTERED IN A "NO-CALL" DATABASE RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of United States Application No. 11 / 242,614 filed October 3, 2005, which is a partial continuation of United States Application No. 11 / 111,494 filed on April 21, 2005, which is a partial continuation of United States application No. 11 / 021,564 filed on December 23, 2004, which is a partial match of the United States request1? No. 10 / 820,452 filed April 8, 2004. All the teachings of the previous applications are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Recently, the norms and laws of state and federal petitions have mandated that a consumer, who expresses a desire not to be required by telephone or other electronic means such as electronic mail, not be called or sent mail. By regulation, such as the United States Federal Trade Commission 's (FTC) Telemarketmg Sales Rules (TSR), a business must maintain a list of numbers by means of telemarketing regulations of the Federal Trade Commission of the United States. telephone calls for such consumers, known as a "Do Not Call" (NLL) list, and take appropriate measures to ensure that outgoing calls to telephone numbers on an NLL list are blocked in some way. The federal government is also considering establishing a Federal "No-send-mail" list to allow a consumer to prevent requests by email. NLL lists may include one or more lists specific to a particular business, as well as national or state extension and industrially implemented lists such as the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) Telephone Preference Service (TPS) list. A single violation of the Federal and / or state NLL regulations can lead to a substantial fine. Hence, the management of compliance with the NLL is a particularly critical issue and a challenge for businesses that rely on telephone requests as a base tool for their commercialization. COMPENDIUM OF THE INVENTION There are systems for handling the management of compliance with the NLL as well as for introducing cases in which a blocked or prohibited number can be accessed based on certain exemptions from the standards.

Where glued or geographically dispersed companies have a number of agents making calls from several locations, the present invention provides a solution to act in accordance with small or geographically dispersed companies that value the simplicity of a prepaid service. Using a calling card (which we can also refer to as an access card), a company and / or independent agents can have access to a solution for compliance without the need to enter into a formal hiring process that is costly both for the client and for the service provider that is small or geographically dispersed. Accordingly, one aspect of the invention is a method and system for providing conformance in calls. An agent or caller accesses the system by initiating a telephone call over an incoming connection. The system receives an identification number (including, but not limited to, the ANI or PIN) of the caller on the input connection. The identification number is then checked against a database of accounts to evaluate the corresponding account information. After verification, the caller is enabled on the incoming connection to initiate an outgoing call on an outgoing connection based on the account information. After receiving the destination number to which a call on the outgoing connection is to be initiated, the system provides a treatment of the conformance of the call to the outgoing call to the destination and updates the account information based on the outgoing call. In addition to the compliance of calls, other embodiments of the present invention can provide controlled communications with existing business relationships as well as access to customer relationship management systems. The present invention provides certain improvements and advantages over the. previous techniques. In one aspect, the present invention provides a method and system for selectively prohibiting a communication connection between a source and a destination in a communications network based on one or more mediation rules and one or more lists of prohibited destination identifiers. and exempt. The origin and destination can be communication devices directly or indirectly connected to the communications network such as telephones, mobile phones, personal digital assistants, search devices, computers, subscriber's computer interfaces or remote computer terminals. In one embodiment, a connection unit may be used to receive or initiate a request for the connection of communications between a source and a destination by sending a request to the control unit and receiving an order from the control unit to prohibit or allow the connection of communications based on the identifier of the destination. The connection unit can be an Interactive Voice Response (RVI) application, a predictive dialing server, a distributed predictive dialing system, a switch, a router or an email server. The connection unit typically provides the link capability to establish a communication connection between a source and a destination. The destination identifier may be the address of a communication device such as a national or international telephone number, Internet protocol address or an email address. The "forbidden" destination identifiers may be identifiers that have been nominated by a government authority, private organization, recipient, customer or other party as blogged or prohibited from being contacted by a particular subscriber or all subscribers. The "exempt" destination identifiers can be identifiers that have been nominated by a government authority, private organization, subscriber, client or other party as exempt from being prohibited destination identifiers.The lists of prohibited and exempt destination identifiers may be contained within one or more tables of one or more databases. Also the lists of prohibited destination identifiers can be derived from any one of or a combination of a federal non-calling list, a state non-calling list, a non-calling DMA list, an internal list of the subscriber, a list of very important people (VIP), and other defined lists. In addition, the lists of exempt destination identifiers may be derived from any or a combination of a list of exemptions from the Existing Business Relations, a) no-call exemptions, a list of exemptions from state not-calling, a list of exemptions VIP, and other exemption lists. Exemption lists may also contain any of or a combination of exemption keys, type and contact date associated with each exempt destination identifier. Mediation rules may be used to determine a sequence of comparisons made between a destination identifier and one or more lists of exempt and forbidden identifiers where each comparison with a list of exempt identifiers determines whether the comparison with an associated list or lists of identifiers of Forbidden destinations is skipped or ignored. An associated list of prohibited destination identifiers is "skipped" when the comparison with the list of prohibited destinations is not made. An associated list of prohibited destination identifiers is "ignored" when comparing with the list of prohibited destinations, but no action is taken to control the communications connection based on the result. The result is noted only in an audit log for some other purpose such as maintaining the record or performing statistical analyzes of the control system. If the list of prohibited destinations is not skipped or ignored, a comparison is made, resulting in an action to possibly prohibit or allow the connection of communications. The lists of prohibited and exempt destinations can be modified from a source or a secondary interface such as a connection to the World-Wide-Web (WWW) from a remote computer or an automated remote process from a subscriber's site. The control unit may be a computer server which resides in the premises of a subscriber, a local telephone company, local administration facilities, central administration facilities or other remote installation. The control unit can interrelate with the banned and local exempt destination lists. These local lists of prohibited and exempt destinations can be periodically synchronized with other lists of prohibited and exempt destinations that are remotely located in other facilities such as local administration facilities, local telephone company, central administration facilities or other facilities. The control unit may also be a software application within a remote subscriber's computer that accesses a list of internal or remote prohibitions or exemptions within the facilities of a central administration. The lists of prohibited and exempt destinations can be added or dynamically played and the mediation rules updated to adapt the system flexibly to allow new rules of connection prohibition. In addition, multiple destination identifiers can be examined in relation to a particular origin to determine whether to prohibit or allow communications connections between the origin and each of the multiple destinations. For security reasons, each subscriber user can be identified and authenticated. The control unit, based on the mediation rules, may also use additional information from the subscriber and the customer to determine whether to prohibit or allow a communication connection such as the user identifier of the subscriber., subscriber identifier, customer identifier, subscriber's office identifier, product identifier, geographic area, date, time, type of exemption duration, source identifier, internal criteria of the subscriber or internal customer criteria. The control unit can also generate records of the communication connections it has prohibited, allowed and improper destination identifiers. The present invention also includes a system and method of analysis for selectively indicating whether a communication connection between a source and one or more destinations is prohibited. The analysis system typically includes an interface unit that receives one or more proposed destination identifiers, at least one list of prohibited destination identifiers, at least one list of exempt destination identifiers, and one unit of analysis that indicates whether the connection Communication between an origin and one or more proposed destinations is prohibited or permitted based on one or more mediation rules and the list of identifiers of prohibited and exempt destinations. While the control unit provides real-time control of a communications connection, the analysis unit performs a pre-check of one or more proposed destination identifiers and generates a list indicating which destination identifiers are prohibited or allowed. A user or agent of the subscriber can then review the list and decide which destinations to contact. The unit of analysis is commonly preferred by subscribers of small businesses with a smaller customer base and fewer resources to contact customers. The analysis unit can reside in the central administration facilities and can be accessed remotely by a subscriber. Alternatively, the analysis unit may be a computer application within the subscriber's computer system that accesses a remote or internal list of prohibited and exempt destination identifiers. Another embodiment includes a control system for selectively establishing a communication connection between a source and a destination within a communication network where the communication connection is established by a connection unit that links a first connection to the source with a second connection. with destiny. The system preferably includes at least one list of prohibited destination identifiers, at least one list of exempt destination identifiers, and a control unit that instructs the connection unit to establish the communication connections between the origin and the destination based on a or more mediation rules and in the lists of prohibited and exempt destination identifiers.

The control unit may also deliver one or more notification messages to both the origin and the destination or to both. The notification messages can be delivered to the origin from the connection unit using the first connection both before communications are established with the destination, and during communications established with the destination or after communications with the destination have been completed. Notification messages may also be delivered to the destination from the connection unit using the second connection both before communications are established with the origin, and during communications established with the origin or after the communications with the origin have ended. The notification message can be any one or a combination of an audio recording, interactive voice response, human-initiated voice message, text message, email message, instant message, multimedia message, IP-based message, tone of audio, sequence of audio tones, visual indicator or graphic image. The notification message may indicate to the originating user what exemption is being applied by the system as determined by the mediation rules and at least a list of exempt destination identifiers. The notification message can even request information about both the origin and destination or both. The notification message, however, may include information not based on the mediation rules such as information derived from any of or a combination of subscriber-specific requirements, specific requirements of the originating agent and specific requirements of the destination user. The notification message can be delivered online through the connection unit or offline through some other means to the origin or destination. In yet another embodiment, the analysis unit may provide one or more notification messages associated with one or more proposed communication connections. When the interface unit delivers a certified list of proposed destination identifiers to the analysis unit, the analysis unit may indicate prohibited and permitted destination identifiers and also send a list of indications to the interface unit which includes one or more messages Notification These notification messages are typically associated with particular destination identifiers and preferably provide relevant information associated with the destination identifier. The analysis unit can also generate records of allowed destination identifiers and the associated notification.

A further embodiment may be a notification system for delivering messages to a source and destination of a communications connection in a communication network. The notification system may include a connection unit which establishes a first connection to the origin and a second connection to the destination and links the first and second connection to establish a communication connection between the origin and the destination. The notification system also includes a notification unit that delivers at least one notification message to both the origin and destination or to both. The notification messages may originate in the notification unit, a relationship management system, a control unit or some other information system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which the characters The same references refer to the same parts through the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, instead emphasis is placed on illustrating the principles of the invention.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing a communication control system in accordance with the principles of the present invention; Figure 2 is a high-level diagram of the communication control system databases; Figure 3 is a block diagram of an NLL database that stores and manages NLL data for multiple subscribers; Figure 4 is a blog diagram of the NLL database that stores and manages exemption data for multiple subscribers; Figure 5A-5C is a flow chart of a method for enabling or prohibiting a communications connection in accordance with the principles of the invention; and Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing a communication and notification control system in accordance with the principles of the present invention. Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process for providing control processing of communications through access with a calling card according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention is a control system for selectively prohibiting a communication connection between a source and a destination in a communication network. Figure 1 shows an example of a control system 100 interconnected with a telecommunications network 102, that is, the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), which illustrates the principles of the present invention. It is understood, however, that the present invention applies to any communications system and, more particularly, to allowing or prohibiting a communication connection between a source and a destination therein. To prohibit or selectively allow a communication connection between an origin 104 and a destination 106, preferably in real time or close to real time, a control unit 108 is interrelated with a database 110, all referred to as a unit. management 112. Origin 104 and destination 106 are typically telephones, but may be other types of communication devices such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants, search devices, computers, subscriber's computer interfaces or remote computer terminals. The origin 104 and the destination 106 can each be directly or indirectly connected to the RTC 102. For example, the origin 104-1 can be connected through a private office exchange (PBX) derivation 120-1 to a network from the local telephone company 122 that connects to a network connection unit of the local telephone company 114-1, a telecommunications switch. The database 110 may have one or more tables of destination identifiers that are prohibited and exempt as shown in Figure 2. The tables are shown in three groups for descriptive purposes, but may be arranged in any order or configuration. The prohibited NLL tables are tables that are typically the same for any subscriber and include the Federal NLL 200 list, the NLL 202 state list, the DLA NLL 204 list, the NLL 205 wireless list, and other NLL 206 lists. The NLL tables subscriber-specific are typically unique to each subscriber and include the NLL list of subscriber 208, the list of NLL of VIP and other lists NLL 212. Exemption tables may include lists of exemptions EBR 216, lists of exemptions NLL 218, list of state exemptions NLL 220, list of exemptions 222 and other exemption lists 224. The destination identifier is usually a network address associated directly or indirectly with a destination communication device or with a destination user. For example, the address of the device can be a telephone number for a device connected to the RTC 102, an address the Internet protocol (IP) for a device connected to the Internet, or an email address for an email account Internet on an email server. Using one or more mediation rules and the lists of prohibited and exempt destination identifiers in the database 110, the control unit 108 determines whether a communication connection between a particular source 104 and a destination 106 is prohibited or allowed. To facilitate a faster response to a request for communication connections, the management unit 112 can be duplicated at the local premises of the suscpptor or at the local telephone company. For example, the local management unit 112-1 comprising a local control unit 108-1 and a local database 110-1 can control the communications connections established by the connection unit 114-1, a switch telecommunications with interactive voice response (RVI) 116. Another local management unit 112-2, comprising the local control unit 108-2 and the local database 110-2, can control the communication connections established by the unit of connection 114-2 that, in this example, is a predictor marker for multiple origins 104 such as 104-9. A central management unit 112-3, comprising the control unit 108-3 and the database 110-3, can control the communication connections. The central management unit 112-3 can interrelate with any connection unit 114 through the delivery service network 118 or any other remote computer or interface such as a computer 126, a management interface 124, and a computer 130 a Through a 134 gue network, in this case, it can be the Internet. The control unit 108 can be a computer server or gateway that resides at the subscriber's premises, at a local telephone company, local administration facilities, central administration facilities or other remote facilities. Each control unit 108 and database 110 may periodically synchronize with other control units 108 and databases 110 based on a synchronization mechanism described in International Patent Application PCT / US03 / 19145, the entire content of which is incorporated in this document as reference. Local databases 110-1 and 110-2 are typically not as large as 110-3 because in local databases they may need only lists of prohibited and exempt destination identifiers specific to the local subscriber while the base of 110-3 data typically contains lists for all subscribers. While the control unit 108-1 is interrelated with the lists of prohibited and local exempt destinations in the database 110-1, the control unit 108-1 can also interrelate with other lists of prohibited and exempt destinations in other bases of data 110 that are remotely located in other facilities such as other facilities of the local administration in which the database 110-2 can be located. The control unit 108-1 or other control units 108 can be remotely interrelated with databases 110 located in other locations such as a local telephone company, central administration facilities or remote facilities. The central management unit 112-3 and the local management units 112-1 and 112-2 typically communicate with each other through a Delivery Services Network 118 that can be a private network, a virtual private network within the Internet , a wide area network, a local area network or similar. The delivery service network 118 is preferably protected against eavesdropping with suitable security mechanisms such as encryption and authentication. While Figure 1 illustrates the local management units 112-1 and 112-2 controlling the communication connection between a source 104 and destination 106 by means of the mapping with the connection units 114-1 and 114-2 respectively, any unit of control 108 or both control units 108 and database 110 may be incorporated into the functionality of any connection unit 114 such as connection units 114-1 and 114-2, by directly controlling the communication connections by the control unit 108. From another perspective, the control unit 108 itself can establish the communication connection between an origin 104 and a destination 106. It can, however, be more advantageous to use a separate management unit 112 that is interrelated with multiple connection units 114 to reduce the overall cost of implementing control of the communication connection through the communication network. In addition to being a telecommunications switch with an RVI application or a predictive dialer, the connection unit 114 can be a distributed predictive dialer system, a router, a switch, an email server or a computer server such as a personal computer . The connection unit 114 generally acts as a link circuit to establish a communication connection between an origin 104 and a destination 106. Further details regarding the operation of an application are provided in United States Patent No. 6,130,937. RVI and its interface capabilities with the management unit 112, whose full content is incorporated by reference. The international patent PCT / US03 / 19145 also provides additional details regarding the use of an application-specific interface (API) and an exemplary network configuration to facilitate communications between the connection unit 114 and the management unit 112. The connection unit 114 can receive or initiate a request for a communication connection between a source 104 and destination 106 includes the destination identifier. For example, the connection unit 114-1 typically uses the RVI 116 to receive a call from an origin 104-1. The subscriber user can use the origin 104-1, for example a telephone, to dial a "1-800" number to access the RVI 116. In an embodiment of the present invention, a unique authentication number can be used to give access to the communications control system and may represent a single service account. For example, accounts can be personal accounts for individual business customers seeking to comply with the Federal no-call database, or accounts can represent corporate accounts that have access to a non-calling company database. , as well as a base of existing business relationships. The authentication number can be, for example, a unique account number plus a personal identification number (PIN). Alternatively, the subscriber could be automatically authenticated by the automatic recognition of the origin number (ANI = Automatic Number Identification), having been pre-registered the origin number as corresponding to an account. Additionally, account numbers can be provided on calling cards that have information located on the card readable by a magic card. Machine-readable information can provide identification for the corresponding activation of the account by the machine. The control unit 108-1 will then validate the subscriber user, using the database 110-1 as belonging to a particular office associated with the subscriber which can provide the appropriate treatment of the communication control based on the account. If it is valid, the RVI 116 may request from the originating subscriber 104-1 a 10-digit destination telephone number to subsequently make a call to a destination client 106-1. Once the destination telephone number is received, typically using a tone detection system (DMTF), the RVI 116 sends the telephone number of the destination call to the local management unit 112-1. Depending on the mediation rules or the account information that may be specific to a particular subscriber, the control unit 108-1 compares the destination telephone number with one or more lists of prohibited destination telephone numbers and / or exempt in the local database 110-1 and then instructs the connection unit 114-1 to prohibit or allow communication connection. The system can also provide subscribers with the ability to bypass the communication control system, if the account is used to make a personal outgoing or non-business call. Once connected, the RVI 116 will ask the subscriber user to enter a personal identification number between 6 to 10 digits. The control unit 108-1 will then validate the subscriber user, using the database 110-1 as belonging to a peculiar office associated with the subscriber. If it is valid, the RVI 116 can request from the originating subscriber 104-1 a 10-digit destination telephone number to subsequently make a call to a target customer. Once the destination telephone number is received, typically using a tone detection system (DMTF), the RVI 116 sends the telephone number of the destination call to the local management unit 112-1. Depending on the mediation rules that are preferably specific to a particular subscriber, the control unit 108-1 compares the destination telephone number with one or more lists of prohibited and / or exempt destination telephone numbers in the local database 110-1 and then orders the connection unit 114-1 prohibit or allow the connection of communications. In this voice communications scenario, the list of prohibited destination identifiers can be derived from any one of or a combination of a Federal NLL 200 list, a state NLL 202 list, a DMA 204 list, a wireless NLL 205 list, an internal list of subscriber 208 or an NLL list of very important persons (VIP) 210 as shown in figure 2. Other lists 206 defined by international, federal, state, other governmental entities, trade organizations, associations or private entities may also be included. Additional subscriber-specific lists 212 may be additionally included. In an e-mail scenario, the list of prohibited destination identifiers may include a list of the non-mail-sending subscriber, list of domain names, or list of IP addresses. The Federal NLL 200 list is typically a copy of the national Do-Not-Call list maintained by the FTC and enforced by the FTC, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and state officials. Preferably, the list 200 is stored locally in a database 110-1 to reduce possible delays in the query, but it can be accessed remotely by the control unit 108-1 from the central database 110-3 or even from the database maintained by the FTC, FCC or another entity, through the Internet or similar. The state list NLL 202 may include multiple lists with each list associated with a particular state. Depending on the mediation rules, as defined by the subscriber, the control unit 108 may check a state, multiple states, or no list of states for the prohibited destination numbers. The DMA TPS 204 list is typically derived from the DMA Do Not Call list that certain states require that it be checked by telemarketers prior to the call to a target customer. The DMA TPS list currently has more than 8 million destination phone numbers. The wireless list of NLL 205 may be increased to contain, for example, a list of mobile phones or other wireless device addresses such as telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, IP addresses, or domain name addresses associated with one or more groups or wireless devices. The internal NLL list of the subscriber 208 may be a subscriber-specific list that includes destination telephone numbers or clients that have explicitly notified the subscriber that they do not wish to be required. The internal NLL list of the subscriber 208 is generally imposed on all other lists or exemptions. The VIP 210 list can typically be a subscriber-specific list of high-value customers that the subscriber does not want the general users or subscriber brokers to contact. The other subscriber-specific NLL lists 212 may include a list of states or area codes associated with a particular agent which are prohibited or blocked for contact by the agent. The other subscriber-specific NLL lists 212 may also include lists of area codes associated with particular subscriber offices that are prohibited from contacting the office. Subscriber agent or agent restrictions possibly allow a subscriber to prevent agents from different offices in different geographic locations from calling the same customer in a particular state or area code. The list of exempt destination identifiers can be derived from any one or a combination of a list of existing business relationship exemptions (EBR) 216, exemption lists NLL 218, lists of NLL exemptions 220, a list of exemptions VIP 222 or other lists of exemptions 224. The list of exemptions EBR 216 is typically a subscriber-specific list of identifiers of destination of customers that can be contacted even if their telephone number is content within a NLL 200 list, state list NLL 202 or list DMA NLL 204. Under certain conditions, depending on the existing business relationships between the subscriber and the customer, certain federal and state regulations allow a particular subscriber to contact a customer even when the customer's destination number is included within lists 200, 202 or 204. The EBR list may include, but is not limited to, the following categories: 1. Bought - Indicates that the customer has purchased a product from the subscriber. Calls to these clients are allowed within J duration specified in the regulations. 2. Leased - Indicates that a customer has leased a product from the subscriber. Calls to these clients are allowed within the duration specified in the regulations. 3. Rented - Indicates that a customer has rented a product from the subscriber. Calls to these clients are allowed within the duration specified in the regulations. 4. Financial transaction - Indicates that a customer has contracted a financial transaction with the subscriber. Calls to these clients are allowed within the duration specified in the regulations. 5. Query - Indicates that a client has made a query with the subscriber. Calls to these clients are allowed within the duration specified in the regulations. Each of these exemptions may be defined by federal regulations and by some states that have regulations on EBR. Typically, subscribers are asked to choose which of these exemptions the control system 100 will admit / choose. Subscribers typically provide a list of exempt destination identifiers along with the exemption type to an administrator of the control system 100 that introduces the destination identifiers in the list of exemptions EBR 216 through an interface such as the management interface 124 or can be loaded by automated processes from a remote location or places of the suscpptor. The information included in the list of EBR 216 exemptions can include any or a combination of an exemption key, type of exemption, and contact date associated with each exempt destination identifier. The EBR exemption key can be an integer associated with a category of EBR exemptions. For example, the "Bought" EBR exemption may have a key = 1 as shown above while the EBR exemption "Query" may have an exemption key = 5. The contact date may be stored with the destination identifier in the list of EBR exemptions 216 to enable control unit 108 to determine the length of time in which a particular EBR exemption may be applied.

For example, if a customer consults a subscriber on a certain date, federal or state regulations may allow the subscriber to apply the exemption and cancel the NLL Federal 200 list, state list NLL 202 or DMA NLL 204 list for a period of 30 days from the contact date. The duration of each EBR exemption may be different or vary, regulating the use of an EBR exemption key, associated with each exempt destination number, to determine which EBR exemption to apply and during which time the EBR exemption is valid. Accordingly, the EBR selection key and the contact date can be used by the control unit 108 to identify a particular EBR exemption category and determine whether to apply the EBR exemption, depending on the duration in which the exemption is valid from the date contact. The NLL 218 exemption lists may be subscriber-specific or agent-specific destination identifier lists including, but not limited to, the following categories: • Prior Express Permit - When a customer of a subscriber specifically gives permission to be contacted, the identifier of the customer's destination, for example the telephone number, is recorded in the database 110, allowing the customer to be contacted by the subscriber. This category can be allowed or canceled by the subscriber using a management interface 124. • Survey - When a customer responds to a subscriber survey, the customer's destination identifier, for example the telephone number, can be registered in the database 110, allowing the client to be contacted by the subscriber. This category can be allowed or overridden by the subscriber using a management interface 124. • Personal relationships - This category allows the subscriber's agent to designate certain destination identifiers as their "friends and family". Thus, control unit 108 is allowed to bypass all NLL restrictions and allow communication connections to the indicated destination identifiers. The destination identifier can be added to a list of NLL exemptions of personal relationships 218 through the RVI interface 116 by the subscriber's agent or by using a www interface from a management interface 124 or some other remote computer connection with the management unit 112. This category can be allowed or canceled by the subscriber using a management interface 124. The list of state exemptions NLL 220 can be a subscriber-specific list or indicators associated with allowing or preventing state call restrictions, intra calls -state, Federal NLL 200 list, NLL 202 state lists and DMA NLL 204. The list of NLL state exemptions may include, but is not limited to, the following: • Federal indicator - Setting this indicator allows the subscriber to adjust the unit 108 to ignore the check of the Federal NLL 200 list. The fixation can be allowed or canceled by the usand subscriber or a management interface 124. • State indicator - Setting this indicator allows the subscriber to adjust the control unit 108 to ignore the state list NLL 202 for a particular state. Each of the 50 possible states can be ignored individually. The fixation can be allowed or canceled by the subscriber using a management interface 124. • DMA indicator - This setting allows the subscriber to adjust the control unit 108 to ignore the check of the DMA NLL 204 list. The fixation can be allowed or canceled by the subscriber using a management interface 124. • Intra-state indicator - This exemption enables the unit to control 108 to allow intrastate communication connections in an individual state. For example, if a subscriber believes they are entitled to an exemption that allows them to call a state (that is, the origin and destination identifiers, for example telephone numbers, are from different states), the customer can set this option to allow the control unit 108 to override any other intrastate restriction imposed by a state NLL 202 list or other list. The fixation can be enabled or disabled by the subscriber using a management interface 124. • State call restriction inducer - This exemption may allow the control unit 108 to ignore the restrictions associated with a particular state by following the Federal call restriction rules . A call restriction may allow only denr.ro communication connections of a stated period of time such as from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Federal call restriction rule may be more liberal than the restriction rules in certain states. Thus, the subscriber has the option of following the most liberal federal rules. The fixation may be enabled or disabled by the subscriber using a management interface 124. The list of exemptions of high-value customers (VIP) 222 may be a specific list of the destination identifier agent which allows certain agents of a subscriber to establish a communication connection with certain VIP clients. As indicated above, the control unit 108 uses the VIP NLL 210 list to prohibit a subscriber agent communications connection to certain VIP subscribers whose destination identifiers are contained in the VIP NLL 210 list. The VIP exemption list 222 allows the control unit 108 to skip checking the VIP list NLL210 for a particular agent and allows the agent to contact the VIP client. The destination identifiers can be stored in the database 110 by the subscriber using the management interface 124. The check of the VIP exemption list 222 can also be enabled or disabled by the subscriber in the management interface 124. The database 110 may also include other exemption lists 224 such as the Federal grace period list which defines a grace period where the destination identifiers recently added to the Federal NLL 200 list can be contacted if they were added during the grace period. For example, the grace period may vary between 0 and 90 days. The control unit 108 may check the other exception lists 222 such as the Federal grace period list depending on whether the checking has been allowed or canceled by the subscriber using the management interface 124. While the foregoing lists may be implemented preferably As tables within a database such as database 110, lists can also be distributed across multiple databases or multiple tables within multiple databases. Also, the lists of prohibited and exempt destinations within the databases 110 can be modified by an agent through an origin 104 using an RVI 116. Additionally, the lists of prohibited and exempt destinations can be modified from a secondary interface such as a management interface 124 or other remote connection to the management units 112, typically using a www page interface by an agent or administrator. Having previously described the various lists of prohibited and exempt destinations and other exemption lists, the mediation rules used by the control unit 108 are now described in detail. These mediation rules preferably determine whether certain lists of identifiers of forbidden destinations are checked. by the control unit 108 or skipped (or ignored) based on whether certain lists of exempt destinations or exemption lists are used by the control units 108. As described above, the subscriber preferably configures the control units 108 to use any combination of NLL lists and / or exemption lists within the databases 110. Basically, the mediation rules determine the sequence of comparisons made by the control units 108 between a destination identifier and one or more lists of exempt identifiers and prohibited. In that sequence, each comparison with a list of exempt identifiers by the control units 108 determines whether a comparison with a list or associated lists of identifiers of forbidden destinations is skipped or ignored. For example, before comparing a destination chip with the Federal NLL 200 list, the state list NLL 202, and the DMA NLL list 204, the control unit 108 typically compares the destination number with the list of EBR exemptions 216. If there is a match with the list of EBR exemptions 216, control unit 108 skips or ignores the result of the comparison with federal lists NLL 200, state lists NLL 202 and list DMA NLL 204. If the client, however, you have set up the mediation rules so as not to use the EBR exemption list 216, the control unit 108 compares the destination identifier with the Federal NLL 200 list, state lists NLL 202 and DMA list NLL 204. Similarly, the list of VIP exemptions 222 may be checked before the control unit 108 checks the VIP NLL 210 list to determine whether the checking of the VIP NLL 210 list is skipped or ignored. The list of NLL exemptions related to "friends and family" can be checked by control unit 108 to determine whether to skip all other NLL lists. The list of state exemptions NLL 220 can be checked before checking a particular state list NLL 202 to determine if the control unit 108 skips the particular state list NLL 202. Other scenarios of checks and jumps are possible depending on the rules of mediation. Accordingly, the mediation rules, which are configured by the subscriber, determine the sequence in which the NLL files can be checked or skipped by the control unit 108 to prohibit or allow a communication connection between an origin 104 and a destination. 106. Figure 5, which will be discussed later in detail, provides an additional illustration of the rules of mediation. In addition to being configured based on the mediation rules that determine which lists of prohibited and exempt destinations or other exemptions are used, the control unit 108 may use other information such as a user subscriber identifier, subscriber identifier, customer identifier, Subscriber's office identifier, product identifier, geographic area, date, time, duration of the exemption type, originator identifier, internal criteria of the subscriber or internal criteria of the client to determine if a particular comparison with a list of prohibited destinations is necessary or exempt or another list of exemptions. In other words, the control unit 108 may use additional information in conjunction with the lists of prohibited and exempt destinations of the database 110 to prohibit or allow a communication connection to take place between an origin 104 and a destination 106. For example , a subscriber agent can present a subscriber user identifier with a keyword to enable the control unit 108 to identify and authenticate agent access to the system. The user identifier of the subscriber can also be used by the control unit 108 to determine the particular list of exemptions NLL 218 to check how "friends and family" or what list of VIP exemptions 222 check to determine whether the communication connection should be allowed to a high value customer. The control unit 108 may also check the dialed number (DNIS) or originator identifier, for example the telephone number, using automatic number identification (ANI) to determine if a particular agent is prohibited from making a communication connection with a destination that has a particular area code according to the list NLL 212. The identifier of the subscriber's office, which can also be determined by the agent's entry from an origin 104 or automatically using the ANI, can also be used, based on the mediation rules, to check the NLL 212 list to determine if a destination number is restricted. Figures 3 and 4 show an exemplary internal organization of the databases 110, which store the subscriber-specific information, individual office and agent details for each office assigned to the subscriber, and information common to each suscp of the control system 100. Each subscriber is assigned a unique subscriber key that identifies that subscriber to the control units 108. The subscriber's individual offices may also be assigned a unique office key. Additionally, each user or agent of the suscp may have assigned a unique personal identification number (PIN) and a single user key of the subscriber. Subscriber key, office key, and user key allow control units 108 to associate the lists of prohibited and exempt destinations appropriate for the subscriber, subscriber user or appropriate office. Figure 3 shows the organization of the table of the data structure of the databases 110 in which the lists of prohibited destinations are stored. The tables shown are described as follows: tbl_Clients: a table of all the subscribers that use the control system 100 including information about each subscriber. tbl_SystemUsers: a table of all the individual users of the control system 100 including the users or agents of the subscriber and administrators. tbl_OfficeAgents: a table of all the runners. This table indicates if the agent is part of a team, active and online. tbl_ActivelVRAgents: a table of all agents currently registered through the RVI 116. tbl_BlockedAgentStates: a table that allows the control unit 108 to prohibit certain agents from calling certain states listed in the table. tblJBlockedAreaCodes: a table that allows the control unit 108 to prohibit certain agents from calling certain area codes. tbl_ClientOffices: a table of offices assigned to a particular subscriber. tbl_CCenterNLLEntries - A table listing the prohibited destination identifiers for a particular call center. tbl_ClientNLLCallEntries: a table listing the prohibited destination identifiers for a particular subscriber 208. tbl_CallDetails: a table that stores the details associated with each call to allow a record or audit. tbl_CallCenterNLLQueue: a table that stores changes in the database that must be sent to other management units 112. tbl_DMALIST: a table that stores the DMA NLL 204 list. tbl_NLLSTATELTST: a table that stores state lists NLL 202. tbl_RegulatoryNLLList: a table containing the Federal NLL 200 list. tbl_CellularExchanges: a table that stores the normalized identified range of mobile phone numbers 226. tbl_PortedLTW: a table that stores the telephone numbers that have been ported to a mobile phone device 228. The figure 4 shows the organization of the tables of the data structure of the database 110 in which the exempt destination identifiers are stored. The tables shown are described as follows: tbl_Clients: a table of all the subscribers using the control system 100 including information about each subscriber (the same as in figure 3). tbl_Ebr_Exemptioninfo: a table that stores the durations associated with each exemption category. tbl_ Ebr_ClientExemptions: a table that stores the exemptions associated with a particular subscriber. tbl_Ebr_ClientStateExemptions_Audit: a table that stores an audit record of the exemptions associated with the list of NLL state exemptions 220. tbl_ Ebr_ClientExemptions_Audit: a table that stores an audit record of the exemptions associated with the list of NLL exemptions 218. tbl_Ebr_Exemptions: a table describing the EBR exemption of the exception list EBR 216. tbl_Ebr_ClientExemptionNumbers: a table that stores the list of destination identifiers in the list of exemptions EBR 216 including the exemption key and the date information of Contact. tbl_Ebr_ClientStateExemptions: a table that stores the exemptions listed in the list of NLL 220 state exemptions associated with a particular subscriber. tbl ClientNLLExemptions: a table that stores the list of NLL 218 exemptions associated with a particular subscriber. tbl_EBRExempt? ons: a table that describes the state EBR exemptions. tbl_Products: a table that describes a product associated with a particular suscpptor. tbl_Cl? entProducts: A table that associates a product key with a particular suscpptor. tbl_Cl? entWh? spers: a table that stores private messages 230 specific to the suscpptor. tbl_Wh? spers: a table that stores the private messages 232 defined by the system. As shown above, the databases 110 are configured using tables so that the lists of prohibited and exempt destinations can be added or deleted dynamically. For example, new EBR exemptions can be added to tbl_Ebr_Exempt? Ons with minimal or no modification in the other tables within the database 110. Such flexibility to allow updating of the database 110 also allows the mediation rules to be adapted flexibly to continuously transmit new rules prohibiting connections. Referring again to Figure 1, the functionality of the control units 108 and the associated databases 110 can also be implemented as a software application within a remote computer 126 of the suscpptor. Alternatively, only the control unit 108 can be implemented in the subscriber's computer 126 while remotely accessing the lists of prohibited and exempt destinations within the 110-3 database, located in the central administration facilities. Additionally, the computer 126 may act as a remote interface to any management unit 112. The lower implementation cost may be attractive to certain subscribers who may not be concerned with the possible delay in accessing the 110-3 database. In this scenario, the subscriber's computer 126 acts as both a connection unit and a control unit allowing or prohibiting a communication connection between, for example, the 104-6 and 106-1 origin based on the lists of prohibited destinations and exempt within the internal database 110, or within the central database 110-3 or within another remote database. The computer 126, acting as a control unit, can also control the communication connection between the origin 104-6 and the destination 106-5 which could be a voice over IP connection (VolP = Voice-over-IP). With respect to any control unit 108, it is understood that a variety of destination identifiers can be examined in relation to a particular origin to determine whether to prohibit or allow a communication connection between a particular source such as the origin 104-2 and each destination. from a variety of destinations 106. Thus, control units 108 may be continuously processing communications connection requests when the subscriber agent attempts to make new contacts with new clients. Another feature of the control system 100 is that the management units 112 can maintain audit records of the communication connections whether the connection is forbidden or allowed. Instead of simply skipping a particular check on whether the associated exemption lists match a destination identifier, the control units 108 can perform the check, but only record the results. These identifiers records of prohibited, permitted and improper destinations can be stored for further analysis or other purposes. The records can be stored as flat files, excel, dbf or similar. In accordance with the above, the current method provides a method for selectively prohibiting a communication connection between a source and a destination in a communications network. The method includes receiving or initiating a connection request for a communication connection between an origin 104 and a destination 106 that includes the destination identifier and prohibiting or allowing the requested communication connection based on one or more mediation rules and identifier lists. Forbidden and exempt destinations in databases 110. Figures 5A-5C illustrate an exemplary process for selectively prohibiting a communications connection between, for example, an origin 104-1 and a destination 106-1 in a telecommunications network using the RTC 102 where the origin 104-1 is a telephone that has a user interface that accepts voice and digits dialed by a subscriber agent. Initially, the agent calls the RVI 116 on the connection unit 114-1 to establish a communication connection with a connection unit 114-1 (step 500). The connection unit 114-1 then interacts with the control unit 108-1 to validate the number dialed using DNIS. Upon successful validation by the control unit 108-1, the connection unit 114-1 will require the subscriber's agent to identify and authenticate information (step 502). The reguerimiento can be a voice record or a particular tone. Once required, the agent enters the identification and authentication information such as the agent identifier and the PIN or identifier of the subscriber's office. Again, the control unit 108-1 validates the identification and authentication information. After a successful validation by the control unit 108-1, the RVI 116 of the connection unit 114-1 requires the agent the destination telephone number. In the international patent application PCT / US03 / 19145 additional details are given in relation to the initial stages of this process. The subscriber's agent enters the figures associated with the destination telephone number (step 504). The connection unit 114-1 then sends the destination telephone number to the control unit 108-1 (step 506). The control unit 108-1 verifies that the dialed area code of the destination telephone number is valid and retrieves the specific mediation rules of the subscriber (step 508). The control unit 108-1 prohibits or allows the connection of communications based on the rules of mediation, one or more lists of numbers of prohibited destinations and one or more lists of exempt destination numbers, by means of sending an order of prohibition or permission to the connection unit 114-1 based on the following sequence of checks. The destination telephone number is compared to the NLL list of the subscriber 208. If there is a match, the control unit 108-1 instructs the connection unit 114-1 to prohibit the call (step 510). If there is no match, the destination telephone number is compared with the list of EBR exemptions 216 (step 512). If there is a match, the EBR exemption key is checked to determine the category of the exemption and the length of time in which the exemption category is valid (step 514). The control unit 108-1 also checks the contact date and compares it with the current date to determine whether the duration of the exemption has expired. If the duration has expired, the control unit 108-1 returns to check the NLL Federal, State and DMA lists. If the duration has not expired, the control unit 108-1 either ignores or skips the checks of the Federal, State and DMA NLL lists (step 516). If the destination telephone number does not match any number in the EBR 216 exemption list, the destination telephone number is compared to the federal NLL lists 200 (step 518). If there is a match, the call is forbidden. If there is no match, the destination telephone number is compared to the state lists indicated with the state NLL list 202 (step 520). If there is a match, the call is forbidden. If there is no match, the destination telephone number is compared to the DMA NLL 204 list (step 522). If there is no match, the destination telephone number is compared to the VIP exemption list 222 (step 524). The list of VIP exemptions can be specific to the agent. If there is a match, the VIP NLL check is skipped or ignored. If there is no match, the destination telephone number is compared to the VIP NLL 210 list (step 526). If there is a match, the call is forbidden. If there is no match, the destination telephone number is compared to the federal restrictions to determine if the current time (TOD) of the current call is within the federal government's restriction hours at the destination ( step 528). If the state restrictions were selected in the rules of mediation, the verification of state restrictions would also have been carried out. If the time is within the allowed restriction period, for example from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., the call is not prohibited and other exemption checks or no-call checks can be performed as defined by the mediation rules ( step 530). Once the control unit 108-1 completes all comparisons of the destination telephone number based on the mediation rules and the destination number has been allowed, the control unit 108-1 commands the connection unit 114-1 allowing the communication connection with which the RVI 116 of the connection unit 114-1 initiates a communication connection with the destination 106-1 using the destination telephone number (step 534). The connection unit 114-1, using the RVI 116, then links the call from the origin 104-1 with the call to the destination 106-1 (step 536). After the call has been completed, the RVI 116 can accept field status codes or manual entries of prohibited destination telephone numbers to be added to the subscriber's NLL list 208 (step 528). Additional details regarding state codes or manual entries are given in international patent application PCT / US03 / 19145. If the control unit 108-1 completes all comparisons of the destination telephone numbers based on the mediation rules and determines that the communication connection is forbidden, the control unit 108-1 commands a to RVI 116 of the switch 114- 1 end or disconnect the communication connection with the source 104-1. Instead of terminating the connection with the origin 104-1, the RVI 116 can notify the agent of the originating subscriber 104-1 that the call is forbidden and request the agent to enter another destination telephone number. Then the next destination telephone number can be checked using the process described above. The preceding steps associated with the call initiated to the RVI 116 are similar to the steps involved in a predictive dialer such as the connection unit 114-2. A predictive dialer is a device or system which continuously initiates calls to destinations 106 and establishes a connection to an origin such as the origin 104-9 only after establishment of the connection to a destination such as 106-1. Thus, as shown in Figure 5A, the connection unit 114-2, a predictive dialer, initially selects a destination telephone number (step 501). The connection unit 114-2 then sends the destination telephone number to the control unit 108-2 to request permission to prohibit or allow a communication connection between, for example, the origin 104-9 and the destination 106-1 . The control unit 114-2 then performs the same or similar check sequences as those previously performed by the control unit 114-1 to prohibit or allow the connection of communications between the source 104-1 and the 106-1. If the destination telephone number is allowed, the control unit 108-2 instructs the connection unit 114-2 to allow communication connection between the source 104-9 and the destination 106-1. The connection unit 114-1 then initiates a call to the destination 106-1 using the destination telephone number (step 533). If the connection unit 114-2 detects a "Hello" from the destination 106-1, the connection unit 114-2 establishes a second connection with the origin 104-9 (step 535). The connection unit 114-2 then links the connections with the source 104-9 and the 106-1 to establish a communication connection between them. Referring again to Figure 1, as an alternative method for real-time or near-real-time call control as described above, an analysis system can be used to selectively indicate whether the communications connections between an origin and one or more destinations are prohibited. The analysis system typically includes an interface unit that receives one or more proposed destination identifiers. The analysis system also includes at least one list of prohibited destination identifiers, at least a list of exempt destination identifiers and an analysis unit 128 that indicates whether the communication connection between a source and one or more proposed destinations is allowed or prohibited based on one or more mediation lists and the list of identifiers of destination prohibited and exempt. The functional capabilities of the analysis units 128 may be identical to those of the control units 108 except that the analysis units 128 do not control a communications connection or connection units 114. In fact, the control units 108 may operate also as units of analysis. Instead of performing a real-time action, the analysis units 128 may indicate destinations 106 may connect to which sources 104. This indication of prohibited or permitted communication connections may involve analyzing a certified list of proposed destination identifiers delivered to the analysis unit through an interface unit such as a personal computer 130. The computer 130 may also have an application that streamlines the information sent to the analysis unit 128-1 so that the private information associated with a destination does not this potentially exposed in the transmission to the analysis unit 128-1. The interface unit could also be an ftp server, a database connection, a remote terminal connection, a WWW page or a resident interactive voice response connection within the analysis unit 128-1 or another server such as a communication server 132. After indicating which communication connections are prohibited and allowed, the analysis unit 128-1 can send a list of indications to the client computer 130. Alternatively, the analysis unit 128-2 can be implemented as an application of software within the subscriber's remote computer 130. Thus, the 128-2 unit of analysis remotely accesses the lists of prohibited and exempt from the 110-3 database within a central administration facility. The personal computer 130 may also contain a database 110 which eliminates the need for the 128-2 analysis unit to remotely access other databases such as the database 110-3. In accordance with the foregoing, the current method provides a method for selectively indicating whether communications connections between an origin and one or more destinations in a communications network are prohibited. The method includes receiving one or more destination identifiers and indicating whether the communication connection between the origin 104-1 and one or more destinations 106 is prohibited or permitted on the basis of one or more mediation rules and lists of prohibited destination identifiers and exempt. With reference to Figure 6, another embodiment includes a control system 100 for selectively establishing a communications connection between an origin 104 and a destination 106 within a communication network including the telecommunications network 102 where the communications connection is typically established by a connection unit 114 which links a first connection to the origin 104 with a second connection to the destination 106. The system preferably includes at least one list of prohibited destination identifiers 106, at least one list of exempt destination identifiers 106 and a control unit 108 which commands the connection unit 114 to establish the communication connection between an origin 104 and a destination 106 based on one or more mediation rules and to the lists of prohibited and exempt destination identifiers 106.

The control unit 108 may also deliver one or more notification messages to both the origin 104 and the destination 106 or both. The notification messages may be delivered to an origin 104 from a connection unit 114 using the first connection both before the communications are established with the destination 106, and during the communications established with the destination 106 or after communications with the destination have been terminated. destination 106. Notification messages may also be delivered to a destination 106 from a connection unit 114 using the second connection both before communications are established with an origin 104, and during communications established with an origin 104 or after completion communications with an origin 104. The notification message may indicate to the originating user 104 which exemption is being applied by the control system 100 as determined by the mediation rules and at least one list of exempt destination identifiers 106. For example , a suscpptor agent can initiate a call to the RVI 116 of the connection unit n 114-1 to reach a contact user in destination 106-1. After the communication connection between the origin 104-1 and the connection unit 114-1 is established, the control unit 108-1 typically determines whether to allow the connection of communications with a particular destination 106-1 based on the mediation rules. If, for example, the control unit 108-1 determines that it applies the EBR exemption such as a previous "purchase" by the contact, even if the identifier of the destination 106-1 is in a Federal NLL 200 list, the connection unit 114-1 through RVI 116 can deliver an audio recording to source 104-1 stating that "the contact is in a Federal NLL list, but the call is allowed based on a prior purchase." The message can even specify the product purchased, location of the purchase and date of purchase. After having reproduced the message, the connection unit 114-1 can then initiate a second communication connection with the destination 106-1. This capability, in another form known as a "private message" feature, advantageously prepares an agent for a possible negative question from the contact about an explanation of why the agent does not adhere to Federal, State or other NLL law. . Because the RVI 116 typically has separate connections, i.e., first and second, with the origin 104-1 and the destination 106-1, an audio or other type of message may be delivered to the origin 104-1 without the message being detected by the contact user of destination 106-1, even when the first and second connections are linked together by the connection unit 114-1.

Thus, the above message can be delivered to the origin 104-1 after the connection unit 114-1 links the first and second connections. During the period of time in which the first connection exists between the origin 104-1 and the connection unit 114-1, the notification messages to the origin 104-1 can be delivered. During the period of time in which the second connection between the connection unit 114-1 and the destination 106-1 exists, the notification messages to destination 106-1 can be delivered. Thus, even if one of the two connections ends, the other connection can allow notification messages to be sent. For example, after a destination contact user 106-1 completes the call with an agent, even during the communications connection, a notification message may be sent to destination 106-1 stating "please rate your experience with this agent on a ladder from one to five in which five is the highest. " The RVI 116 must use a tone detector to capture the digits typed by the contact user at destination 106-1 in response to the request of the notification message. A notification message may request information from either or both of origin 104-1 and destination 106-1. A) Yes, one or more notification messages can initiate or be part of an interactive information exchange process. The notification message can be any one of or a combination of an audio recording, an interactive voice response, a human-initiated voice message, a text message, an email message, an instant message, a multimedia message, an IP-based message, an audio tone, a sequence of audio tones, a visual indicator or a graphic image. For example, an origin capable for VolP 104 of having a graphical user interface (GUI) that allows receiving notification messages such as text messages, hypertext language pages (HTML = Hypertext Markup Language) or extensible language data (XML) = Extensible Markup Language) while also receiving audio notification messages. Certain source devices 104 may have light emitting diode (LED) panels that can provide a notification message in the form of a visual indication to the agent user of the source device 104. A notification message, however, may include based on mediation rules such as information derived from any of or a combination of subscriber-specific requirements, specific requirements of the originating agent and specific requirements of the destination user. Because the control units 108 typically verify the identity of an agent user in an origin 104, the notification messages can be adapted to the information associated with the agent. For example, when the agent using an origin 104 initiates a communication connection request and the connection between an origin 104 and a connection unit 114 is established, a unit 108 may send agent-specific information to the origin 104 such as a meeting notice with the agent's supervisor, number of contact calls made, reminder to update the agent's access key, etc. The amount and type of messages depend on the customer and the needs of your company. A variety of messages for contacts at destination 106 may be available to allow agent assessment, provide disclaimers automatically or possibly deliver adapted advertisements. The notification message may be delivered over the band through a connection unit 114 or out of the band through some other means to an origin 104 or a destination 106. While over the band it typically applies to the notification messages sent within a circuit switched connection, it also applies, in this embodiment, to the notification messages sent to the origins 104 and destinations 106 using the same medium through which communications between an origin 104 and a destination 106 are exchanged. On the other hand, an out-of-band notification message may be sent to an origin 104, for example, the origin 104-6 using means other than the communication connection means in use between the origin 104-6 and a destination 106 such as the 106-1. For example, if the origin 104-6 and the destination 106-1 have established a telecommunications connection, the control unit 108-2 can send an out-of-band notification message in the form of an XML data message (Extensive Markup Language) based on IP through the service delivery network 118, the communication server 132, Internet 134 and the personal computer 126, assuming that the origin 104-6 also has a GUI with text capability and connectivity of Internet 134. In yet another embodiment, an analysis unit 128 may provide one or more notification messages associated with one or more proposed communication connections. When an interface unit such as a personal computer 130 delivers a certified list of identifiers of proposed destinations 106 to the unit of analysis 128-2, the analysis unit 128-2 can indicate the allowed destination identifiers and return the list of indications to the personal computer 130 which includes one or more notification messages. These notification messages are typically associated with particular destination identifiers 106 and preferably provide relevant information associated with each destination identifier 106. For example, the list of indications may have a column of observations which includes the notification messages, each message being associated of notification with a particular destination identifier 106 in the list of indications. Thus, when an agent tries to request a contact, the agent can read the observations column to determine which exemption is being used to allow the proposed communications connection. An analysis unit 128 may also generate records of the allowed destination identifiers 106 and the notification messages associated with each destination identifier 106. A further embodiment may be a notification system for delivery of messages to an origin 104 and a destination 106 of a communications connection in a communication network including a telecommunications network 102. The notification system may include a connection unit 114 which establishes a first connection with an origin 104 and a second connection with a destination 106 and then links the first and second connections to establish a communications connection between a particular source 104 and a destination 106. The notification system may also include a notification unit 140-1 that delivers at least one notification message to both an origin 104, as well as to a destination 106 or both. For example, when an agent initiates a communications connection using an origin 104-1 with an RVI 116, the notification unit 140-1 may send a notification message associated with a particular destination 106 such as destination 106-4 to the origin 104-1 through the RVI 116 of the connection unit 114-1 in the form of an audio message indicating "The contact is a VIP client." The notification unit 114-1 can interrelate with a database such as the database 112-3 to determine the status of the destination 106-4, but can not control the communications connection as a control unit 108 such as the control unit 108-1. Figure 7 illustrates a scenario that defines the flow of a call according to the principles of an alternative embodiment of the present invention: A customer dials into the system using a provided access number, such as a "1-800" 3001. In 3010, the system determines if the incoming call is from a pre-registered ANI. If the user is calling from a pre-registered ANI number 3012, the user is considered authenticated and passed to step 3030. If the user is not calling from a pre-registered ANI number 3014, the user is requested to enter their number of account and your PIN for authentication, 3020. After the user enters the account number and PIN 3022, the user goes to step 3030. At 3030, the user's account is checked. If the account is active (not suspended or terminated) 3034, the user is allowed to proceed to the next stage in the 3040 call process. If the account is suspended 3036, an announcement can be played to notify the user that the account is suspended and that the user should visit a web page to reactivate the 3050 account. If the account is 3032 finished, an announcement can be played to notify the user that the account is not valid 3060. Once the account is found to be active, in 3040 it can be The user is asked to enter the type of call (for example, controlled call, uncontrolled call). Once the user enters the type of call, it can be considered as connected to the system, and charges for use of the service or connectivity may begin depending on the type of call selected. In 3070, the user is asked to enter a phone number to call. If the user has previously chosen to make an uncontrolled call 3074, the telephone call 3080 is allowed. If the user has previously chosen to make a controlled call 3072, the destination is checked in the control unit 108, such as the one shown. in Figure 1, to determine if the 3090 call is allowed. If the 3092 call is allowed, the 3080 call is attempted. If the control unit determines that the call is not allowed, an announcement indicates that the destination has been denied 3094 After the call has been denied 3094, or after a permitted telephone call ends 3082, the user is asked to indicate if another 3100 call is to be made. If the user indicated that he wanted to make another call, again you are asked to enter the type of call 3040, and the call processing continues as described above. If the caller indicates that they do not want to make another call, the session ends. Alternatively, the caller can cancel the session at any point, by hanging up the telephone. It will be understood by one skilled in the art that there may be variations in the call flow described above with reference to FIG. 7 which fall within the principles of the present invention. Other features may be incorporated into the flow of the call. For example, the account can be loaded with the prices per use during the session at an appropriate interval. In addition, if the balance of the account is reaching zero, a "private" announcement may be given to the caller to notify them of their balance in the account. If the balance falls below, the user can be disconnected under certain circumstances. Referring again to Figure 1, the functionality of the control units 108 and the associated databases 110 can also be implemented as a software application within a remote subscriber computer 126. Alternatively, only the control unit 108 can be implemented within the suscpptor computer 126 as long as it remotely accesses the lists of prohibited and exempt destinations within base 110-3, located in the central administration facilities. Additionally, the computer 126 can act as a remote interface to any management unit 124. The lower implementation cost may be attractive to certain subscribers who might not be concerned with possible delays in accessing the 110-3 database. . In this scenario, the subscriber's computer 126 acts as both a connection unit and a control unit allowing or prohibiting a communication connection between, for example, the origin 104-6 and the destination 106-1 based on the lists of prohibited destinations within an internal database, or within the central database 110-3 or within another remote database. The computer 126, acting as a control unit, can also control the communication connection between the origin 104-6 and the destination 106-5 which could be a voice over IP (VolP) connection. As indicated above, the notification messages need not be based on the mediation rules and may originate in a notification unit 140, a relationship management system 142 such as a customer relationship management system (CRM), a control unit 108 or some other information system 144. It will be noticed by those with ordinary skill in the art that the methods involved in the present invention can be realized in a computer program product that includes a means usable by a computer. For example, such a computer-usable medium may consist of a read-only memory device, such as a CD ROM disk or conventional ROM devices, or random access memories, such as a hard disk device or a computer diskette., that have a computer readable program stored in it. While this invention has been shown and described particularly with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in the form and details thereof may be made without departing from the scope of the invention encompassed. by the appended claims. For example, in the preceding description of the invention and various embodiments thereof, the term "communications connection" is intended to include communications of switched circuits, communications of switched pages, communications using protocols without connection such as IP, circuits virtual or other electronic communications between a source and a destination.

Claims (38)

1. A method for providing conformance of calls, the method comprising: receiving a call from a caller over an incoming connection; receive a caller authentication number about the incoming connection; verify the authentication number against a database of accounts to evaluate the corresponding account information; allow the caller on the incoming connection to initiate an outgoing call on an outgoing connection based on account information; receive on the incoming connection an identifier of a destination to which the call on the outgoing connection is to be initiated; provide a treatment of the conformance of the call to the outgoing call to the destination and update the account information based on the outgoing call.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the authentication number is a pre-registered ANI,

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the authentication number is an account number and a corresponding PIN.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the handling of the call conformance comprises: checking in a non-calling database an indication of whether the destination is a non-calling destination; if it is determined that the destination is a non-calling destination, block the outgoing call from being made on the outgoing connection and if it is determined that the destination is not a non-calling destination, allow the outgoing call to be made over the outgoing outgoing connection.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the processing of the call compliance takes place in a facility of the switching center or in distributed access facilities.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said call reception includes receiving a telephone call from a caller.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the identifier is a destination telephone number.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the non-calling database check for an indication of whether the destination is a non-calling destination includes determining whether the called telephone number is present in the database of no-call and, if present, treat the destination as a non-call destination.

9. The method of claim 4, which additionally comprises, if it is determined that the destination is not a non-call destination and after allowing the call to be made, monitor the call in case an update signal occurs.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising, if it is determined that the destination is not a non-calling destination and after allowing the call to be made, monitor the call in case an update signal occurs from the caller, being said update signal an indication to identify said destination as a non-calling destination in said database.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising, if it is determined that the destination is not a non-calling destination and after allowing the call to be made, detecting an update signal from the caller and in response to the stopping of said caller signal. update, identify said destination as a non-call destination in said database.

12. The method of claim 4, wherein the incoming connection is a line 1-800, a local access number or any other means of access.

13. The method of claim 4, further comprising: allowing the caller on the incoming connection to initiate an outgoing call next; receive on the incoming connection a next identifier of a next destination with which the next outgoing call will be started; check the no-call database to indicate whether the next destination is a non-call destination; if it is determined that the next destination is a non-calling destination, block the outgoing call from being made, and if it is determined that the next destination is not a non-calling destination, allow the outgoing call to be made.

14. The method of claim 1, which additionally comprises charging fees to the account based on the duration of the incoming and outgoing call.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein a caller ID number is received and additionally comprises receiving an indication to exempt an outgoing call from the call conformance processing.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising the charging of fees to the account based on the combination of a periodic maintenance fee, the handling of the call and the duration of the incoming and outgoing call or any other method.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing an interface based on a web or other methods such as the live operator or mail to activate an account and its corresponding account number.

18. A method for implementing call compliance in a central facility, said method comprising: receiving a call from a caller over an incoming connection; receive a caller authentication number on the incoming connection; verify the authentication number against an account database to determine if the corresponding account is active; allow the caller of the incoming connection to initiate a variety of outgoing calls from the central facility if the account is active; receive on the incoming connection a variety of identifiers of destinations to which calls have to be initiated from the central installation; for each of the variety of identifiers: (1) check a non-calling database for an indication of whether the destination for that received identifier is a non-calling destination; (2) if it is determined that the destination for that received identifier is a non-calling destination, block the completion of the outgoing call and (3) if it is determined that the destination for that received identifier is not a non-calling destination , allow the realization of the outgoing call on the outgoing connection.

19. A system for providing call compliance, said system comprising: an interface unit having an incoming connection and an outgoing connection, the incoming connection capable of receiving a call in the system, receiving an authentication number from the caller, and receiving an identifier of a destination to which the call is to be initiated, the outgoing connection capable of initiating the call to the destination; a database of accounts containing the information of the accounts; an account management unit to verify the authentication number against the account database to evaluate the corresponding account information, to determine whether the caller on the incoming connection can initiate an outgoing call, and update the account information based on the outgoing call; a control unit to provide call conformance processing to the outgoing call to the destination.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the authentication number is a pre-registered ANI.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the authentication number is a corresponding account number and PIN.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein the control unit provides processing for call compliance by: checking a non-calling database for indication of whether the destination is a non-calling destination; if it is determined that the destination is a non-calling destination, block the outgoing call on the outgoing connection and if it is determined that the destination is not a non-calling destination, allow the outgoing call to be made over the outgoing connection.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the processing of call compliance takes place in the facilities of the switching center or a distributed access facility.

24. The system of claim 19, wherein receiving said call involves receiving a telephone call from the caller.

25. The system of claim 22, wherein the identifier is a destination telephone number.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the checking of the non-calling database for indication of whether the destination is a non-calling destination includes determining whether the called telephone number is present in the database of Do not call and if present, treat the destination as a non-calling destination.

27. The system of claim 22, wherein the handling of call compliance additionally comprises: if it is determined that the destination is not a non-call destination and after allowing the call to take place, monitor the call in case it takes place an update signal.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the call conformance processing additionally comprises: if it is determined that the destination is not a non-call destination and after allowing the call to take place, monitor the call in case it takes place an update signal from the communicator, said update signal being an indication to identify said destination as a non-calling destination in said database.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the handling of call compliance additionally comprises: if it is determined that the destination is not a non-calling destination and after allowing the call to take place, detecting an update signal from the caller and in response to detecting said update signal identifying said destination as a non-calling destination in said database.

30. The system of claim 22, wherein the incoming connection is a line 1-800, a local access number or any other means of access.

31. The system of claim 19, wherein the account management unit is additionally capable of charging fees to an account based on the duration of the incoming and outgoing call.

32. The system of claim 19, wherein the interface unit is additionally capable of receiving an indication to exempt an outgoing call from the call conformance processing.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein the account management unit is additionally capable of charging fees to the account based on the combination of the periodic maintenance fee, the handling of the call and the duration of the incoming and or outgoing call. or any other method.

34. The system of claim 19, further comprising an interface based on a web or other methods such as a live operator or mail to activate an account and its corresponding account number.

35. A system for providing call compliance, said system comprising: an interface unit having an incoming connection and an outgoing connection, the incoming connection capable of receiving a call from the system, receiving a caller authentication number and receiving an identifier from a destination to which the call is to be initiated, the outgoing connection capable of initiating the call to the destine- a database of accounts containing account information; an account management unit to verify the authentication number against the account database to evaluate the corresponding account information, to determine whether the caller on the incoming connection can initiate an outgoing call and update the account information based on the outgoing call; a control unit for providing call conformance processing to the outgoing call to the destination by: (i) checking a non-calling database for an indication of whether the destination is a non-calling destination; (ii) if it is determined that the destination is a non-call destination, blog the completion of the outgoing call on the outgoing connection and (iii) if it is determined that the destination is not a non-call destination, allow the realization of the outgoing call on the outgoing connection.

36. A calling card for providing access to a system for providing call conformance processing comprising: human-readable information located on the calling card, including a unique account number and a PIN where the unique account number and the PIN correspond to an account and can be used to access the system to allow the handling of call compliance.

37. The calling card of claim 36, further comprising a machine-readable information located on the calling card, where the machine-readable information provides a unique identification for the corresponding activation of the account by a machine.

38. A computer readable medium containing computer readable program codes made therein to make a computer function as a connection unit and interface that exchanges information with a relationship management system, realizing the program codes of the computer readable medium functions that include: receiving a call from a caller for an incoming connection; receive a caller authentication number on the incoming connection; verify the authentication number against an account database to evaluate the corresponding account information; allow the caller of the incoming connection to initiate an outgoing call on an outgoing connection based on the account information; receiving on the incoming connection an identifier of a destination to which a call has to be initiated on the outgoing connection; provide call conformance processing to the outgoing call to the destination and update the account information based on the outgoing call.