MXPA97008309A - Method to provide virtual dedicated access to a carrier between center - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to virtual dedicated access of telecommunications subscribers (12, 14 and 16), to a carrier between exchanges (20), which is provided by an intelligent city exchange switch (180) that directs calls to either the IXC or to an urban exchange switch (18). The smart urban exchange switch (180), advantageously serves to perform processing between call centers, as required, for calls that originate with or terminate at a customer instead of automatically directing calls to the IXC for this processing between exchanges as Previously required

Description

METHOD FOR PROVIDING VIRTUAL DEDICATED ACCESS TO A CARRIER BETWEEN CENTRALS Technical Field This invention relates to a technique for providing telecommunications services between exchanges, using dedicated access facilities between the facilities of a customer and an urban center. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Current telecommunications networks generally include one or more urban centers to provide service (ie, dial tone) to subscribers. Depending on their geographical proximity, the calling party and the called party can receive dial tone from the same urban exchange switch. In this way, the same urban exchange switch will handle the call between the calling and called parties. Often, the calling party and the called party are in different areas of local telephone access (LATAs = Local Telephone Access Areas) and are served by different urban centers. Under these circumstances, a call initiated by a calling party passes from an originating urban exchange switch to an inter-exchange carrier (IXC »inter-Exc ange Carrier) such as AT &T. The IXC directs the call from the urban exchange switch through one or more quota switches to a terminating urban exchange switch serving the called party.

REF: 25644 Residential and small business customers typically receive both local (Intra-LATA) service and IXC through their switchboard of urban service center. In the proportion that calls made by these clients are called between exchanges, the switchboard of the urban exchange passes the call to an IXC as described. For clients such as businesses, schools and government agencies, which have a large volume of calls between exchanges, it is often cheaper to have a direct link to an IXC, thus deriving from an urban center. Clients that connect directly to an IXC, are often referred to as "nodal clients" because they represent nodes within the IXC network. Characteristics requested by client (that is, the way in which private customer calls are processed) are dictated by the type of trunk in which the calls are transported to the IXC network. A separate trunk typically connects these nodal clients to its central office switch for local calls. Depending on the capacity of the IXC, nodal clients may receive some call processing between exchanges, for calls handled by the IXC bearer. For example, a nodal customer can receive, through the IXC, certain service indicators, such as internal index (call account) record the number of calls that originate from, or terminate at, the client's facilities, especially in terms of a particular service used by the client. In addition, an IXC can provide nodal clients with the ability to employ a private number plan that uses numbers other than conventional telephone numbers in accordance with the North American Number in Plan. Additionally, many IXCs provide nodal clients with certain inter-exchange call processing in connection with termination calls, such as DNIS (Dialed Number Identification Service), whereby the client receives the digits of the number called. The segregation of local and inter-central calls of a nodal client incurs several disadvantages. For example, while nodal clients achieve certain benefits by virtue of their direct connection to an IXC, certain inefficiencies result from having trunks associated with separate clients. In addition, many nodal clients can not obtain the same type of processing between exchanges, notwithstanding any processing between exchanges, for local calls from their central office switch that they obtain from the IXC for inter-exchange calls. In the proportion in which a nodal client can obtain any processing between exchanges for local calls from his switchboard of urban service center, the processing is often different from and not coordinated with, the processing between exchanges that is obtained from the IXC bearer. In particular, billing for call processing between exchanges (in the proportion that this processing is provided by the urban service center) is usually different from that provided by the IXC. In this way, there is a need for an improved technique for providing inter-exchange processing for local and inter-center calls. BRIEF COMPENDIUM DB THE INVENTION Briefly, the present invention relates to a method for providing inter-center processing, at least in part, for customer telephone calls, without need for directing these calls to an inter-center network. This inter-center processing service includes call classification, billing, and targeting determination. In accordance with the invention, the inter-center calls originated by an inter-central processing for reception by the client, when directing each call that originates with or ends in, the client's facilities, through an intelligent urban exchange switch. The SmartPad switch processes each call according to its status to determine if the call requires inter-exchange processing. If the call requires inter-exchange processing, then the intelligent PBX switch provides such processing according to the call status and customer preferences, instead of automatically directing the call to the IXC as was previously the case. Additionally, the smart urban exchange switch also determines the call destination. In other words, the smart urban exchange switch determines whether the call is a local (intra-central) or inter-central call. Depending on the destination of the call, the Intelligent Urban Central Switch directs the call in loco, such as to a carrier of a local exchange or to a carrier between exchanges, or to equipment in the client's facilities connected directly to the smart exchange. Additionally, in the necessary proportion, the smart urban exchange switch will coordinate processing between exchanges with the IXC carrier. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram of a telecommunications network according to the prior art; Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram of a telecommunication network according to the invention; Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating call processing in an intelligent home exchange switch of origin within the telecommunications network of Figure 2; and Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating call processing in a smart terminating office switch within the network of Figure 2. nKSCRTPCTON n? PATTAnA Figure 1 illustrates a network 10 of the prior art for provide telecommunications services to various customers that are illustrated by customer facility teams (CPEs = Customer Premises Equipments) 12, 14 and 16. The CPE 12 represents a customer that is connected by a simple line 17 to an urban exchange switch 18 maintained by a local exchange carrier (LEC = Local Exchange Carrier). All calls originating from the CPE 12 are passed to the urban exchange switch 18 via the line 17. The switch 18 directs the calls either locally or via a trunk 19 to an inter-exchange carrier network (IXC) 20, such as the one maintained. by AT &T. The urban exchange switch 18 determines the destination of the call by the digits dialed by the customer. The customer associated with the CPE 12 is commonly referred to as a "line" customer. Although Figure 1 illustrates only a single-line client (CPE 12), network 10 may include many line clients. In the illustrated mode, CPEs 14 and 16 represent private branch exchanges (PBXs) used by large customers (for example, stores, schools, office buildings, factories, etc.). Each of the CPEs 14 and 16 serves many individual telephone extensions (not shown). In practice, CPEs 14 and 16 generate a sufficient volume of traffic between exchanges to guarantee a direct link, by means of trunks 24 and 26 respectively to the IXC 20 network in such a way that the CPEs become separate nodes within the network. For this reason, customers associated with CPEs 14 and 16 are commonly referred to as "nodal" customers. While Figure 1 illustrates only two nodal clients (CPEs 14 and 16), the network can include a plurality of these clients. Not all calls that originate with or terminate at each of CPEs 14 and 16 are calls between exchanges. On the contrary, CPEs 12 and 14 can generate local calls (ie calls destined for subscribers in the same LATA). For this purpose, the trunk lines 28 and 30 connect the CPEs 14 and 16 respectively to the urban exchange switch 18. The telecommunications network described above incurs several disadvantages. For example, CPEs 14 and 16 segregate local and inter-central traffic on separate trunks. From the point of view of the IXC 20 network, there is inefficiency associated with receiving traffic between exchanges on separate trunk lines 24 and 26. Additionally, it may be convenient to provide local calls by inter-exchange processing, which previously had not been practical in the urban exchange switch 18. For example, it may be convenient to invoice local calls in the same way that calls are billed between exchanges. Typically, AT &T invoices certain types of calls processed within its network to certain broad area telephone service numbers (WATS = Wide Area Telephone Service). For AT & T customers, it is convenient that any processing associated with these calls be billed to the same number, which is not currently the case since the LECs use separate billing numbers. Additionally, calls processed by the IXC network 20 commonly receive service indicators such as indices reflecting call accounts, while the switchboard of the urban exchange 18 may not provide these indicators or at least provide them in the same way as IXC. Figure 2 shows a telephony network 10 according to the present invention, to provide inter-exchange call processing as required, for all calls originating with or terminating in client facilities such as CPE 12, 14 and 16. Network 100 of Figure 2 differs from network 10 of the Figure 1 in which line 17 and trunks 24 and 26 couple CPEs 12, 14 and 16 respectively to an intelligent urban exchange switch 180. Switch 180 typically comprises a central office switch. In this way, all calls (including both local and inter-central calls) that originate or terminate at CPEs 12, 14 and 16 pass through the smart urban exchange switch 180. The smart urban exchange switch 180 is coupled by a first trunk 220 to the IXC network 20 and through a second trunk 230 to the switchboard of the urban center 18 maintained by the LEC. A signaling trunk 235 also connects the intelligent urban exchange switch 180 to the IXC 20. As will be discussed in more detail below, the intelligent urban exchange switch 180 has the ability to route calls between exchanges to the IXC 20 network and direct calls local to the switchboard switch 18. To better appreciate the way in which the smart switchboard switch 180 of Figure 2 provides inter-exchange processing of all calls, as necessary, reference should be made to Figure 3 illustrating a flow diagram that shows the way in which the smart urban exchange switch processes customer outgoing calls. In practice, calls originating from nodal clients (for example, CPEs 14 and 16) typically receive inter-exchange processing by the intelligent urban exchange switch 180. (Typically, calls originating from line clients) (for example CPE 12) generally do not require processing between exchanges. However, in the proportion that these calls may require inter-exchange processing, the smart urban exchange switch 180 has the capability as described below to provide this call processing). As illustrated in Figure 3, the smart urban exchange switch 180 provides call processing between exchanges by first collecting call digits originating from each nodal client (ie each of CPEs 14 and 16). The intelligent urban exchange switch 180 initially processes the collected digits (step 300) according to the trunk group (TG * Trunk Group) where these digits arrived. In particular, during step 300, the digits associated with calls in selected trunk groups (e.g. trunk groups 26 and 28) are "tracked" (analyzed) to determine: a) if the call is of a type that is associated with a defined inter-exchange service, (in other words, if the call requires inter-exchange processing); b) if the call should be processed in the intelligent urban exchange switch 180 or the IXC 20 network of the Figure 2; and c) if the call is processed in the intelligent urban exchange switch 180, in case the results of this processing are apparent to the customer.

The nature of the trunk on which the digits are collected can dictate an IXC service that has certain parameters, such as an installation class, a plant addressing plan, and a directory number. Also, the trunk group can dictate that the digits collected represent private numbers or "public numbers" (ie those associated with the North American dial plan, which are routed in a way that is independent of the customer that originated the call). The smart urban switch 180 also processes the collected digits (step 310) to determine whether the call should be directed according to the normal addressing plan for switch 180 or whether the call should be directed consistent with certain IXC service indicators. Such an IXC service indicator may be an internal index (i.e., a call account according to the customer and type of service) that is completed during step 315. A critical step in connection with the call processing completed by the switch of smart urban exchange 180, involves the analysis of the digits collected during step 320. During step 320, the intelligent land-office switch 180 of Figure 2 determines whether the digits represent a call associated with a public dial plan or a private dial plan. Public dial plan calls include 0 + / ° ~ calls as well as 00, 500, 800, 888, 900, Nll, and 10XXX calls, just to name a few. These calls are directed in accordance with a well-defined addressing plan that is independent of the client that originated the call. In contrast, private dial plans involve numbers that are targeted based on the customer. For example, large entities such as corporations and government agencies typically employ private calling plans, whereby the numbers specify addressing to sites that are specific to the customer, and are different from those specified by the conventional North American numbering plan. These private dial calls are routed during step 325 according to a local addressing plan that is maintained by the intelligent urban exchange switch 180. Calls not previously indexed during the stage 315, and that are not found to be private dial plan calls, are typically indexed (counted) during step 330. Calls that are indexed during one of steps 315 and 330, then analyzed during step 340 to establish the kind of service associated with the call. For example, calls may originate through a network service defined by the AT &T Software (SDN - Software Defined Network) or Megacom AT &T 800 service, as pre-selected by the customer, or as indicated by the entry of a carrier identification code (CIC - Carrier identification code) that identifies the service. Other service related data are also gathered during step 340, including bearer capacity as well as the identity of the origin line. Additionally, during step 340, a prefix can be added to, or removed from, the call as appropriate. For example, calls that originate, 7-digit SDN calls may have a prefix with the number 700. For the same reason, 7-digit calls originating from a PBX (for example, CPE 14 or 16) may be prefixed by the area code of PBX. Service related information of the type described above that is developed during step 340 may be communicated to IXC 20 by signaling trunk 235. Following step 340, the collected digits are further analyzed (step 350) to classify the call for purposes of Addressing according to rules established by the client. In particular, during step 350, the intelligent urban exchange switch 180 classifies calls to determine which customer calls will be routed to the pre-subscribed (PIC »Pre-subscribed Inter-exchange Carrier) depending on the digits collected from the call. For example, a particular customer may want all calls (local and inter-center calls) to be routed to that customer PIC. Alternatively, a customer may only want calls between home exchanges directed to the customer PIC. Under certain circumstances, a customer may wish that both calls between domestic exchanges and certain calls from abroad (international) are directed to their PIC. During step 360, the calls are directed according to the classification that is provided during step 350. During step 370, the smart urban exchange switch records data associated with the call processing between exchanges described above, in a consistent manner with inter-exchange call processing performed in the IXC network 20. The data recorded during step 370 is combined with data recorded in the IXC network 20 to facilitate the provision to the customer of a single invoice to the subscriber's billing number call. During any of step 350, it may be convenient to perform some call processing within the IXC 20 network, instead of the smart urban exchange switch 180. In the proportion of this processing in the IXC 220 network, the switch of Smart Urban Central 180 coordinates such processing, keeping a record of the transaction. Figure 4 illustrates the steps performed by the smart urban exchange switch 180 to provide processing between call centers terminating in the switch. Calls terminating in the intelligent urban exchange switch 180 may be received by standard addressing (step 400) or by private addressing (step 410) depending on whether the digits of the termination call correspond to an eßtandard number or a private number, respectively . Regardless of the manner in which the call is routed to the smart exchange switch 180, the call is processed during step 415. During step 415, the dialed digits can replace the called party number. This can be better understood in the following context. Many customers, especially those who do errands, keep several different income numbers, typically 800 or 888 numbers at no charge. Calls made to any of those numbers are received by the customer on a single trunk (for example, one of the trunks 24 and 26 of Figure 2). To facilitate call handling, a customer may wish to know the number dialed by the calling party, so that callers who dial different numbers can be treated accordingly. For that reason, a customer can specify that the dialed digits replace the called party number (the current number of the trunk on which all calls will arrive). Additionally, if requested by the customer, the smart urban exchange switch 180 may increase a route index (a call account) during step 415.

Following step 415, step 420 is executed and the value of a pointer is adjusted for tracking purposes within the intelligent urban exchange switch 180. Step 430 is executed following step 420, and the appropriate trunk group for directing the call to the corresponding nodal client (for example CPEs 14 and 16) is established according to the digits collected and the call is routed on that trunk. Step 440 is also executed, whereby the smart urban exchange switch 180 records the call consistent with the call processing performed, performed by the IXC network 20. The step 450 is then executed during which an internal pointer is set to identify the trunk established during step 430. Step 460 is then executed, whereby a test measurement, which reflects the number of calls to the trunk identified by the pointer that is adjusted during step 450, is increased. The foregoing describes a technique for providing local and inter-center call handling to calls that originate from both line and nodal clients, including clients whose facilities are connected through lines in beams, for example CENTREX, BCRS, etc. , in the manner of an intelligent urban exchange switch (180), which serves to classify calls and provide call processing between exchanges as required, without the need to automatically route the call to an IXC network.

It will be understood that the above-described embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles of the invention. Various modifications and changes can be made by those who are skilled in the specialty / who incorporate the principles of the invention and fall within its spirit and scope. It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known to the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is that which is clear from the present description of the invention. Having described the invention as above, property is claimed as contained in the following:

Claims (11)

1. CLAIMS 1.- Method for providing processing between telephone call centers that originate from and terminate at a customer's facilities, characterized in that it comprises the steps of directing all telephone calls originating from, and terminating at, the facilities of the customer through an intelligent city exchange switch associated with those customer installations; establish for each call received in the intelligent urban center, a call status and subsequently process each call according to its state to determine if the call will receive processing between exchanges according to the client request, and if so, provide said processing; determine for each call received in the intelligent urban exchange switch, where the call will be directed; and direct the call according to the determination of addressing.
2. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the smart urban exchange switch establishes the status of each call by collecting digits associated with the call.
3. 3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the inter-exchange processing provided by the smart urban exchange switch includes the step of creating a reflective index of a call account associated with the customer and type of service granted.
4. 4. - The method of compliance with the claim 1, characterized in that the processing between exchanges is provided by the intelligent urban central switch, includes the step of classifying each call to determine if the call is a private number.
5. 5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that a call that is determined to be a private number is directed according to the number.
6. 6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the smart urban exchange switch determines where to direct the call according to a pre-established preference by the customer.
7. 7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that it also includes the step of recording information associated with inter-exchange processing that is provided by the intelligent urban exchange switch.
8. 8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the smart urban exchange switch provides processing between call centers that terminate at the customer premises, by replacing digits associated with the call, with digits dialed by a calling party .
9. 9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the inter-exchange processing provided by the smart urban exchange switch includes the step of creating an index that reflects a call account.
10. 10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that it also includes the step of recording information associated with inter-exchange processing, which is provided by the intelligent urban exchange switch.
11. 11. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the digits are interpolated for IXC processing.