MXPA99007790A

MXPA99007790A - Bidding for telecommunications traffic

Info

Publication number: MXPA99007790A
Application number: MXPA/A/1999/007790A
Authority: MX
Inventors: Jack J Johnson; William F Coyle
Original assignee: Summit Telecom Systems Inc
Priority date: 1997-02-24
Filing date: 1999-08-23
Publication date: 2000-02-02

Abstract

Telecommunication switches (e.g., PBX's or local exchange carrier's Centrex-enabled switches) route calls in accordance with economic incentives (e.g., least cost routing) resulting from a bidding process between participating telecommunication Carriers (Carriers) by operation of a central processor, a computer referred to as a bidding moderator (Moderator). Each of the Carriers bidding for traffic over a route informs the Moderator of the rate it is willing to charge for (or other economic incentive it is willing to offer) service between two specific points in a telecommunication network, for example, from one NPA-NXX to another NPA-NXX, at some particular time. This"bid"rate may be lower than that Carrier's established rate for any of several reasons (e.g., the Carrier has excess capacity on that route at that time). The carrier may change its bids as often as it likes during the day as traffic patterns change. The Moderator collects this bid information from all the Carriers, processes the bid information and transmits carrier selection information to subscribing switches. Bid information is also transmitted to participating Carriers'network management centers. From the list of all Carriers providing bid information to the Moderator, each Subscriber can select those Carriers to which it wants traffic routed and can change that selection at any time.

Description

TENDER FOR TELECOMMUNICATION TRAFFIC FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention belongs to the field of control of telecommunications networks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Many locally managed telecommunication systems, such as small private exchanges (PBXs), use the "least cost routing" computer program to reduce telecommunications charges. The system administrator reaches an agreement with more than one communication company between exchanges, to transport system traffic from the local station to which it is connected, to other exchanges. The administrator is kept informed of each of the Companies' rates and fills in the routing table found in the "lowest cost routing" computer program. The charges may be those that are regularly found in the Subscriber's Primary Company rate or contracted costs, offered by an alternative Company such as a volume discount or as discounted traffic during a specific period of time during the day. The "lowest cost routing" computer program will examine each call attempt and automatically decide which company "is the best economic choice for that call." If the call attempt fails, the "computer program" usually by default attempts the call attempt. call to Subscriber's Primary Company Recently there has been a great competition among telecommunications companies. This has been stimulated by both regulatory and technological changes. As telecommunications are increasingly becoming a commodity, it would be of great benefit for consumers to stimulate this competition and facilitate the consumer's ability to make economic choices among telecommunications companies.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The provision of telecommunications services is currently dominated by fixed contractual relationships between users and service providers. However, due to technological and regulatory changes, the telecommunications service is increasingly becoming a commodity, where there is competition among service providers, by user traffic. The invention described herein stimulates this competition and facilitates the consumer's ability to make economic choices among telecommunications companies. In this method and system, telecommunication switches route the calls - in accordance with _ economic incentives (for example, the routing of the lowest cost) resulting from a bidding process among the participating telecommunications companies (the Companies), administered by a bidding service provider, through the operation of a central processor, a computer that is referred to as a bidding moderator (Moderator). In this arrangement, each of the Companies transmits to the Moderator the rate they wish to charge (or any other economic incentive they wish to offer) for the service between two specific points, from a point of origin to a point of destination, at a particular time. This "bidding" facility may be less than that established by the Company for any of several reasons (for example, the Company has excess capacity on that route and at that time). The Company may also, for example, decide, for reasons of capacity or competitiveness, to apply the same tender in all traffic originating in a specified network that commutes to the terminal point (for example an NPA-NXX) regardless of the destination, or in all traffic, regardless of the point of origin and destination. The Company may change its tenders as often as it wishes, during the day, as traffic patterns change. The Moderator collects this bidding information from all Companies, it classifies them between the points of origin, and can process this information additionally, for example, making the selection according to particular routes or depending on individual calls. The Moderator then transmits selected portions of this information to each appropriate location of the subscription switch and to the network management centers of the participating Companies. Each subscription switch (the Subscriber) obtains tariff information or company selection information, from the Moderator, for all "point-to-point routes" that originate in the area of the Subscriber's local station. The Moderator provides each Company with bidding information from other Companies, at least a portion of all point-to-point routes for which a Company has submitted a bid (for example, from some NPA-NXX to any other NPA -NXX, or to another telecommunication network destination defined in another way, in the world). A point-to-point route can originate and end within a single local station area. From the list of all the Companies that provide the bidding information to the Moderator, each Subscriber may select those Companies that they wish to route their traffic and may change this selection at any time. The Subscriber extracts the information concerning the selection of companies, from the selected Companies, and uploads them to the routing path tables of the "least cost routing" computing program found in their switch. After a Company submits a new tender and it is processed by the Moderator, the rate or 'information of company selection will be distributed to the relevant Subscribers and the rate information will be distributed to the other Companies. The Companies that receive the information will have the opportunity after submitting a lower or higher bid for any point-to-point routes in which they wish to stimulate or discourage, respectively, the additional traffic. Similarly, the Moderator could offer a different kind of service, directly to the calling end users. As part of that service, the Companies will provide an economic incentive to all those end users who are in a certain local station area (for example, an NPA-NXX or group of NPA-NXX operated by a switch) that make calls that end anywhere (for example, through a low rate or a set discount). In this case, the Moderator would disseminate (for example, by means of a link for the transmission of data, or by wireless transmission) the tariff information or the company selection information, generated by the Moderator, to an interconnection unit located in the location of each end user. The information can be displayed so that "the end user evaluates it or it can be processed in the interface unit, with the address of the end user and all the outgoing calls addressed to the selected Company." If the Companies information is displayed to the user At the end, the user can select a Company for a call attempt and type the company identification code of the selected Company, before the desired destination address (for example, the telephone number) .If the information is processed automatically in a line interface unit, between the user's terminal equipment and the local station's switch, the interface unit can, for example, automatically insert the appropriate identifier of the Company before outputting the telephone numbers. of bidding Companies can compete for traffic on selected routes or compete for traffic that that originates from selected points in telecommunications networks. They can also manage their network traffic by adjusting their bids from time to time, depending on the traffic information in the network or other information of the network. Users can thus easily make economic selections.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a schematic view of an exemplary system of the invention, showing dedicated communication lines, from each Company to the Moderator, from the Moderator to each of the subscription switches, and a common link for the transmission of Moderator data. to each of the Companies. Figure 2 is a schematic view of an exemplary system of the invention, showing the Companies using a shared data transmission link to provide information to the Moderator. Figure 3 is a schematic view of an exemplary system of the invention, showing the switched access of the Moderator to each of the subscription switches and to each Company. Figure 4 is a schematic view of an exemplary system of the invention, showing the use of a shared data facility, such as a local area network, for communication from the Moderator to each of the subscription switches and up to each Company. Figure 5 is a schematic representation of an exemplary process of the invention, showing the transmission of bidding information, from the Moderator to the subscription-switches. Figure 6 is a schematic representation of an exemplary process of the invention, showing the transmission of information, from the Moderator directly to the end users. Figure 7 is a schematic view of a portion of a system, of an exemplary end user of the invention. Figure 8 is a schematic view of an exemplary system of the invention in which the Moderator transmits the • data directly to your switches. Figure 9 is a schematic view of an exemplary system of the invention, in which the Moderator transmits the data to a computer associated with a plurality of switches. Figure 10 is a schematic view of an exemplary network architecture, in which a Moderator transmits the data to a switch of a dedicated installation. Figure 11 is a schematic representation of an exemplary process of the invention, in which the Moderator generates the company selection data for the subscription switches. Figure 12 is a schematic representation of an exemplary process of the invention, including an ability to perform billings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Figure 1 shows an exemplary system for carrying out the bidding process described herein, for telecommunications services, in which a Moderator 1 manages the collection and dissemination of the bidding information. Moderator 1 includes a computer with a processor and memory, along with input and output devices to communicate with the network management computers 2 of the Company, which are the source of the bidding information, and the switches 3, which they are the end users of the information. Companies are mainly communication companies between exchanges, which transport telecommunications traffic between switching endpoints in the network (ie, local station switches or local switching nodes, equivalent). Through the system of Figure 1, for example, Companies bid for traffic from a local station switch 3, or from subscription switches 3 associated with a local station switch, to other local station switches. Some circumstances may result in the bidding process controlling the transmission of a call within a single local station area. A local station area is typically the geographic region driven by a local station switch or equivalent local switching node. The Companies transmit their bids from their network management computers 2 through the links for the transmission of data 7, which can be either analog (using modems) or digital. Nevertheless, the information is usually transmitted in the digital form for its entrance to the Moderator 1. Each Company has a network administrator who introduces instructions for the administration of the network, in each computer 2 of the network administration, through the door of input 6 through, for example, a keyboard or a link for the transmission of data, from a remote Syrian or local computer. It is generally considered that a local station switch (or equivalent local switching node) is (i) the switching point in a telecommunications network that serves as the most immediate switching interface between the calling Subscriber and the telecommunications network, as well as (ii) the switching point in the telecommunications network (which may be , although not necessarily, owned or may be administered by the same Company to which it belongs or which manages the point of originating switching) that serves as the most immediate switching interface between the calling party and that telecommunications network, regardless of whether these telecommunication networks use circuit switching, frame relay, asynchronous transfer mode, condensed data, TCP / IP protocols or other common or developing telecommunications technologies. Local station switches (or equivalent local switching nodes), for example, may include the local station switches of Telephone companies, local access nodes of private telecommunications networks, and local access switches of Network service providers. Interconnected (Internet) - whether represented by a server, router or other switching device (which may be defined by physical computing equipment or computer programs), but which in each case provides access to the respective telecommunications network. These network switching endpoints define a "route" for which the Companies can submit bids to the Moderator, to compete in the supply of service to the end users that attempt to make calls through that route. Moderator 1 receives the bids, processes them in its processor to produce company selection data, and enters them into a database of its memory, through the data busbars as well as in the internal records of a computer. The Company selection data, applicable to each subscription switch 3, are transmitted to that switch 3, perhaps via a computer 4 attached to switch 3 via a link for data transmission 8. The link for data transmission 8 is illustrated as a dedicated transmission installation between Moderator 1 and each switch 3. However, any other transmission technology that offers a selective way of transmitting data from Moderator 1 to the switch that can be used can be used. . (An "installation for transmissions" is a route or channel for telecommunications, it may be, for example, a wired link, a radio channel in a wireless system, or a time segment in an optical transmission system with digital multiplexing) . The inputs and outputs of the Moderator 1 data, the network management computers 2, the attached computers 4, and the switches 3 are implemented by devices such as interfaces, registers and modems, which are well known in the art. As illustrated in Figure 8, Moderator 1 processes bids to prioritize each route, producing derived data, which includes Company selection data. These data may reflect, for example, the designation of a selected Company and alternate companies, based on the Companies' tenders, for each route. Moderator 1 transmits the applicable bids and / or the derivative data to the switch 3. Moderator 1 or switch 3 can also designate a default company in the case where a call can not be completed through a company selected by the bidding process. The switch 3 may also be equipped to ignore the selection of the Moderator, in accordance with decision rules of the switching manager 5 (for example, if -the default Company, designated by switch 3, charges a lower rate than the bidding company that charges the least). In the technique it is known as an attached computer, a computer closely associated with a switch, which provides, to the operation computation programs of the switch, additional data or operating logic, to provide the switch with additional operating capacity. In the architecture described herein, although the primary processing of bidding data to produce Company selection data is done in the Moderator, as illustrated in Figure 1, the attached computer 4 can be used to enter the data. Company selection data received from Moderator 1 in a database in its memory and receive, through gateway 5, decision rules from the switch administrator. The computer programs found in the processor of the attached computer can then access the data found in the memory and apply the decision rules to the company selection data, producing the data required to fill the tables of routing of the lowest cost routing computation program, which is located in the switch 3. The attached computer 4 communicates with the switch 3 via a digital link for data transmission or a data bus 11. If the switch 3 has sufficient processing capacity, the function of the attached computer can be incorporated in the processor and memory of the switch, and the function is implemented in the processor by means of appropriate computer programs. In this case the switch must also provide input ports to receive the link for transmission 8 and input 5 for the switch administrator. Each switch 3 receives call attempts through the arrival lines 12. Each call attempt includes the routing of data identifying the destination of the call. The least cost routing computation program, of the switch, then selects the Company to which the call attempt should be routed, through the output line 13. In the implementation illustrated in Figure 9, an attached computer 71 , which perhaps belongs to a Local Station Company, receives the company selection data, coming from Moderator 1, processes the data additionally and controls the selection of Companies in the switches 73 under its control. The routing tables found in the switches 73 can be periodically filled with the data from the attached computer 71 or the switch 73 can consult the attached computer 73 when each call attempt is presented. The attached computer 71 may receive selection rules and other administrative instructions from an administrator 70 of a local Company. An alternative for the use of a PBX, a private switch, is the subscription to the Centrex service, in which the switch of the end users is a portion defined in computer programs, of the switch of the Central Local Office. With links for data transmission, between the attached computer 4 and the local station switch, the administrator of the end user switch, can manage the end-user portion of the bidding process, in a fairly similar way as if I was administering a PBX. In addition, instead of using a PBX or subscribing to a Centrex service, a residential or business customer could subscribe to a "lower cost routing" feature offered by the local station's telephone company, as part of their enhanced services. calls (which commonly include call waiting, call forwarding, 3-way calling, speed dialing, etc.). Like the Centrex service, the end-user switch, which allows these enhanced call features, is a portion, defined in computation programs, of the local station switch. Moderator 1 also transmits the tenders received, to the network management computers 2, of the Companies, through the link for the data transmission 9, 10. The exemplary architecture of Figure 1 shows a combination of a link for the data transmission 9 of a single exit and the entry links 10 of an individual Company, for this bidding data from the Moderator to the Companies, which indicates that Moderator 1 can send the same data to all the Companies. There are many alternative, available transmission technologies to disseminate this bidding data to all Companies, including dedicated bidirectional links, between Moderator 1 and each Company, combining the function of links 7, 9, and 10. Depending on In particular, it may be appropriate to transmit all the bids received to all the Companies. However, the tenders of each Company do not need to be transmitted back to the bidding Company and there may be Companies with limited service areas that are not interested in receiving bids from Companies that are out of the area. In any case, at least a portion of the bids is transmitted to at least a portion of the Companies, to implement an auction. Figure 2 illustrates an alternative network architecture in which the links for data transmission 14 from the individual Company to the Moderator share a common data entry line 15 to Moderator 1. This can be done, for example, by optical fibers that use the SONET transmission protocol and ATM technology. This would require an ATM switching module at each convergence point 16 between the links 10, 14 of the individual Company and the common input and output links 9, 15 of the Moderator. Figure 3 illustrates an architecture incorporating switched access from Moderator 1 to switches 3. In this architecture a single output link 17 of the Moderator transmits each of the subscription switch bidding data to a switch 18, which it can be a dedicated switch or part of a public switched network. The appropriate bidding information for each subscription switch 3 is switched to each link for data transmission 8 of the individual switch. Figure 4 illustrates the use of shared facilities between Moderator 1 and each of the switches 3 and the network management computers 2 of the Company. This could be achieved, for example, by many known technologies of local area network (LAN), metropolitan area network (MAN), and wide area network (WAN). The economic choices presented to the users of the telecommunications service, according to this invention, depend on bids submitted by the Companies for the telecommunications traffic through the routes in which they serve as parts of the different telecommunications networks available to the users. Each route is defined by the local station switch (or equivalent local switching node) that handles its point of origin and the local station switch (or equivalent local switching node) that handles its terminal point. A route may also have a point of origin and a terminal point in the same local station area. For telephone calls within North America, for example, each local station switch in the public switched telephone network is identified, in the North American Numbering Plan by an NPA-NXX code, where NPA is an area identifier of the numbering plan of three digits (for example, area code 201 identifies New Jersey North) and NXX is a three-digit code that identifies a particular local station switch within the area of the numbering plan. It is common for a single switch to host more than one NXX code. The $ 1 Communication companies between exchanges, which use this bidding process, are usually identified by an access code of the Company. This code can be, for example, a "1" which means the Primary Company of the end user, a 5-digit code "10XXX" for a Company different from the Primary Company of the end user, or some other code or designated data element For that purpose. Once a Company is selected for a call attempt, the appropriate Company access code is inserted into the routing data of call attempts, (NPA) XX-XXXX, where the last four digits identify the particular line handled by the NPA-NXX switch of the called user. The subscription switch may also have dedicated direct links to one or more points of the presence Company in a telecommunications network. If that company is selected, the subscription switch would route the call attempt directly to that link. Although the numbering scheme commonly prevalent for network switching endpoints is the North American Numbering Plan, other numbering schemes are possible that identify the origin and terminal points of the route, either for the telephone network public switched or for other types of telecommunications networks (for example, for data networks, private or public) and can be used as telecommunications technology develops. For example, international telephone calls commonly use a country code and a city code before the code identifying the central station switch in the public switched telephone network. Competing Companies bid for traffic by transmitting to the Moderator the economic incentive that each Company will offer for the traffic through each route it handles (or at least each route in which it wishes to compete using the bidding process). The economic incentive contemplated in this, because it is the most usual, is the tariff (amount of money charged per unit of time). However, many other types of economic incentives can be offered such as a credit in other services (for example, points per frequent traveler) or a credit in an additional rebate that can be offered if the traffic for a user and for a given month it rises above a threshold value. The economic incentive could be a combination of the rate and another incentive. But the economic incentive should be selected from a limited set authorized by the bidding mechanism provider, because the incentive must be able to be evaluated by the computer program found in the Moderator or in each computer attached to the subscription switch . A Company may wish to submit more than one tender for routes that originate at points where it offers more than one class of service (eg, switched service to some Subscribers, dedicated access to others, or both kinds of services to some). Each bid must be associated with a period of time within which the bidding will be effective. The rules of the bidding process can be structured in many ways. The following are examples of possible bidding rules. a) The day is divided into blocks of time by the service provider of the tender and tenders are submitted for each block of time. All bids for a given block of time must be submitted before a cut-off time preceding that block of time by a protection interval. Any bid received after the cut-off time is considered effective for the next block of time, unless a new bid is subsequently received from the same company for that route. The protection interval is necessary to allow the processing of the bidding information by the Moderator and the transmission of the company selection data or the bidding information, to the switch (or to its associated attached computer) before the start time of the bidder. bid. For example, if 30-minute time blocks are auctioned, a five-minute protection interval would be appropriate. b) The Companies are allowed to submit tenders for some time interval specifying a time of , start and a time of completion or a start time and a good command until canceled. However, no tender can be effective before a protection time interval - specified by the bidding service provider. The bid service provider may provide a confirmation of the bids received, sent back to the Company, if the link for the transmission of data from the Moderator to the Companies is provided with a selective message capability. c) Companies can be allowed to introduce tenders by default for any route and / or block of time for which they do not transmit another tender. d) As a mechanism against failures, to avoid the use of old bids that have not been changed due to communication failures, the Moderator may impose a rule that sets a time limit (a time of protection against failures) for the possibility of application of any tender. At the end of the time limit, the expired tender would be by omission as a default bid, pre-fixed or would no longer be a tender. This rule could also be incorporated into the switch computing program to protect against a failure that occurs in the transmission of data from the Moderator to the switch.

The main feedback of data from the Moderator to the Companies is the dissemination of the Moderator's bidding data to each of the Companies. This allows the Companies to adjust their own bids for any particular route in view of the bids of other Companies, for that route. In a time block bidding scheme, this diffusion transmission may take place, in different service offers, either before or after the bidding time for a given block of time, if it is broadcast before the time of bidding. In this case, the Companies have an opportunity, up to the time of the cut, to adjust their bids for that block of time. If the service is arranged to broadcast back to the Companies after the cut-off time, the Companies may adjust their bids for the Next or subsequent blocks of time If the bids are sent back to the Companies after the cut-off time but before the effective time for the bidding, the Companies would be able to manage their networks to take into account that bidding structure of intervals of The tenders can be adjusted to be larger or smaller, depending on whether the Company, in view of the state of its traffic. or in the network, you want to stimulate or discourage additional traffic. The Company may wish to reduce its bidding, for example, to stimulate additional traffic in a telecommunications facility used below its capacity, or increase its bid to discourage traffic through a facility that "approximates its congested state. Depending on the transmission and computing technologies used, the dissemination back to the Companies can also be done by placing the tenders on a bulletin board system, making them available to the Companies for their consultation An evolutionary development in the switch architecture The local station (or equivalent local switching node) is the combination of a "non-intelligent" switch and an "intelligent" peripheral computer.In this arrangement the switch makes the actual connection between the incoming and outgoing telecommunication facilities and the computer program for the operation of the switch performs functions of administration that specifically support the switching function. The peripheral computer contains the computer program related to the service. This arrangement allows the telecommunications service provider to modify its service offerings without having to ask the switch manufacturer to change the switch operation computing program. Through the use of a smart peripheral computer, a service that could be offered to all subscribers, including small businesses and individuals, is the routing of the lowest cost. As in the routing of the lowest PBX cost, the routing of a call attempt is dependent on the filling of a routing table. This table is a memory file that contains the cost (or other economic incentive) of the transmission of calls through each route to which the switch or other company selection data has access. In accordance with the process described here, this routing table could be filled out by the Moderator, based on the company selection data it generates, or by a computer attached to the switch, based on the decision rules introduced by the a switch administrator. Or, with the appropriate computer program, the function of the attached computer could be incorporated into the peripheral computer of the switch. With this combination of computer program implementations, a telecommunications service provider could offer the lowest cost routing service, with economically advantageous rates based on a bidding process, to all its subscribers. As illustrated in Figure 11, the routing table can be filled with derived data generated in the Moderator by additional processing of the economic incentive data. This could include Company selection data, give priority to the selection of Companies according to the Company's tenders, for each route that originates in the switch. The applicable data may be transmitted 76 to each switch, including those in which the attached computer fills the routing table 80 of the switch. Although part of the decision-making process has been carried out by the Moderator (ie, classifying his tenders and generating company selection data), the switch makes the last selection of Companies based on the conditions of the network and the rules of decision from the administrator 77. The network architecture involved is that illustrated in Figure 8, where the switch 3 represents the combination of the non-intelligent switch and the intelligent peripheral computer and the input and output links 12, 13 represent all telecommunications facilities that have been accessed by the switch 3. Another arrangement contemplated by the tender process is for a local station company, which controls several switches, to receive the tender or routing data for all its switches and further process the data for all your switches. The bidding information that is transmitted between the Moderator, the Companies, and the subscription switches, is sensitive business information and may need, under various circumstances, to be cryptographically encoded. Depending on how the service is arranged, there may be a need to protect the privacy of bids so that they are not intercepted by other participating companies or to protect them so that they are not intercepted by non-participating companies. Some of the most sensitive information would be the bidding information sent from the Companies to the Moderator and confirmation messages from the Moderator to the Companies. Some less sensitive information would be the dissemination of bids, back to all participating Companies, after the cut-off time for a given block of time. There are several cryptographic coding schemes known in the art for that use, and include the RSA and PGP schemes. Figure 5 illustrates an exemplary implementation of the bidding process of this invention. The process is carried out by the participating Companies, acting through their computers for network administration, the tender service provider, acting through the Moderator's computer, and subscription switches. The main purpose of the Companies is to maximize the revenues from the transport of telecommunications traffic through their networks. Subscription switches are usually administered to obtain a telecommunications service in the most economical way. In the operation of this exemplary bidding process, the Moderator receives the bids 20 from each Company, which specify the economic incentive that the Company wishes to offer-to transmit a call through each route for which a bidding is desired. This information is stored in the computer's memory. At an appropriate time for the arrangement of the particular service in operation, the Moderator transmits 21 the bids received from the Companies to at least a portion of the Companies. The Moderator also processes the data in a classification operation to determine which bids and / or selection data of Companies, derived from the bids, are for routes that have a point of origin associated with each subscription switch and transmits 23 the appropriate bids for each of those switches. Each subscription switch is handled by a switch manager who formulates the decision rules. A decision rule can be, for example, a simple instruction to commute an attempt to call the Company that has submitted the bid for the lowest cost. The rules may include, for example, an instruction to route all calls in a particular time period (for example, - midnight to 6:00 AM) for a particular company to satisfy the requirements of a contract between the owner of the commutator and that Company, or because the contracting Company has contracted to transport all the traffic during that period of time for a fixed monthly cost. In all remaining time, the decision rules could include an instruction to route calls to the contracting Company only if its contract rate is lower than the lowest bid submitted to the Moderator by the other Companies. The administrator of the switch can also instruct the switch or an associated attached computer to evaluate an economic incentive not consistent with the rate, in a particular way. Tenders and decision rules are received by the associated switch or computer and stored in a database in your memory. The associated switch or computer applies 31 the decision rules to the economic incentive data received as bids, and generates the Company selection data necessary to fill the routing table of the switch. The decision rules can be transmitted to the Moderator and the Company selection data can be generated in the Moderator. Company selection data can be transmitted to the switch periodically, when they are generated, or in response to a query by the switch. The query can request the data of selection of complete companies or on a call-by-call basis. The routing table is the file to which the lowest cost routing computation program, of the switch, has access, to decide which Company will receive a call attempt. The computer program will also provide treatment for failed call attempts (for example, retry, try the next Company with the lowest cost, or default by the contracted Company). When a call attempt is presented to the switch, a routing decision is made and the call routed 33 to a Company for transmission-to the destination of the call. To route a call, the program of operation of the subscription switch connects the input register that transmits the call attempt to the output register connected to the telecommunications facilities that connect to the Company selected for that route. The transmission of bidding information, between the Companies and the Moderator, is a feedback process. Each Company transmits 28 its economic incentive tenders, to the Moderator and the Moderator transmits 21 the bids received to each Company or at least the portion of the Companies that is appropriate for each bid. The Company initiates its bidding process by collecting 24 data from the network, such as the capacity and traffic load of each network installation, and transmitting this data from the network to the computer of the Company's network. The data of the network can be entered through the keyboard or can be entered through a link for the transmission of data of the operating systems of the Company's network. The network administrator of the Company introduces (for example, by typing them or by a link for the transmission of data) network administration instructions, such as the fact that a particular installation has been taken out of service for maintenance or that has a problem that reduces their transmission capacity. Network management instructions could also be based on network performance characteristics, such as response time or competitive business factors, such as attempting to compete more intensively for traffic in a specific region of the country or through routes that compete directly with another specified Company. The computer programs found in each of the company's network management computers access the network data, the network administration instructions, and the bidding data received from the Moderator, and determine 27 the economic incentive that the Company will tender for the traffic through each route. These data are given access through the data busbars and recorders that are commonly internal to the computer. These bids are stored in the computer's memory and transmitted to the Moderator. Given that the network administration computer has access to the bids of other Companies, during each bidding cycle, each Company has the opportunity to adjust its bids in view of the bids of other Companies, regarding the traffic through each route . This adjustment can be made automatically by the computer program in response to the network administration instructions, or it can be done by direct input from the bidding data displayed by the network administrator. The result of that adjustment consideration may be a decision to leave the bid as originally calculated because it is appropriate to achieve the goal of the network administrator. Figure 6 illustrates a process by which Companies submit bids directly to end users, for traffic that originates in a specified local station area (for example, an NPA-NXX or a group of NPA-NXX in the network public switched telephone, including a group comprising all NPA-NXXs in the North American Numbering Plan) and ending anywhere. Here the Moderator receives bids 34 as before. However, the tenders are independent of the termination point. The Moderator processes the data to classify them by point of origin, to determine which tenders apply to which end users, and each end user has an interconnection unit to receive and store the data. He Moderator then transmits the tender data and / or company selection data for a particular local station area, to the interface units of all end users, subscribers, in that local station area (for example, all end users, subscribers, served by the local station switch for a NPA-NXX specific), as interconnection unit information. The information can be presented for evaluation by the end user, or it can be processed, within the interconnection unit, by instruction of the end user, and all outgoing calls are routed to the selected company. If the Companies' information is displayed to the end user, the end user can select a Company for a call attempt and type the company's Company identification code selected, before the desired destination address (for example, the phone number) . If the information is processed automatically within an interconnection unit, on the line or wireless connection between the. terminal equipment of the end user and the local station switch (or equivalent local switching node) or a point of presence of the communication company between exchanges, the interconnection unit can, for example, automatically insert the appropriate Company identifier in the telephone numbers of exit. The interconnection unit could be a piece of equipment, autonomous, a connection unit incorporated in the terminal equipment of the end user or a portion defined in computer programs, of the terminal equipment of the end user. In the end user, the degree of automation of the process depends on the particular telecommunications terminal equipment that is used. If the terminal equipment is a simple telephone, the function 37 of the telecommunicator specified in Figure 6 may consist of the end user reading the bids on a display screen in the interconnection unit, making the routing decision, and routing the call attempt by typing the access code of the selected Company. If the terminal equipment is more complex, such as a personal computer or other equipment that contains a microprocessor, the decision may be implemented in computer programs. The Company's access code could be inserted by the terminal equipment or by the interconnection unit, if the interconnection unit is the end user's telecommunications access line or the wireless connection to the telecommunications network. Figure 7 illustrates the position of the interconnection unit within the bidding architecture of the Figure 6. The interconnection unit 39 receives bidding data or company selection data from the Moderator 40, through a telecommunications installation that may be a wired link 44 or a wireless link 45. The interconnection unit has already it is a wired entrance door or contains a wireless receiver (for example, radio or optical). The interconnection unit 39 is in the telecommunication path, between the telecommunicator and the external telecommunications network, such as the local station switch 42 which routes the call to the inter-exchange communication company 43, selected, in response to the Company access. The interconnection unit may have a separate user gateway 46, for use by the end user, to key in the access code of the selected Company, each time a call is made. The end user may also be able to key in a Company selection and the interconnect unit may contain a tone generator or a digital signal generator, necessary to automatically insert the Company's access identification code, for each call attempt. . The interconnection unit 39 may also have a screen for presenting bidding information, to the end user. Figure 10 illustrates a network architecture that allows large users 61, who route telecommunications traffic to Exchange Companies 62 through dedicated access lines 63, 64, to take advantage of a bidding arrangement. In this architecture, a bidding moderator 60 transmits the bidding data, processed, through a link 65 for the transmission of data, independently, and dedicated access facilities 63, 64, which transmit calls from users 61 to a switch 69 equipped with input and output ports adapted to receive the dedicated facilities 63, 64, 66. The link 65 for 'the transmission of bidding data is also independent of any common channel signaling network, associated with the dedicated facilities 63, 64, 66. Dedicated access facilities 63 may be connected through a local station 67 (or local equivalent equipment from another local access provider to a telecommunications network) of the local station telephone company, or may be to be directly routed '64 from the PBX 61 of the users (or other originating equipment powered by computer hardware or by programs of computation) to switch 59. Users 61 will also typically have switched access facilities 68 to a local station 67 of the Local Station Telephone Company. This dedicated installation switch 59 has a switching matrix for switching calls and a switching controller directed by computer programs, for selecting a Company 62 for a call, based on Company selection data, resulting from the bidding process, and routing the call to the selected Company 62. The call is switched to the Company's dedicated 66 installation, connected to the selected Company 62, perhaps through a center 69 of coated wires. Through this architecture, large users 61 that transmit the communication traffic between exchanges, through dedicated facilities, can benefit from the bidding process and avoid the costs imposed by access, for example, by local telephone companies. by the traffic of the commuted access to the central station. Even though a dedicated facility 63 may be connected through the local station 67 of a local station telephone company, it is provided with a dedicated, non-switched connection to inactivate the imposition of a switched access fee element. In order not to require each end user to subscribe to the bidding arrangement to establish a payment relationship with each Company that takes part in the bidding process, a payment arrangement to the central is advantageous. In the payment arrangement illustrated in Figure 12, bidding and routing takes place as illustrated in Figure 5. After the switch routes a call 33, it transmits the end of call data identifying the call. call source, the Company, and any other information necessary for billing purposes (for example, the time and duration of the call), to the Moderator. He Moderator associates the end of the call information, with the bidding information, in its memory, to form a billing record of the call, which is stored in a bidding database. Periodically (for example, at the end of each billing period) the Moderator classifies the bidding records by a call source identifier and generates an invoice. As an alternative to the preparation of invoices by the Moderator, a Local Station Telephone Company, for example, can generate invoices for its customers who participate in the bidding process as users making calls, by having a computer associated with one or more switches that receive data of economic incentives from the Moderator and data of completion of calls, coming from the commutator. This computer associates the bidding information, with the call completion information in its memory, to form a billing record of the call, which is stored in a billing database. Periodically, the computer classifies billing records by call source identifier and generates an invoice.

Claims

NOVED &D OF THE INVENTION Having described the foregoing invention, it is considered as a novelty, and therefore, the content of the following is claimed as property: CLAIMS

1. A method for controlling a telecommunications network in which a moderation computer collects the economic incentive data of each Company from a plurality of telecommunications companies, processes the economic incentive data and distributes the processed data to a plurality of telecommunications switches , wherein each switch is associated with a point of origin, whereby it allows each of the switches of the plurality, to select a Company among the plurality of Telecommunications Companies, for a call attempt presented to the switch, based on an economic choice, where the method is characterized because it comprises: a. receive in the moderation computer, the data of economic incentives that specify the economic incentive that each Company will offer for a call originating from each point of origin of a plurality of points of origin, up to each termination point of a plurality of termination points , process the economic incentive data to determine which of the economic incentive data correspond to a first point of origin and produce derived data, and store the data of economic incentives and derived data, in a database of the moderation computer, as first data points of origin; b. identify a first set of telecommunication switches, of the plurality of switches, each switch is associated with the first point of origin, and transmit at least a portion of the derived data, but none of the economic incentive data, to the first set of telecommunications switches; and, c. transmitting at least a portion of the first data points of origin, of at least a portion of the plurality of Telecommunications Companies.

2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the economic incentive data consist of tariff data.

3. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the economic incentive data received from each Company, are valid for a first block of time, specified.

4. A method according to claim 3, characterized in that the first block of time is specified by a start time and a good command until canceled.

5. A method according to claim 3, characterized in that the economic incentive data valid for the first block of time must be received by the moderation computer before a cut-off time preceding the first block of time by at least one interval of time. protection.

6. A method according to claim 3, characterized in that the economic incentive data includes a specification of the subsequent blocks of time for which the economic incentive data are valid.

7. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the first data of points of origin corresponding to a first company of the plurality of companies, are the same for all - the termination points.

A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the first data points of origin corresponding to a first company of the plurality of companies, are the same for all points of origin and for all termination points.

9. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the derived data include Company selection data.

10. A method according to claim 9, characterized in that the Company selection data includes the designation of the selected Company.

11. A method according to claim 9, characterized in that the company selection data includes the designation of at least one first alternate company.

12. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that each element of the first point of origin data is valid only for a fail-safe protection time.

13. An automated method for the selection of Companies, to enable a telecommunications switch, the switch is associated with a point of origin, to select a Company from the plurality of Telecommunications Companies, for a call attempt, according to the data of Selection of Companies received from a Moderator, for the transmission of telecommunications to a first termination point, the method is characterized in that it comprises the steps of: a. entering into the database associated with the switch, the Company selection data referring to at least one Company of the plurality of Telecommunications Companies, corresponding to the first termination point; and b. select a company from the plurality of telecommunications companies for the call attempt, based on the company selection data.

14. A method according to claim 13, characterized in that, for an unsuccessful call attempt, a first alternate company, of the plurality of telecommunications companies, is selected for the call attempt, according to the company selection data.

15. A method according to claim 13, characterized in that, for an unsuccessful call attempt, a default company, of the plurality of telecommunications companies, is selected for the call attempt.

16. A method according to claim 13, characterized in that it includes the presentation of at least a portion of the economic incentive data in the switch.

17. A method according to claim 13, characterized in that it includes ignoring the selection of Companies and selecting an alternate Company, based on the decision rules of the switch administrator.

18. A method to bill users for call attempts, made during a billing period - through an auction process, in which a moderation computer collects economic incentive data from each Company among a plurality of telecommunications companies, processes the data of economic incentives and distributes the processed data to a plurality of telecommunications switches, where each switch is associated with a point of origin, whereby each switch of the plurality is allowed to select a Company from the plurality of Companies of telecommunications for a call attempt presented to the switch, based on an economic choice, and the method is characterized in that it comprises: a. receive in the moderation computer, the end of calls data, coming from the switch and including, at least, a call source identifier and a selected company identifier; b. associate the call termination data with the economic incentive data to produce a billing record that includes the call source identifier and the portion of the economic incentive data applied to the call; c. store the billing record in a billing database; and, d. Sort the billing database by call source identifier and generate an invoice for the calls associated with each call source identifier during the billing period.

19. A method to bill users for call attempts, made during a billing period through an auction process, in which a moderation computer collects economic incentive data from each Company among a plurality of telecommunications companies, processes the economic incentive data and distribute the processed data to a plurality of telecommunication switches, wherein each switch is associated with a point of origin, whereby each switch of the plurality is allowed to select a company from the plurality of telecommunications companies for a call attempt presented to the switch, based on an economic choice , and the method is characterized in that it comprises: a. receiving in a computer associated with at least one switch of the plurality, economic incentive data from the moderation computer and call termination data from the switch, including, at least, a call source identifier and an identifier of Selected company; b. associate the call termination data with the economic incentive data to produce a billing record that includes the call source identifier and the portion of the economic incentive data applied to the call, and store the billing record in a billing database; and, c. Sort the billing database by call source identifier and generate an invoice for the calls associated with each call source identifier during the billing period.

20. A method for routing a telecommunication call attempt, presented to a telecommunications switch, associated with a point of origin for a first telecommunications company of a plurality of telecommunications companies, in accordance with economic incentives that are reached through of a bidding process involving a central processor, to which reference is made as a bidding moderator, the method is characterized in that it comprises the steps of: a. collect data from Companies of the network for each of the Companies, each Company enters the data corresponding to the telecommunication facilities that constitute its network, in its database of traffic management, of the traffic management computer; b. each traffic management computer receives management instructions from that Company's network administrator, formulating economic incentives for at least a portion of the Company's telecommunications facilities, based on the operating instructions and the data of the companies in the network, and transmits the economic incentives to the bidding moderator; c. in the moderator, receive the economic incentives, introduce the economic incentives from each company in the Moderator's database, and classify the economic incentives to identify all the economic incentives associated with each telecommunications route specified by a point of origin and a termination point, and generate Company selection data; d. transmit at least a portion of the economic incentives received by the Moderator, to at least a portion of the plurality of Companies, introduce economic incentives in each traffic management database, and adjust each of the Company's economic incentives considering the economic incentives coming from at least one or another Company; and. classify the routes to determine which routes have a point of origin associated with the telecommunications switch, transmit the company selection data but not the economic incentives associated with those routes to the switch, and enter -the company selection data in the base of switch data; and, f. route the call attempt to the first telecommunications company in accordance with the company selection data.

21. a method according to claim 20, characterized in that the economic incentive is the tariff.

22. A method according to claim 20, characterized in that it includes presenting at least a portion of the economic incentives in the traffic management computer of at least one of the Companies among the plurality thereof.

23. A method according to claim 20, characterized in that it includes consulting the Moderator regarding the Company selection data.

24. A Telecommunications Traffic Tender Moderator to enable a first telecommunications switch of a plurality of telecommunications switches, to select a Company from the plurality of Telecommunications Companies, for call attempts, in accordance with economic incentives generated by the Companies , characterized in that it comprises: a. a computer with a processor and a memory; b. means to receive economic incentive data from a first telecommunications company and store the economic incentive data identified with the first telecommunications company that is in the memory; c. means for transmitting at least a portion of the economic incentive data received from a plurality of Telecommunications Companies, to at least a portion of the plurality of Telecommunications Companies; d. means for classifying the economic incentive data received from the plurality of Telecommunications Companies, to determine a first subset of that data corresponding to the first telecommunications switch and generate Company selection data; and, e. means to transmit the Company selection data, but none of the economic incentive data, to the first telecommunications switch.

25. A Moderator according to claim 24, characterized in that it also includes means to receive decision rules from a switch administrator, associated with the first telecommunications switch and apply the decision rules to the economic incentive data, to generate the data of company selection.

26. An automated call routing system for selecting a first telecommunications company from a plurality of telecommunications companies, for an attempted call presented, to a telecommunications switch, characterized in that it comprises: a. a telecommunications switch; b. a computer attached to the telecommunications switch, and the attached computer has a processor and a memory; c. means to receive the selection data of Companies from a Bidding Moderator and store the Company selection data in the memory; d. means for transmitting the Company selection data to the switch, for entering them in the switch database; and e. means to select the first telecommunications company for the. call attempt, based on the company selection data found in the switch database.

27. A call routing system according to claim 26, characterized in that the switch comprises a non-intelligent switch and a smart peripheral computer.

28. A call routing system according to claim 27, characterized in that the attached computer is a portion defined in computer programs, peripheral computer, intelligent.

29. A call routing system, according to claim 26, characterized in that it includes means to consult the Bidding Moderator, with respect to the Company selection data.

30. An automated call routing system for routing an attempted call presented to a telecommunications switch in a first telecommunications company of a plurality of telecommunications companies, characterized in that it comprises, a. a telecommunications switch; b. means to consult a Bid Moderator regarding Company selection data corresponding to the call attempts and to receive the Company selection data in the commutator and c. means to route the call attempt to the first Telecommunications Company in accordance with the Company selection data.

31. A method of selection of telecommunications companies in which a moderation computer collects economic incentive data from each company of a plurality of telecommunications companies, processes the data of economic incentives to generate data of selection of companies and distributes the data of Selection of Companies to a plurality of interconnection units, wherein each interface unit is associated with a telecommunicator of a plurality thereof and each is associated with a point of origin, whereby each telecommunicator is allowed the plurality , selecting a company of the plurality of telecommunications companies for each call attempt generated by the telecommunicator, the method is characterized in that it comprises: a. receive in the moderation computer, the data of economic incentives that specify the economic incentive that each Company will offer for a call originating from a first point of origin, generate data of selection of Companies and store the data of economic incentives and data of selection of companies, in a database; b. identifying a first set of interface units of the plurality of interface units, each interface unit of the first set of interface units being associated with the first point of origin, and transmitting the company selection data but not the incentive data economic, to each first set of interface units; and, c. transmitting at least a portion of the economic incentive data to at least a portion of the plurality of telecommunications companies.

32. A method according to claim 31, characterized in that it includes presenting the Company selection data in a display device, in the interface unit.

33. A method according to claim 31, characterized in that it includes routing all call attempts to the Telecommunications Companies, based on the Company selection data, wherein each call attempt includes routing data.

34. A method according to claim 33, characterized in that it includes inserting a company identifier, which identifies the telecommunications company, into the routing data of each call attempt.

35. A method according to claim 33, characterized in that the identifier of the Company is inserted automatically by the interface unit.

36. A moderator of telecommunications traffic tenders, to enable a first telecommunicator between a plurality of telecommunicators, the first telecommunicator is associated with a first point of origin, to select a first telecommunications company from a plurality of telecommunications companies, for an attempt of call, in accordance with economic incentives generated by the Companies, characterized because it includes: a. a computer with a processor and a memory; b. means to receive economic incentive data from a first telecommunications company and store the economic incentive data, identified with the first telecommunications company - in the memory; c. means for transmitting a portion of the economic incentive data received from a plurality of Telecommunications Companies to at least a portion of the plurality of Telecommunications Companies; d. means for processing the economic incentive data received from the plurality of telecommunications companies to generate data for selecting Companies that correspond to the first point of origin; and, e. means for transmitting the Company selection data corresponding to the first point of origin, but not the economic incentive data, to a first interface unit associated with the first telecommunicator.

37. A moderator according to claim 36, characterized in that the means for transmitting the company selection data include means for wireless transmission of the Company selection data corresponding to the first point of origin, to a wireless receiver that is in the first interface unit.

38. A Moderator according to claim 36, characterized in that the means for transmitting the selected Company data are adapted to transmit the data to all telecommunicators associated with a set of first origin points.

39. An interface unit for routing a call attempt, made by a telecommunicator, to a first telecommunications company of a plurality of telecommunications companies, in response to the company selection data received from a moderator and to decision rules received from a end user, the unit is characterized because it comprises: a. a first input port for receiving the call attempt from the telecommunicator, wherein the call attempt includes the routing data; b. a second port of entry to receive the decision rules from the end user; c. means to receive the selection data of companies from the moderator; d. a processor to select the first telecommunications company, in response to economic incentive data and decision rules; and. means for inserting a first company identifier, corresponding to the first telecommunications company, into the routing data; and, f. an output port to transmit the call attempt.

40. An interface unit according to claim 39, characterized in that the means for receiving the economic incentive data includes a wireless transmission receiver.

41. An interface unit according to claim 39, characterized in that it also includes a display device for presenting at least a selected portion of the economic incentive data.

42. A telecommunications switch to select a first company of a plurality of telecommunications companies, to route a call that enters the switch, through a dedicated installation, from a first point of origin to the first company, based on the first data of points of origin produced by a bidding moderator, through a bidding process, the telecommunications switch is characterized because it comprises: a. a switching matrix controlled by a. switch controller driven by computer programs; b. a plurality of input ports for receiving call attempts presented to the telecommunications switch through dedicated access facilities, from a plurality of call sources; c. a plurality of outgoing ports for transmitting call attempts to a plurality of Telecommunications Companies, through dedicated Company facilities; d. a link entry port for data transmission, to receive first data from origin points from the Bidding Moderator, through a link for data transmission, independent of the dedicated access facilities and the Company facilities, dedicated and. means implemented in computer programs, to select the first company, based on the first data of -origen points, from a link for the transmission of data, independent, dedicated access facilities or company facilities , dedicated; and, f. means for routing the call attempt from the call source to the first Company, through the switching matrix.

43. A method according to claim 42, characterized in that, for a failed call attempt, a first alternate company, of the plurality of telecommunications companies, is selected for "the call attempt, in accordance with the company selection data. .

44. A method according to claim 42, characterized in that, for an unsuccessful call attempt, a default company is selected, for the call attempt, from among the plurality of telecommunications companies.

45. A switch according to claim 42, characterized in that the first data points of origin comprise economic incentive data.

46. A switch according to claim 42, characterized in that the first data points of origin comprise Company selection data, but not economic incentive data.

47. A switch according to claim 42, characterized in that it includes means for ignoring the selection produced by J-os means for selecting the first Company, and selecting an alternate Company, in accordance with the designation data of Companies associated with the dedicated access installation that transmits the call.

48. A method for switching the telecommunications traffic presented to a switch through a plurality of dedicated access facilities, to a plurality of telecommunications companies, through a plurality of facilities of dedicated companies, based on first data points of originating from a Bidding Moderator, the method is characterized because it comprises: a. receiving on the switch an attempt to call through a dedicated access facility, from a call source associated with a first point of origin; b. receiving in the switch at least a portion of the first call point data associated with the first point of origin, from the Bidding Moderator; c. selecting a first company from the plurality of telecommunications companies, based on at least a portion of the first points of origin data; and, d. to switch the call attempt through a dedicated Company installation to the first Company.

49. A method according to claim 48, characterized in that it includes consulting the Bidding Moderator with respect to at least a portion of the first data points of origin.

50. A method according to claim 48, characterized in that the first source point data includes economic incentive data and Company selection data and the selection is based on economic incentive data.

51. A method according to claim 48, characterized in that the first source point data includes economic incentive data and company selection data and the selection is based on the company selection data.

52. A method according to claim 48, characterized in that the first source point data includes Company selection data but no economic incentive data.

53. A method according to claim 48, characterized in that the first source point data includes company selection data and the company selection data includes the designation of the most economically advantageous company for the call attempt and, optionally, designations. successive according to the economic advantage and the designation of a Company by omission.

54. A method for switching telecommunications traffic presented to a switch, through a plurality of dedicated access facilities, to a plurality of telecommunications companies, through a plurality of facilities of dedicated companies, based on the first data of points of origin from a Bidding Moderator, the method is characterized because it includes: a. receiving on the switch an attempt to call through a dedicated access facility, from a call source associated with a first point of origin; b. receiving on the switch at least a portion of the first source point data, associated with the first point of origin, of the tender Moderator; c. selecting a first Company of the plurality of Telecommunications Companies, based on at least a portion of the first points of origin data; d. disregard the selection of the first Company and select an alternate Company, in accordance with the Company designation data associated with the dedicated access facility that conducts the call; and e. to switch the call attempt through a dedicated Company installation, to the alternate Company.

55. A method for controlling a telecommunications network in which a moderation computer collects economic incentive data from each Company of a plurality of telecommunications companies, processes the economic incentive data and distributes the processed data to a plurality of telecommunications switches , each switch is associated with a point of origin, whereby it allows each of the switches of the plurality, to select a Company from the plurality of Telecommunications Companies, for a call attempt presented to the switch, based on a choice economic, the method is characterized in that it comprises: a. Receive in the moderation computer, data of economic incentives that specify the economic incentive that each Company will offer for a call originating from each point of origin of a plurality of points of origin, up to each termination point of a plurality of termination points, process the economic incentive data to determine which of the economic incentive data correspond to a first point of origin and produce derived data, and store the data of economic incentives and derived data, in a database of the moderation computer, such as first data points of origin; b. identifying a first set of telecommunication switches, of the plurality of switches, and each switch is associated with the first point of origin, and transmitting at least a portion of the first data points of origin to a portion of, although less than, the first set of telecommunication switches; and, c. transmit a portion of the first data points of origin, although less than all data point of origin, to each of the telecommunications companies, of the plurality of companies.

56. A method according to claim 55, characterized in that the economic incentive data are tariff data.

57. A method according to claim 55, characterized in that it includes selecting a first company of the plurality of telecommunications companies for the call attempt.

58. A method according to claim 57, characterized in that the selection of the first Company is based on derived data.

59. A method according to claim 55, characterized in that the portion of the economic incentive data associated with the selection made for the call attempt is transmitted to the originator of the call attempt.

"60. A method according to claim 59, characterized in that the transmission of the economic incentive data portion results in an audible announcement for which the call attempt originates.

61. A method according to claim 55, characterized in that it includes consulting the moderation computer with respect to at least a part of the first data points of origin.

62. A method for routing a telecommunication call attempt presented in a telecommunication switch associated with a point of origin, to a first telecommunications company of a plurality of telecommunications companies, in accordance with economic incentives that are reached through a bidding process, involving a central processor that is referred to as a bidding moderator, the method is characterized in that it comprises the steps of: a. collect data from the Company in the network-, for each of the Companies, each Company enters the data corresponding to the telecommunications facilities that constitute its network, "in its database of traffic management of the traffic management computer b) each traffic management computer receives management instructions from the Company's network administrator, formulates economic incentives for at least a portion of the Company's telecommunication facilities based on management instructions and network data. the Company, and transmit the economic incentives to the Bidding Moderator, C. in the Moderator, receive the economic incentives, introduce the economic incentives from each Company in the Moderator's database, and classify the economic incentives to identify all the incentives economic associated with each tele route communication specified by a point of origin and a termination point, and generate the Company selection data; d. transmit at least a portion of the economic incentives received by the Moderator, in at least a portion of the plurality of Companies, introduce economic incentives in each database for traffic management, and adjust each of the economic incentives of the Company, considering the economic incentives of at least one other Company; and. in the Moderator that receives the call attempt data from the telecommunication switch, identify the origin point and the termination point, associated with the call attempt, select the first Telecommunications Company, and transmit the first selection of Telecommunications Company , to the telecommunications switch; and, f. route the call attempt to the first telecommunications company, according to the selection.

63. A method for controlling a telecommunications network in which a moderation computer collects economic incentive data from each Company of a plurality of telecommunications companies, processes the economic incentive data and distributes the processed data to a plurality of telecommunications switches, wherein each switch is associated with a point of origin, whereby each switch of the plurality is allowed to select a company from the plurality of telecommunications companies, for a call attempt presented to the switch, based on an economic choice, and the method is characterized in that it comprises: a. Receive in the moderation computer, the data of economic incentives that specify the economic incentive that each Company will offer for a call from each point of origin of a plurality of points of origin, to each point of termination of a plurality of termination points, process the data and economic incentives that correspond to a first point of origin and produce derived data, and store the data of economic incentives and the derived data, in a database of the moderation computer, as first data of points of origin; b. identifying a first set of telecommunication switches of the plurality of switches, wherein each switch is associated with the first point of origin, and transmitting at least a portion of the derived data, which include a portion and not all economic incentive data , to the first set of telecommunication switches; and, c. transmitting at least a portion of the first data points of origin, in at least a portion of the plurality of Telecommunications Companies. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Telecommunications switches (for example, Centrex, PBX or local station companies) route calls according to economic incentives (for example, according to the lowest cost routing path) resulting from a bidding process between participating Telecommunications Companies (Companies) through the operation of a central processor, of a computer that is referred to as a bidding moderator (Moderator). Each of the Companies that tender for traffic through a route, informs the Moderator about the tariff that they wish to charge (or with respect to another economic incentive that they wish to offer) for the service between two specific points of a telecommunications network, for example, from an NPA-NXX to another NPA-NXX, at a particular time. This "bidding" rate may be less than the Company's established rate, for any of several reasons (for example, the Company has excess capacity in that route and at that time). The Company may change its tenders as often as it wishes, during the day, as traffic patterns change. The Moderator collects this bidding information from all the Companies, processes the bidding information and transmits the information regarding the selection of Companies, to the subscription switches. The bidding information is also transmitted to the network administration centers of the participating Companies. From the list of all Companies that provide bidding information to the Moderator, each Subscriber can select those Companies that they want to route their call traffic and can change that selection at any time. The most representative figure of the invention is number 11.