Intelligent network and method for providing voice telephony over ATM and closed user groups Number:7,130,393 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) owispatent

Title: Intelligent network and method for providing voice telephony over ATM and closed user groups

Abstract: An illustrative intelligent network and method for providing voice telephony over ATM and closed user groups are provided that can provide significant advantages. A method for providing a closed user group service to authorize VToA calls includes determining the closed user group identifiers for a calling party, determining the closed user group identifiers for a called party, locating a common closed user group identifier that is common to the calling party and the called party, analyzing the privileges of the calling party in the common closed user group to determine if the calling party can make calls to other users of the common closed user group, and analyzing the privileges of the called party in the common closed user group to determine if the called party can receive calls from other users of the common closed user group. An illustrative intelligent network and data structure to provide closed user group services is also provided.

Patent Number: 7,130,393 Issued on 10/31/2006 to Hall, Jr.,   et al.

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Inventors:	Hall, Jr.; Thomas Glenn (Richardson, TX), Donovan; Steven R. (Plano, TX)
Assignee:	MCI, LLC (Basking Ridge, NJ)
Appl. No.:	09/767,476
Filed:	January 22, 2001

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Current U.S. Class:	379/90.01 ; 379/201.07; 379/201.08
Current International Class:	H04M 3/42 (20060101); H04M 7/00 (20060101)
Field of Search:	370/395.1,395.2,395.53 379/221.08,201.07,201.08

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References Cited [Referenced By]

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Primary Examiner: Matar; Ahmad F.
Assistant Examiner: Agdeppa; Hector

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Parent Case Text

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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 119(e), this application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/176,928 entitled FAST MSCP, filed Jan. 20, 2000, that named John K. Gallant, Steven R. Donovan, Terry A. Caterisano, Robert H. Barnhouse, David E. MeDysan, Saib Jarrar, Thomas Glenn Hall, Jr., and Terry Robb as inventors, and which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.

This application is related to U.S. Pat. No. 6,931,010, entitled Intelligent Network and Method for Providing Voice Telephony over ATM and Private Address Translation, and named John K. Gallant, Thomas Glenn Hall, Jr., and Steven R. Donovan as joint inventors; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/768,070, entitled Intelligent Network and Method for Providing Voice Telephony over ATM and Alias Addressing, and named John K. Gallant as inventor, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/768,068, entitled Intelligent Network and Method for Providing Voice Telephony over ATM, and named John K. Gallant, Thomas Glenn Hall, Jr., and Robert H. Barnhouse as joint inventors; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/768,069, entitled Intelligent Network and Method for Providing Voice Telephony over ATM and Point-to-Multipoint Connectivity, and named Thomas Glenn Hall, Jr. as inventor; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/766,943, entitled Intelligent Policy Server System and Method for Bandwidth Control in an ATM Network, and named John K. Gallant, Thomas Glenn Hall, Jr. and Steven R. Donovan as joint inventors; all filed on Jan. 22, 2001, and all of which are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.

Further, this application discloses subject matter related to the subject matter disclosed in the following co-assigned U.S. patent applications, each of which is incorporated herein by reference: Method and Apparatus for Providing Reliable Communications in an Intelligent Network, filed Jan. 12, 2000, Ser. No.: 09/481,910, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,535,991, in the names of: John K. Gallant, Cathleen A. McMurry, Robert H. Barnhouse, Steven R. Donovan, and Terry A. Caterisano; Method and Apparatus for Providing Real-Time Call Processing Services in an Intelligent Network, filed Oct. 20, 1999, Ser. No.: 09/421,827, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,393,481, in the names of: Ajay P. Deo, Henry Wang, Sami Syed, and Wendy Wong; Intelligent Call Processing System for a Telecommunication Network (Next Generation Intelligent Network (NGIN), filed Oct. 19, 1999, Ser. No.: 09/420,666, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,363,411, in the names of: Ajay P. Deo, Alan Holmes, Andrew Dugan, Kenneth Fischer, Sami Syed, Terence A. Robb, and Wendy Wong; Method and Apparatus for Supporting ATM Services in an Intelligent Network, filed Oct. 19, 1999, Ser. No.: 09/420,657, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,788,649, in the names of: Andrew Dugan, David E. McDysan, and Sami Syed; and Method and Apparatus for Managing Resources in an Intelligent Network, filed Oct. 19, 1999, Ser. No.: 09/420,655, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,804,711, in the names of: Alan Holmes, Andrew Dugan, Kelvin Porter, and Terence A. Robb.

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Claims

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What is claimed is:

1. An intelligent network for use with an ATM network to set up an ATM switched virtual circuit to provide voice telephony over ATM services and closed user group services, the intelligent network comprising: a multi-service control point operable to receive an input extracted from an input ATM setup message that includes a called party phone number value and a voice telephony over ATM designator, execute a closed user group service to determine whether to authorize a voice telephony over ATM call between a calling party and a called party, and generate an output in response for use in generating an output ATM setup message; an ATM signaling intercept processor operable to intercept the input ATM setup message from an ingress ATM edge switch of the ATM network, extract the input from the input ATM setup message, communicate the input to the multi-service control point, receive the output generated by the multi-service control point, generate the output ATM setup message using the output, and communicate the output ATM setup message to the ingress ATM edge switch of the ATM network; and a service administration operable to provision the multi-service control point and the ATM signaling intercept processor.

2. The intelligent network of claim 1, wherein the multi-service control point, in order to execute the closed user group service, is operable to perform the following: determine closed user group identifiers for the calling party, determine closed user group identifiers for the called party, locate a common closed user group identifier that is common to the calling party and the called party, analyze privileges of the calling party in the common closed user group to determine if the calling party can make calls to other users of the common closed user group, and analyze privileges of the called party in the common closed user group to determine if the called party can receive calls from other users of the common closed user group, and wherein a voice telephony over ATM call between the calling party and the called party is completed if a common closed user group identifier is located, the calling party has privileges to call other users of the common closed user group, and the called party has privileges to receive calls from other users of the common closed user group.

3. The intelligent network of claim 2, wherein the multi-service control point, in order to execute the closed user group service, is operable to further perform the following: examine all remaining privileges for all privilege sets of closed user groups in which the calling party is a member and the called party is not a member to determine if the calling party can make calls to other users outside of a closed user group, and examine all remaining privileges for all privilege sets of closed user groups in which the called party is a member and the calling party is not a member to determine if the called party can receive calls from other users outside of a closed user group, and wherein a voice telephony over ATM call between the calling party and the called party is completed if the calling party can make calls to other users outside of a closed user group, and the called party can receive calls from other users outside of a closed user group.

4. The intelligent network of claim 1, wherein the input includes a calling party phone number value.

5. The intelligent network claim 3, wherein the called party phone number value is stored in a called party subaddress parameter of the input ATM setup message, the voice telephony over ATM designator is stored in a called party number parameter of the input ATM setup message, the calling party phone number value is stored in a calling party subaddress parameter of the input ATM setup message, and the ATM address of the customer premises equipment of the calling party is stored in a calling party number parameter of the input ATM setup message.

6. The intelligent network of claim 1, wherein the multi-service control point determines if the input ATM setup message requests a switched virtual circuit for voice telephony over ATM by analyzing the voice telephony over ATM designator portion of the input.

7. The intelligent network of claim 1, wherein the multi-service control point further includes: a database that correlates the called party phone number value with an ATM address of customer premises equipment of the called party, and wherein the multi-service control point includes the ATM address of the customer premises equipment of the called party in the output.

8. The intelligent network of claim 1, wherein the multi-service control point includes various applications operable to provide the voice telephony over ATM services through analyzing the input to generate the output.

9. A method for providing voice telephony over ATM and closed user group services using an intelligent network and a switched virtual circuit over an ATM network, the method comprising: intercepting an input ATM setup message from an ingress ATM edge switch of the ATM network; extracting information from the input ATM setup message; analyzing the information to determine if the input ATM setup message is a request to set up a switched virtual circuit for voice telephony over ATM; executing a closed user group service to determine whether to authorize a VToA call between a calling party and a called party; determining an ATM address of customer premises equipment of the called party; generating an output ATM setup message that includes the ATM address of the customer premises equipment of the called party; and communicating the output ATM setup message to the ingress ATM edge switch of the ATM network.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein executing a closed user group service to determine whether to authorize a voice telephony over ATM call between the calling party and the called party further includes: determining closed user group identifiers for the calling party; determining closed user group identifiers for the called party; locating a common closed user group identifier that is common to the calling party and the called party; analyzing privileges of the calling party in the common closed user group to determine if the calling party can make calls to other users of the common closed user group; and analyzing privileges of the called party in the common closed user group to determine if the called party can receive calls from other users of the common closed user group, and wherein a voice telephony over ATM call between the calling party and the called party is completed if a common closed user group identifier is located, the calling party has privileges to call other users of the common closed user group, and the called party has privileges to receive calls from other users of the common closed user group.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein executing a closed user group service to determine whether to authorize a voice telephony over ATM call between the calling party and the called party further includes: examining all remaining privileges for all privilege sets of closed user groups in which the calling party is a member and the called party is not a member to determine if the calling party can make calls to other users outside of a closed user group; and examining all remaining privileges for all privilege sets of closed user groups in which the called party is a member and the calling party is not a member to determine if the called party can receive calls from other users outside of a closed user group, and wherein the voice telephony over ATM call between the calling party and the called party is completed if the calling party can make calls to other users outside of a closed user group, and the called party can receive calls from other users outside of a closed user group.

12. A method for providing a closed user group service to authorize voice telephony over ATM calls using an intelligent network and a switched virtual circuit over an ATM network, the method comprising: intercepting an input ATM setup message from an ingress ATM edge switch of the ATM network extracting information from the input ATM setup message: determining closed user group identifiers for a calling party; determining closed user group identifiers for a called party; locating a common closed user group identifier that is common to the calling party and the called party; analyzing privileges of the calling party in the common closed user group to determine if the calling party can make calls to other users of the common closed user group; analyzing privileges of the called party in the common closed user group to determine if the called party can receive calls from other users of the common closed user group, and wherein a voice telephony over ATM call between the calling party and the called party is completed if a common closed user group identifier is located, the calling party has privileges to call other users of the common closed user group, and the called party has privileges to receive calls from other users of the common closed user group; generating an output ATM setup message that includes an ATM address of customer premises equipment of the called party when the voice telephony over ATM call between the calling party and the called party is to be completed; and communicating the output ATM setup message to the ingress ATM edge switch of the ATM network.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the calling party does not have privileges to call other users of the common closed user group, the method further comprising: locating another common closed user group identifier that is common to the calling party and the called party and proceeding to analyzing the privileges of the calling party.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the called party does not have privileges to receive calls from other users of the common closed user group, the method further comprising: locating another common closed user group identifier that is common to the calling party and the called party and proceeding to analyzing the privileges of the calling party.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein when a common closed user group identifier cannot be located that is common to the calling party and the called party, the method further comprising: examining all remaining privileges for all privilege sets of closed user groups in which the calling party is a member and the called party is not a member to determine if the calling party can make calls to other users outside of a closed user group; and examining all remaining privileges for all privilege sets of closed user groups in which the called party is a member and the calling party is not a member to determine if the called party can receive calls from other users outside of a closed user group, and wherein a voice telephony over ATM call between the calling party and the called party is completed if the calling party can make calls to other users outside of a closed user group, and the called party can receive calls from other users outside of a closed user group.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein a voice telephony over ATM call fails if the calling party does not have privileges to make calls to other users outside of a closed user group.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein a voice telephony over ATM call fails if the called party does not have privileges to receive calls from other users outside of a closed user group.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the ATM network does not provide an interlocking code.

19. An intelligent network for use with an ATM network for providing voice telephony over ATM and closed user group services via an ATM network, the intelligent network comprising: an ATM signaling intercept processor; and a multi-service control point configured to: receive information extracted from an input ATM setup message, analyze the information to determine whether the input ATM setup message is a request for a switched virtual circuit for a voice telephony call over ATM, execute a closed user group service to determine whether to authorize the voice telephony call over ATM between a calling party and a called party, determine an ATM address of customer premises equipment of the called party, generate an output message that includes the ATM address of the customer premises equipment of the called party when the voice telephony over ATM call between the calling party and the called party is to be completed, and communicate the output message to the ATM signaling intercept processor, the ATM signaling intercept processor is configured to: intercept the input ATM setup message from an ingress ATM edge switch, extract the information from the input ATM setup message, communicate the extracted information to the multi-service control point, receive the output message from the multi-service control point, generate an output ATM setup message that includes the ATM address of the customer premises equipment of the called party, and communicate the output ATM setup message to the ingress ATM edge switch.

20. The intelligent network of claim 19, wherein when the multi-service control point executes the closed user group service to determine whether to authorize a voice telephony over ATM call between the calling party and the called party, the multi-service control point is further configured to: determine closed user group identifiers for the calling party, determine closed user group identifiers for the called party, locate a common closed user group identifier that is common to the calling party and the called party, analyze privileges of the calling party in the common closed user group to determine if the calling party can make calls to other users of the common closed user group, and analyze privileges of the called party in the common closed user group to determine if the called party can receive calls from other users of the common closed user group.

21. The intelligent network of claim 20, wherein when the multi-service control point executes the closed user group service, the multi-service control point is further configured to: examine all remaining privileges for all privilege sets of closed user groups in which the calling party is a member and the called party is not a member to determine if the calling party can make calls to other users outside of a closed user group, and examine all remaining privileges for all privilege sets of closed user groups in which the called party is a member and the calling party is not a member to determine if the called party can receive calls from other users outside of a closed user group, and wherein the voice telephony over ATM call between the calling party and the called party is completed if the calling party can make calls to other users outside of a closed user group, and the called party can receive calls from other users outside of a closed user group.

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Description

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TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates in general to the field of data networks, telecommunications and more particularly to an intelligent network and method for providing voice telephony over Asynchronous Transfer Mode ("ATM") and closed user groups.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The need for both voice telephony services as well as data services is common. Traditionally, this may only be achieved through the use of separate services. For example, dedicated voice telephony services and dedicated data services are provided over separate and distinct networks. This is a significant disadvantage because of the high expense of maintaining and paying for such separate and distinct services, not to mention the inconvenience and inefficiency introduced because voice and data services are not integrated.

Packet-switched telecommunications networks may be based on any of a variety of technologies and protocols such as, for example, Asynchronous Transfer Mode ("ATM"), MultiProtocol Label Switching ("MPLS"), Internet Protocol ("IP"), Frame Relay ("FR"), and X.25. Packet-switched telecommunications networks have data packets, cells, frames or blocks (hereinafter "packets" or "cells") that are either of fixed length or variable length. Although originally designed to transmit data, as opposed to voice or voice encoded data, packet-switched telecommunications networks may be used for voice communications. Some of the packet-switched technologies that may be used for voice communications include, without limitation, Voice Telephony over ATM ("VToA"), Voice over Frame-Relay ("VoFR"), Voice over Digital Subscriber Line ("VoDSL"), and Voice over IP ("VoIP").

Focusing on VToA when compared to voice communications or voice telephony provided over traditional circuit-dedicated or circuit-switching telecommunications networks, the use of VToA, unfortunately, presents significant problems and disadvantages, especially in view of the fact that the needs of both data communications and voice communications must be met over the same network. For example, VToA does not provide advanced telephony services and features that are commonly found in traditional circuit-dedicated telecommunications networks. Similarly, advanced signaling, also commonly found in traditional circuit-dedicated telecommunications networks, is not available for VToA in the same manner that circuit-dedicated or circuit-switching telecommunications networks.

To setup and establish a Switched Virtual Circuit ("SVC") to support VToA between a calling party and a called party, various signaling or ATM messages are used within the ATM network. This may be achieved using ATM setup and connect messages. Once ATM signaling has established an SVC, a data connection is defined and data, such as voice encoded data, may be communicated. Voice encoded data may continue to be communicated until one end of the SVC issues a release message (or any similar message that causes a disconnection). At such time, the SVC is released and voice communications ceases. Examples of traditional ATM signaling used to setup and release point-to-point and point-to-multipoint SVCs for telephony applications is illustrated in the book entitled Hands-On ATM by David E. McDysan and Darren L. Spohn, which is incorporated herein for all purposes.

The administration and maintenance of VToA systems and processes is extremely burdensome and expensive. For example, numerous private and public phone numbers, which change frequently, have to be updated and maintained in various systems and gateways. As moves, adds, changes, and deletions occur, each VToA gateway must be updated with the relevant changes. This is a critical task that is onerous and expensive to perform and fraught with potential errors.

In a traditional telecommunications or voice network, signaling can be in-band or out-of-band. Signaling may be used to setup and establish voice circuits, to provide Intelligent Network ("IN") or Advanced Intelligent Network ("AIN") services and features, and to disconnect voice circuits. In an ATM network, where an SVC is established to support VToA, signaling is achieved through the use of ATM messages, such as those used to setup and disconnect SVCs. Unfortunately, such ATM signaling does not support IN or AIN to provide the advanced telephony services and features commonly found in traditional voice telecommunications networks. This significantly reduces the attractiveness of VToA as compared to traditional voice telecommunications networks or even some other data or packet networks capable of providing voice or telephony communications services.

More particularly, a serious problem and drawback of existing VToA systems and methods is the difficulty or inability to institute advanced calling features or policies on an ATM network-wide basis. Unfortunately, many customary and advanced voice telephony services, which are often available through traditional telecommunications networks designed to transport and support voice telephony, such as circuit-dedicated telecommunications networks, are not available or easily achieved or implemented with VToA. For example, the capability to easily and efficiently provide closed user groups is not available with VToA.

The closed user group service is a valuable service or feature of modern telecommunications systems, especially those used in business enterprises. Telecommunications specifications exist that provide the closed user group service. Unfortunately, these specifications rely on the availability of an interlock code, which is not defined in ATM.

An interlock code provides a mechanism in which only one of the closed user groups is designated for each call. Thus, under such a mechanism, closed user group policies can be enforced on each call using the one closed user group designated for the call. Although a user may be a member of numerous closed user groups, at any given moment, a user can only operate under one of the numerous closed user groups in which it is a member. Unfortunately, the capability to provide interlock code functionality does not exist in ATM. This greatly hampers any potential implementation of closed user groups in ATM.

Generally, closed user groups allow various users to be grouped so that calling privileges may be applied to groups. For example, various user groups of an enterprise might be defined to include the engineering, finance, and marketing groups of a business enterprise. Various combinations of these user groups may be combined to form a closed user group. Each such user group of a closed user group may have certain privileges established to control such things as the capability to originate a call to another user of the same closed user group, the capability to receive a call from another user of the same closed user group, the capability to originate a call to another outside of the closed user group, and the capability to receive a call from another outside of the closed user group. Unfortunately to implement such a service or feature in a traditional VToA would require that blocking information be provided in various systems and gateways and these would have to be frequently updated. This is impractical, inefficient, cumbersome and expensive to carry out. As is illustrated, this type of a service is problematic to implement in traditional VTOA networks and systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

From the foregoing it may be appreciated that a need has arisen for an intelligent network and method for providing VToA and closed user groups that provide intelligent network signaling to support advanced telephony services and features for VToA and closed user groups, while still allowing the benefits of integrating voice and data communications on the same ATM network. In accordance with the present invention, an intelligent network and method for providing VToA and closed user groups are provided that substantially eliminate one or more of the disadvantages and problems outlined above.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a method for providing a closed user group service to authorize VToA calls using an intelligent network and a switched virtual circuit over an ATM network is provided. The method includes determining the closed user group identifiers for a calling party, determining the closed user group identifiers for a called party, locating a common closed user group identifier that is common to the calling party and the called party, analyzing the privileges of the calling party in the common closed user group to determine if the calling party can make calls to other users of the common closed user group, and analyzing the privileges of the called party in the common closed user group to determine if the called party can receive calls from other users of the common closed user group. The VToA call between the calling party and the called party is completed if a common closed user group identifier is located, the calling party has privileges to call other users of the common closed user group, and the called party has privileges to receive calls from other users of the common closed user group.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a data structure on a storage media for defining closed user groups to authorize VToA calls using an intelligent network and a switched virtual circuit over an ATM network is provided. The data structure includes a plurality of users, wherein each of the plurality of users are defined by an ATM address, a plurality of user groups, wherein each of the plurality of user groups are defined by an association with a collection of the plurality of users, and wherein each user of the plurality of users may only be a member of one user group. The data structure further includes a plurality of privilege sets, wherein each of the plurality of privilege sets are defined by a privilege value that represents a plurality of privileges, and a plurality of closed user groups, wherein each of the plurality of closed user groups are defined by a closed user group identifier that is associated with a plurality of user group/privilege set combinations, wherein each of the plurality of user group/privilege set combinations are associated with a user group of the plurality of user groups and a privilege set of the plurality of privilege sets.

The present invention provides a profusion of technical advantages that include the capability to efficiently and effectively provide advanced telephony services and functions to VToA through an intelligent network. This can substantially increase overall VToA performance and make VToA much more attractive to customers looking to seamlessly and efficiently integrate both data and voice over the same ATM network to achieve substantial savings, but still retain advance telephony capabilities.

Another technical advantage of the present invention includes the capability to utilize an ATM network to provide advanced telephony functions, while efficiently using ATM bandwidth by setting up SVCs to handle phone calls and releasing this bandwidth when the phone call has ended. This results in efficient utilization of ATM bandwidth and may save capital costs by reducing the amount of bandwidth needed.

Yet another technical advantage of the present invention includes the capability to control ATM telephony or voice routing tables in a central location and in the intelligent network layer, as opposed to the prior technique, defined by the various ATM standards bodies, to control ATM telephony at the end points. This significantly reduces overall costs to operate a telecommunications network to support VToA, and significantly reduces the opportunity for erroneous information entering the network. This advantage is achieved by separating the ATM intelligence from the ATM switching.

Still yet another technical advantage of the present invention surrounds the capability to provide closed user groups with VToA without using an interlocking code. The implementation of closed user groups normally requires an interlocking code, which is not provided in ATM. This significantly enhances the advanced telephony features available with VToA.

Other technical advantages are readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following figures, description, and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following brief description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and detailed description, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram that illustrates a telecommunications network for providing VToA services, such as closed user group services, using an ATM switched virtual circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a line diagram that illustrates the signaling and call flow performed by the intelligent network for a VToA call, including the setup, connect, and release portions, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram that illustrates an intelligent network used at the ingress side of an ATM network for providing VToA services using an ATM switched virtual circuit;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram that illustrates the intelligent network used at the egress side of the ATM network for providing VToA services using an ATM switched virtual circuit;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart that illustrates a method for providing a closed user group service to authorize VToA calls;

FIG. 6 is a view of a data structure from a user group perspective for defining closed user groups to authorize VToA calls;

FIG. 7 is a view of a data structure from a closed user group perspective for defining closed user groups to authorize VToA calls; and

FIG. 8 is a view of a data structure from a closed user group perspective for defining closed user groups to authorize VToA calls, according to another aspect of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It should be understood at the outset that although an exemplary implementation of the present invention is illustrated below, the present invention may be implemented using any number of techniques, whether currently known or in existence. The present invention should in no way be limited to the exemplary implementations, drawings, and techniques illustrated below, including the exemplary design and implementation illustrated and described herein.

FIG. 1 is a diagram that illustrates a telecommunications network 10, which also may be referred to as an intelligent ATM network or as a Smart Bandwidth on Command ("SBoC") network, for providing Voice Telephony over ATM ("VToA") services, such as closed user group services, using an ATM Switched Virtual Circuit ("SVC") according to an embodiment of the present invention. The description below in connection with FIGS. 1 4 provides a discussion of the operation of the telecommunications network 10 so that the closed user group aspect of the present invention may be described more fully in connection with the description accompanying the FIGS. 5, 6, 7 and 8.

The telecommunications network 10 includes an intelligent network 12, which also may be referred to as an intelligent network layer, in communication with an ATM edge switch 14 and an ATM edge switch 16 of an ATM network 18. A calling party location 20 is illustrated in communication with the ATM edge switch 14, and a called party location 22 is shown in communication with the ATM edge switch 16.

The intelligent network 12 is operable to intercept and process ATM signaling messages provided to the ATM edge switch 14 and the ATM edge switch 16. This architecture allows the intelligent network 12 to provide various telephony features and services, including advanced telephony features and services, to VToA provided over an ATM network, such as the ATM network 18, through an SVC.

It should be noted that the ATM edge switch 14 and the ATM edge switch 16 may be considered to be part of the ATM network 18. Of course, the ATM network 18 may include any of a variety of ATM switches and/or ATM network elements or devices and may geographically span or cover virtually any region. The ATM switches of the ATM network 18, including the ATM edge switch 14 and the ATM edge switch 16, may be provided by any of a number of ATM switch manufacturers, such as, for example, NEWBRIDGE and ALCATEL. Of course, multiple connections can be provided to the ATM network 18 through any of a variety of edge switches, such as at the ATM edge switch 14. In order to simplify the illustration of the present invention, including the illustration of setting up a VToA call originating from a calling party, only two connections to the ATM network 18 are illustrated in FIG. 1 and include the calling party location 20 and the called party location 22.

The calling party location 20 and the called party location 22 may include any of a variety of end-user devices and Customer Premises Equipment ("CPE"). For example, the calling party location 20, which could be referred to as an ingress location since this is the calling location, includes a telephony device 24 and a CPE 26. Similarly, the called party location 22 is illustrated with a telephony device 28 and a CPE 30.

Of course, any of a number of arrangements may be provided at the calling party location 20 and the called party location 22. In one embodiment, these locations may also include Data Communications Equipment ("DCE") to support traditional ATM data communications. As is apparent, the capability to communicate both data and voice over the same ATM network provides significant advantages and conveniences that normally result in substantial savings. This arrangement in combination with the present invention allows both VToA calls, with intelligent network features and services provided or controlled by the intelligent network 12, and ATM data transfers to be supported using the same ATM network, such as the ATM network 18. For example, a business enterprise that has multiple locations may significantly benefit by providing voice communications, with intelligent networking features, using VToA and data communications all through the same ATM network.

In one embodiment, the telephony device 24 and the telephony device 28 may be provided as a telephone, a personal computer, a computer network, answering machine, video conferencing equipment, or any of a variety of other devices operable to support or provide telephony functionality. The CPE 26 and the CPE 30 may be implemented using any of a number of devices. For example, and without limitation, the CPE 26 and the CPE 30 may be implemented as a router, a PBX with ATM signaling capability, an enterprise gateway, or a network gateway. The CPE 26 and the CPE 30 may be implemented, in one embodiment, using a CPE device provided by ACCELERATED NETWORKS.

The communications link between the ATM edge switch and the calling party or called party location may be provided using any number of available links, such as dedicated links or leased lines. According to an aspect of the present invention, whenever a customer location desires to set up or establish an SVC to support VToA, a signaling ATM message, such as an ATM setup message, is provided from the customer location to the associated ATM edge switch of the ATM network 18. For example, if the calling party location 20 desires to establish an SVC through the ATM network 18, an ATM setup message may be sent from the calling party location 20 to the ATM edge switch 14. This ATM setup message may be used to designate that this SVC is being setup or established to provide VToA. In one embodiment, an ATM setup message is sent from the calling party location 20 to the ATM edge switch 14 using a predefined or predetermined protocol such that a designated value, which may be referred to as a VToA designator, is included in the content or payload of the ATM setup message to indicate that this SVC is being set up or established to support VToA.

In one embodiment, the telephony device 24 is provided as a telephone or personal computer with telephony software, and the CPE 26 is provided as an enterprise gateway that is provisioned with a special ATM address to identify the CPE 26 as an ATM device. An ATM setup message may be generated by a calling party by using the telephony device 24 to enter a phone number, which may be referred to as a called party phone number value. The CPE 26 generates the ATM setup message, which may be referred to as an input ATM setup message, in response to initiate an SVC for VToA by saving various values in the content of the ATM setup message.

The content may be stored in an ATM setup message using various designated areas, which may be referred to as fields, addresses or parameters. The content that is stored in each such parameter may be referred to as a value. An example of some of the parameters that may be present in an ATM setup message is provided in the following table:

TABLE-US-00001 ATM SETUP MESSAGE PARAMETERS Called Party Number Called Party Subaddress Calling Party Number Calling Party Subaddress

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the ATM address of the CPE 26, which may be referred to as the ATM address of the calling party CPE, is stored in the ATM setup message as the calling party number parameter, the telephone number associated with the telephony device 24, which may be referred to as the calling party phone number value, is stored in the ATM setup messag