Abstract: Interexchange carriers make their rate information for long-distance service available in a database. PBXs and telephone central offices access that rate information using ISDN and/or SS7 signaling and use it as a basis for determining which carder to use at any given time in the routing of a call. Such accessing may be carried out on a call-by-call basis. Or a carrier's schedule of rates can be stored locally in the PBX or local switching office, thereby obviating the need for a database query for every call.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
January 19, 1993
Date of Patent:
May 7, 1996
Assignee:
AT&T Corp.
Inventors:
Arno A. Penzias, David G. Belanger, Joel K. Young