Abstract: A system is disclosed that provides functionality for users to manage and use chat channels. This system enables admin users of the chat channel to manage channel lines, and options for channel line members to manage chat line presentity status such as hold and resume and apply controls such as transfer and forward or bridge the chat with the PSTN network. The chat channels provide a range of chat communications modes including intercom, inbound, shout-down, open, conference, and direct messaging. The intercom mode provides secure group chat for the channel line members, and the inbound mode allows non channel members to initiate secure group chat with the channel line members.

Abstract: A system is disclosed that provides functionality for users to manage and use chat channels. This system enables admin users of the chat channel to manage channel lines, and options for channel line members to manage chat line presentity status such as hold and resume and apply controls such as transfer and forward or bridge the chat with the PSTN network. The chat channels provide a range of chat communications modes including intercom, inbound, shout-down, open, conference, and direct messaging. The intercom mode provides secure group chat for the channel line members, and the inbound mode allows non channel members to initiate secure group chat with the channel line members.

Abstract: A system, server and a method for processing messages received at a server device in a network are provided. The method comprises: for a message being transmitted from a first account associated with a client device to a second account in the network, receiving a message event associated with the message at the server; determining whether the message event is associated with an existing conversation involving the first account, and if so setting a sequence number associated with the message event to a value incremented from a current sequence number associated with the existing conversation, otherwise setting the sequence number to a value to track a new conversation; and sending the sequence number to the first user account.

Abstract: A method, system and server for processing messages sent from a client in a network are provided. The method comprises: for a message for a conversation to be transmitted from a client associated with a first user account associated with the network to a set of user accounts, upon activation of a command to send the message, sending to the set of accounts a request message requesting acceptance of the conversation; receiving replies from the set of accounts to the request message; and sending the message for the conversation to a first subset of accounts associated with the set of accounts that generated an acceptance message for the request message and updating a message log associated with the conversation to indicate that the first subset of accounts has accepted the conversation as participants in the conversation. A method, system and server for message archiving are also provided.

Abstract: A method, system and server for processing messages sent from a client in a network are provided. The method comprises: for a message for a conversation to be transmitted from a client associated with a first user account of a plurality of user accounts associated with the network to a set of user accounts of the plurality of user accounts, upon activation of a command to send the message, sending to the set of user accounts a request message requesting acceptance of the conversation; receiving replies from the set of user accounts to the request message; and sending the message for the conversation to a first subset of accounts associated with the set of user accounts that generated an acceptance message for the request message and updating a message log associated with the conversation to indicate that the first subset of accounts has accepted the conversation as participants in the conversation. A method, system and server for message archiving are also provided.

Abstract: A distributed software system provides functionality for users to cluster together various types of computing devices (PCs, mobile phones, PDAs, set top boxes, IP appliances, etc.) and associated service resources (landline telephone, mobile telephone, long distance service, VoIP, instant messaging, etc.) to form a service cluster, and to effectively bind the service cluster to a common user identity. The software system enables each service resource that is natively available to a device in the cluster to be accessed and used by the other devices in the cluster. For example, in one embodiment, a call placed to any device in the cluster can be routed to and answered on any other device in the cluster, transparently to the caller. A cluster owner can also grant permissions to other users to use particular service resources available to the cluster. Routing of calls is handled efficiently using a distributed hash table system.

Abstract: A method is disclosed that normalizes a telephone number from a number of input sources into standardized E.164 “+” format so that the telephone number can be represented in a consistent format relative to the user's own mobile number MSISDN and used uniformly across different functional components in a communications system. The disclosure also describes a method for denormalizing a telephone number in the E.164 “+” format into a dial digit phone number sequence that can be used to successfully establish calls from a user terminal device and to route calls via optimal routes through a voice termination network.

Abstract: A system and method is disclosed that provides dynamic and optimal call routing functionality for originating calls from a mobile to the callee party involving alternate network access points and call routing based on considerations such as caller and callee device type, type of available network connections, caller preference, callee presence, caller and callee international and national calling number prefix, and caller or callee service package plan. A significant advantage of this method is that the system can dynamically select the access point and route based on callee party disposition, route quality of service, network route availability, network route cost, and regulatory network tariff pricing structures.

Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed that allow a service user to add other service users and non-users into the service user's address book based on contact telephone numbers. This method allows a first service user to be associated either automatically or through an invitation process with a second service user via their telephone numbers for them to be service contacts on each other's service phonebook. Systems and methods for growing a service user base are also provided.

Abstract: A system is disclosed that provides functionality for mobile communications service bridging with distributed service gateway call managers that allow application clients running on users' communication devices to be served by any of the available service gateways, preferably in an active-active load balance configuration. Each service gateway instance may bridge the application client to a range of network services such as voice origination and termination services, IM services, messaging services, online community services, IP voice services, and premium services such as multiparty click-to-conference, directory services, and voice mail.

Abstract: A system is disclosed that provides functionality for two users to establish multi-modal communication services including voice, messaging, and instance messaging on mobile devices using one or more online community identities. Based on the online identity and profile of a first user of on an online community, a second user may initiate a communications session request to the first user. A service bridging server may incorporate the profile and other information such as presence status of the second user into the session request message and then send the session request to the mobile client of the first user. The first user can act on the session request with a range of disposition options and multiple modes of communication types on the first user mobile device based on the online community identity of the first user and the second user.