Abstract: A Personal-CFC system and method is described for controlling a multiplicity of telephones, for providing extended feature sets globally to all such telephones and for routing of media-rich calls between such telephones and multimedia equipment. The Personal-CFC is a software program that is easily embedded in various devices and it requires no hardware. For example, a mobile Personal-CFC system can be incorporated into a PDA or PC. The end user can use the Personal-CFC system to control other telephones, such as conference telephones, that do not belong to the end user.

Abstract: A system and method is described here for discovering capabilities of nearby telephones using a secondary communication channel. The secondary communication channel can use various media that can include infrared, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g, or any other medium that is not used for the purpose of primary telephone communication. Usage of the secondary channel isolates this feature from the state of the art system and at the same time provides for a common method of interoperability for various telephones. Infrared communication for the secondary channel is preferred, due to its cost, and easy of usage.

Abstract: A method and system for packet-switched voice communication between two remote points over a randomly connected network such as the Internet includes use of a first index to serialize the outgoing packets, and a return index to confirm receipt. In the event the return index indicates an unacceptable number of packets have not been received at their destination within a limited time, the system causes at least some of the lost packets to be retransmitted, allowing a more complete recreation of the sender's voice of the random connection.