Abstract: A bridging server instantiates virtual packet telephones that emulate physical packet telephone instruments, and includes a switch operative to establish connections between respective pairs of the virtual packet telephones. A first one of a pair of virtual packet telephones is operative to receive an incoming packet telephone call on behalf of a circuit telephone for which an incoming packet telephone call is destined. A controller in the bridging server establishes, via a gateway device, a first connection between the circuit telephone and a second one of the pair of virtual packet telephones, and in response to the incoming packet telephone call establishes control inputs of the switch to establish an internal bridging connection between the first and second virtual packet telephones, thus completing the end-to-end connection. From the perspective of other packet telephony equipment, the bridging server effectively hides the connection to the circuit telephone.

Abstract: In response to a customer call to a call center, an available agent is selected and the call is connected to the selected agent. Initially it is determined whether voice is present in the connection from the agent to the customer within a predetermined time interval, e.g. 3-6 seconds, by calculating the energy in media packets and comparing this value with a predetermined threshold. If no voice is present from the agent, the call is re-routed to another agent. Additionally, the agent may be marked as not available for subsequent calls, and the agent can be so notified. The “agent not present” event may be reported to a supervisor who may contact the agent or further monitor the agent to ascertain whether the non-responsiveness recurs. The technique can be used with “local” agents (those physically present in the call center) and with “remote” agents (those connected to the call center, e.g. via the public switched telephone network (PSTN)).