Abstract: A system and method is provided for conserving electrical power in a telecommunications facility (10) containing a plurality of like electrically powered hardware resources for transporting call traffic through the facility (10). The method includes: monitoring a traffic load being experienced by the facility (10); selecting one or more of the hardware resources in response to the monitored traffic load, such that the selected hardware resources have a capacity sufficient to reliably transport the monitored traffic load thereover; and consolidating call traffic in the selected hardware resources.

Abstract: A system and method is provided for conserving electrical power in a telecommunications facility (10) containing a plurality of like electrically powered hardware resources for transporting call traffic through the facility (10). The method includes: monitoring a traffic load being experienced by the facility (10); selecting one or more of the hardware resources in response to the monitored traffic load, such that the selected hardware resources have a capacity sufficient to reliably transport the monitored traffic load thereover; and consolidating call traffic in the selected hardware resources.

Abstract: The flexible through-connection process, operational in a Mobile Switch Center, that provides support for allowing the call routing processor of the Mobile Switch Center to independently perform a through-connection/switch-connection based on different types of calls so that the Mobile Switch Center can make a through-connection at different stages of the outgoing call leg. In operation, the present flexible through-connection process includes in the call control processor of the switching system a new parameter in the existing inter-process message which is sent to the call routing processor at call setup time. The values supported for this new parameter will be pre-defined in the Mobile Switch Center and used by the call routing processor to determine when to perform through-connection/switch-connection for an outgoing call leg.

Abstract: A system for expanding a parameter encoding field in a new communications protocol that is compatible with an old protocol. An unused command parameter in an old protocol is used to indicate an expanded parameter encoding field in a new protocol. Parameter encodings from the old protocol are unchanged in the new protocol. A system communicating using the old protocol recognizes all parameters from the old protocol and ignores parameters from the new protocol. A system communicating using the new protocol recognizes parameters from both the old and new protocols.