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 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 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: 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.