Abstract: A method of and system for processing calls from a first country having a first national language to a second country receives a request to complete a call from the first country and determines if the call cannot be completed as dialed. If the method determines that the call cannot be completed as dialed, the method forwards the call to an operator who can speak the first national language for assistance.

Abstract: A system and method for providing operator and customer services for automated telecommunications services on an intelligent overlay network (104) is disclosed. Operator and customer services are provided by an intelligent network (102). The intelligent network (102) comprises an automated call distributor (116); an application processor (118); an advanced intelligent network gateway (AIN Gateway) (120); a validation gateway (122); and enhanced operator consoles (126). The AIN Gateway provides the intelligent network with an interface to the intelligent overlay network. This allows components within the intelligent network to communicate with components in the intelligent overlay network, and vice-versa. The validation gateway provides the intelligent network with an interface to credit card validation systems (114), and is used to apply charges to customer credit cards.

Abstract: An access-control module (22) is used in connection with a conventional private branch exchange (12) to control direct inward service access (DISA), by which callers calling in on one trunk are afforded access to an outgoing trunk or other destination within the PBX environment. The access-control module (22) is simply plugged into an existing extension, and the PBX (12) initially directs to that extension all calls from the incoming trunk. The access-control module (22) receives the users' authorization code and desired destination and then signals the PBX in the normal manner to transfer the call to an outgoing trunk or other destination within the PBX environment if the incoming call meets certain criteria imposed by the access-control module (22).

Abstract: A telephone transaction support system includes a transaction register unit for registering, in a database, contents of a transaction requested by a customer over a telephone, and a deciding unit for deciding on an approval support unit among a plurality of approval support units at random, the approval support unit being used to approve contents of a transaction, whereby the approval support unit decided on at random is used to approve the transaction registered in the database. A telephone transaction support system which supplies to an operator information regarding a transaction in a conversation with a customer over a telephone includes a detecting unit for detecting an actual state of service of an operator dealing with the customer based on the information supplied thereto, and an estimate data generating unit for generating estimate data based on the actual state of the service of the operator detected by the detecting unit.