Abstract: In the system of the invention the adjunct device is connected to the switching system over two connections. The first connection is a voice channel consisting of an analog line capable of transmitting voice but not call data such as called party number, calling party number or the like. The second connection is a data connection via an Ethernet channel between the switch and adjunct that transmits call data but is incapable of transmitting voice. The call data is logically associated with the voice call at both the adjunct and switching system. As a result, transaction data related to a voice call can be forwarded to an agent station or other terminal when the voice call is transferred from the adjunct to the agent station. This system eliminates the need to recreate the transaction data when a call is transferred while using inexpensive analog connections for the voice call.

Abstract: A bridge connection is made between interfaces on physically distinct telecommunication servers such that the two ends of the bridge can be used to connect existing calls that are terminated on each of the servers. To provide the bridge connection, a call using a standard outgoing T1 trunk on one of the servers is made through the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to an incoming T1 trunk on the other server. The servers reserve a special directory number for such calls. When a bridge connection is required one of the servers is queried for its special directory number. The other server is then instructed to make a call to that number. When the called server recognizes the incoming call as using its special number, it answers the call. The calling server then outpulses information needed by the called server to associate the bridge connection with the pending action. In this manner, calls terminating on distinct servers can be connected without the need for additional hardware.

Abstract: In an Intelligent Network (IN) a method for acquiring data is provided. The method comprises a test call initiated from the SSP to a desired destination within the network. The test call with the log portion appended to TCAP (and ISUP) messages travel through the network and collects data in the log portion from each node on the test call path. The test call with the traveling log (TLog) helps the maintenance personnel isolate troubles and faults in the network without having to monitor each node (or office) on the route of a troubled message path.

Abstract: The called party can temporarily defer answering a call simply by pressing a button on the station set. When the button is pressed, the called party's station set sends a data message to the system's voice response unit directing the voice response to play a "please wait" message to the calling party rather than sending the calling party to the called party's voice mail. The voice response unit plays the "please wait" message to the calling party and sends a call park message to the switching system hosting the station set. The call park message to the switching system directs the switching system to park the call at a specific location as is known in the art and a corresponding call park message to the station set transmits the location of the parked call to the station set. When the called party desires to answer the call, a message is sent from the station set to the switching system requesting that the call parked at the identified location be connected to the station set.

Abstract: The system of the invention uses ATM switches as high performance Internet routers by using standard ATM signaling to set up cut-through paths. The cut-through paths are Switched Virtual Paths which are shared with similar flows toward the same destination and a similar Quality of Service (QOS). The concurrency of multiple flows is achieved by using a different Virtual Channel Identification (VCI) for each flow. The cut-through paths are reused to minimize the overhead associated with setting up and tearing down the paths. Depending on the needs of the traffic, different SVCs having different QOS and different bandwidths can be used. Customer service needs and traffic measurements data are used to identify potential cut-through paths. Once a cut-through path is set up, IP mechanisms are used to update the routing tables of related routers and ATM hosts.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for offering wireless telecommunication service. A switch such as an automatic Private Branch Exchange (PBX), equipped to communicate with Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) stations sends ISDN signaling messages to and receives ISDN signaling messages from a protocol converter. The protocol converter, which also communicates with a wireless cell site, converts messages between the ISDN protocol and a protocol for communicating with the wireless cell site. The cell site sets up wireless connections to a mobile station, essentially in its prior art mode, and the PBX sets up connections to the cell site essentially in its prior art ISDN station control mode.

Abstract: The customer performs a search or otherwise defines selected data maintained by the information provider. Once the selected data is identified, the information provider maintains the requested data, typically by maintaining pointers identiying the data, but delays delivery of the requested data until the scheduled delivery time, such as a particular day and time requested by the customer or a non-peak period as determined by the information provider. When the information provider determines that delivery is appropriate, it makes a request for a suppressed ringing connection to a switching system. The switching system responds to the request for connection by creating a suppressed ringing connection where a silent alert tone or digital alert signal is transmitted to the customer premise equipment. The customer premise equipment includes a receiving system that receives one or more tones from the switching system over the suppressed ringing connection and becomes active.

Abstract: A substrate is provided that supports a laser array chip positioned such that the light streams emanating from the laser array are parallel to and substantially coplanar with the surface of the substrate. A plurality of apertures are formed in the substrate between the light streams for receiving a photodiode array chip. The photodiode array chip is formed as a comb-like structure where the "teeth" of the comb are aligned with and fit into the apertures formed in the substrate such that the photodiode array chip is supported perpendicular to the substrate. Located on each of the teeth of the photodiode array chip is a photodiode. The photodiodes are arranged such that when the photodiode array chip is inserted into the substrate the photodiodes are substantially coplanar with the surface of the substrate. Using such a construction, the light streams emanating from the lasers on the laser array chip are interdigitated with and coplanar with the photodiodes.

Abstract: The outside distribution plant of the invention consists of a remote narrowband terminal such as a digital loop carrier and a remote broadband terminal such as broadband distribution element or the like that receive narrowband and broadband telecommunications signals, respectively, from a switching system or other network element. The signals are delivered to a variety of different types of line cards where each of the different types of line cards provide a different type of telecommunications service as is known in the prior art. Connection lines emanating from selected ones of the broadband line cards are connected to the inputs of a remotely controlled crossbar array where the inputs of the array can be selectively connected to the outputs of the crossbar array. The outputs of the crossbar array are connected to distribution lines that terminate at one of a plurality of diplex filters.

Abstract: The system of the invention consists of a central office service unit (COSU) connected to a plurality of switching systems via dedicated telemetry trunks or a common channel signaling network such as the CCS7 network. The switching systems are connected to a plurality of inbound-only TIUs located on the customer premise that are in turn connected to customer devices such as utility meters, appliances, security systems or the like. The TIUs are inbound-only that can originate calls but cannot answer calls initiated by the controlling entity. A controlling entity, such as a utility, is connected to one of the switching systems over a customer line such that the controlling entity can be connected to any TIU hosted by the switching systems. The controlling entity requests that an alerting tone be sent by the COSU to a desired TIU. The COSU, as is known in the art, delivers an alert tone through a suppressed ringing connection to the TIU that does not audibly ring the customer's telephone.

Abstract: The interface card consists of a circuit pack containing the line or trunk circuitry and a face plate connected to one side of the circuit pack. A first connector is located on the side of the circuit pack opposite the face plate for connecting the line card to the backplane of the switching system or other network element. A second connector is provided on the face plate for connecting the circuit pack to the cable plug of the cabling. To disconnect the connector, an ejection mechanism is provided on the face plate of the interface card. The ejection mechanism slides relative to the face plate to force camming surfaces into engagement with abutment surfaces on the cable plug thereby forcing the cable plug perpendicularly away from the face plate. Thus the plug is removed without damaging the pin connectors. A locking device can be optionally provided on the ejection mechanism to lock the cable plug into engagement with the pin connector to prevent inadvertent disconnection.

Abstract: A utility meter or other fixed device is assigned a permanent dialed number that is unrelated to the telephone number of the customer premise where the device is located. Instead, the dialed number is permanently assigned to a line termination location in the switch such that when the dialed number is dialed a connection is made to the line terminated at that physical location in the network switching system irrespective of the customer's telephone number. As a result, the number dialed by the calling party is unrelated to the customer's telephone number such that changes in a customer's telephone number do not affect the telemetry system. Moreover, the telemetry number could be selected from a specified range of numbers or could include a predetermined command digit such as *8 prior to the number string.

Abstract: A wireless telephone user obtains the telephone number of a vendor by activating the wireless telephone to receive to transmit a prompt signal to an active advertisement source and to receive from the advertisement source a response signal containing the telephone number of the advertising vendor. The telephone number can then be used to automatically place a call to that vendor. Advantageously this arrangement can be used to place a call to a vendor without having to either memorize the telephone number or to write it down.

Abstract: The outside distribution plant of the invention consists of a remote terminal such as a digital loop carrier, broadband distribution element or the like that receives telecommunications signals from a switching system or other network element. The signals are delivered to a variety of different types of line cards where each of the different types of line cards provide a different type of telecommunications service as is known in the prior art. Connection lines emanating from the line cards are connected to the inputs of a remotely controlled crossbar array where the inputs of the array can be selectively connected to the outputs of the crossbar array. The outputs of the crossbar array are connected to distribution lines that terminate at one of a plurality of feeder distribution interfaces that connect to customer lines that terminate at customer premise equipment. The crossbar array serves as the access point for competitive service providers.

Abstract: A phase recovery circuit consists of a tapped delay line created by a string of inverters where taps are taken at every other inverter. To initialize the circuit, each tap loads a signal sample into a holding register where the holding register consists of a flip-flop connected to each tap. The flip-flops are loaded by the active edges of the system clock such that each flip-flop contains a sample of data at a given point in time. The sample register delivers the data to a processor that periodically creates histograms of the signal to determine the signal transition points between adjacent bits and the number of taps between the transition points that define a bit. Once the transition points are known, the center of the bit to be latched is located and the tap nearest the center of the bit is used to latch the data for delivery to the next downstream location. From the histograms the processor can also determine if the signal is shifting relative to the system clock.

Abstract: To provide a monolithic ATM transport the synchronous to asynchronous converter (SAC) of the invention converts the synchronous narrowband signals to composite cell ATM format. These cells can be combined with ATM video and data signals and can be delivered as an ensemble of ATM cells over either a standard SONET transport format or analog network to the customer premise. To convert the synchronous signals, the SAC provides format conversion needed to provide voice and other narrowband signals over ATM. The SAC also functions to agilely move between cell sizes such that the 48 bytes of the cell payload can be mapped to carry anywhere between the single and 48 connections. Thus, the SAC adjusts the cell configuration to balance performance and bandwidth use in a real-time manner.

Abstract: The invention uses a suppressed ringing connection, switched through the existing call processing switch fabric, to connect between two customer premise equipments (CPEs) for long duration, low priority calls. The suppressed ringing connection is implemented such that the connection is disconnected if an incoming call to one of the CPEs or an outgoing request for service from one of the CPEs is made. If the suppressed ringing connection is disconnected due to a request for normal service to or from one of the CPEs, the system of the invention automatically reestablishes the suppressed ringing connection after the normal service call has ended such that the long duration suppressed ringing connection can be maintained on a quasi-permanent basis. As a result, the suppressed ringing connection can be maintained for long duration connections without disrupting normal incoming or outgoing service to either of the connected CPEs.

Abstract: A fiber optic access architecture consisting of a remote terminal for receiving broadband asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) traffic from a broadband switching system is disclosed. The broadband traffic is delivered over a pair of OC-12 links to common elements of the remote terminal. The common elements deliver the traffic to one of two high speed ATM buses. The ATM buses deliver the ATM traffic to one of a plurality of line cards that interface with the customer drop to the customer premise equipment. The line cards can include POTS (plain old telephone service) line cards and special line cards as are known to provide the traditional voice and special service. In addition to the standard line cards, the system includes the fiber line cards of the invention for delivering high speed, broadband traffic to the customer premise. The fiber line cards include 16 bit cell-based UTOPIA-2 bus interface for receiving traffic from each of the ATM buses.

Abstract: The security system includes a time dimension in an alpha-numeric personal identification number (PIN) security system to enhance its security yet maintain the familiar and simple to use PIN system. The alpha-numeric digits comprising the PIN are separated into two or more digit groups that must be entered into the system according to a predefined time sequence in order to positively identify the user and provide security clearance. The time sequence can include time delays between the entry of digit groups or time periods during which the digit groups must be entered.

Abstract: The loopback test consists of a user-application interface that connects the network operator to substantially all of the ATM points in the network. In operation, the network operator selects two ATM points as the loopback and source endpoints for the loopback test. The virtual path identification (VPI), virtual channel identification (VCI) and payload type indicator (PTI) that will be in the address header of the test cell when it arrives at the loopback endpoint location and the identification of the loopback endpoint are transmitted to the loopback endpoint in a setup message via a link from the UAI. The VPI, VCI and PTI that constitute the address header of a test cell injected at the source endpoint and destined for the loopback endpoint, and the location identification of the source endpoint are provided to the source endpoint in a setup message via a separate link from the UAI.