Abstract: Exemplary embodiments include methods, systems, and storage mediums for implementing issue notification and resolution activities. The method includes receiving a request for access to a network service from a user associated with an account that has been flagged as having an issue. The method also includes redirecting the request for access, transmitting a notification of the issue and instructions for resolving the issue to the user, and deferring further access to network services without terminating the account pending a resolution of the issue.

Abstract: Transactional cards such as credit and debit cards include sensory features including sounds, sights, and/or smells to increase the interest in the transactional card. A transactional card may include circuitry for producing sounds such as sound effects, songs, and catch phrases. A transactional card may include circuitry for producing light, such as illuminating the account numbers and/or producing graphical displays on the card. A transactional card may include coatings or integrated materials that provide scents or that change color when heat is applied. A transactional card may include additional sensory features such as a lenticular array with underlying image.

Abstract: Systems and methods for creating tailored media-content and related offerings based on subscriber-specific data are described. In one embodiment of the present invention, a television content provider, such as a programming or advertising provider, uses subscriber-specific data to create offerings including unique programs or program packages or unique bundles of programs other products and services. The content provider may also use the subscriber-specific data to determine the price a subscriber is willing to pay for specific content or content-related offering.

Abstract: A monetary account, such as a prepaid account or credit account, that is used as payment for purchases is divided into categories of purchased items. When a purchase is attempted, a request to apply the monetary account specifies the category of the item being purchased. Rules associated with each of the categories of the account are applied in response to the request to determine whether to approve or deny the purchase. Rules may vary from one category to the next. As one example, a rule may include a remaining monetary value of the category where a determination is made whether the cost of the item being purchased is no more than the remaining monetary value. As another example, a rule may include whether a time of the purchase matches an allowable time for the category of the item being purchased. Other examples include rules that allow for borrowing from one category for purchases from another, for specific allocations, and for event triggers to generate alarms.

Abstract: Prior to a conference with a remote, mobile participant, a library of digital objects and a Mobile Conferencing Module is communicated to a memory device of a communications network. During the conference, the network-resident Mobile Conferencing Module receives a synchronization command from a host communications device, selects a synchronized object from the network-resident library, and communicates the synchronized object with presentation instructions to a mobile participant communications device. Furthermore, the mobile participant communications devices may communicate a synchronization confirmation back to the network-resident Mobile Conferencing Module. The synchronization confirmation acknowledges a successful presentation of the synchronized object to the mobile participant communications devices and may prevent the host (and/or network-resident Mobile Conferencing Module) from advancing to a subsequent synchronized object until the synchronization confirmation is received.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention relate to a method, system, and storage medium for providing automated call acknowledgement services over a network. The method includes receiving a data request from a call-receiving device to acknowledge an incoming call from a calling device. The data request includes a phone number for the call-receiving device, a phone number or text address for the calling device, a message type, and a voice/text indicator selection. The method further includes retrieving a pre-defined acknowledgement message from a database based upon the message type and sending the pre-defined acknowledgement message to the calling device in lieu of answering the incoming call.

Abstract: One preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a system and method for supplying third party announcements to a receiving party having a device coupled to the Internet. One embodiment of the present invention includes a method and system for providing Internet caller-ID service, wherein third party content is placed in the Internet caller-ID messages. In return, the receiving party and/or calling party receives consideration from the third party. Other methods and systems are also provided.

Abstract: A frame relay data rate RFR for a VoIP call is determined based on a particular packetization time interval TS and its associated sample data size BS for a particular CODEC, a size BHT of at least one of a frame relay header and a frame relay trailer, and a size BIP of an IP header. A number of VoIP calls NUMVOIP that can be supported by a frame relay access link is determined based on a bandwidth of the frame relay access link that is to be allocated to VoIP traffic, and the frame relay data rate RFR. At least one network parameter is determined based on NUMVOIP. Bandwidth in an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network is allocated for the VoIP traffic based on the at least one network parameter.

Abstract: A method and system for estimating a fraction of an optical transmission system's transmission window that is compliant with the system's polarization mode dispersion (PMD) outage specifications, the optical transmission system including Ns optical fiber segments. The method comprises the steps of: propagating a plurality of optical signals through the Ns optical fiber segments; monitoring the differential group delay (DGD) for each optical signal over time; computing a time average and variance of the monitored DGD for each optical signal; computing statistics of the time averages and variances of the monitored DGD for each optical signal; determining the number of effective PMD sections and effective hinges in the system from the statistics; and determining the size of a PMD capacity compliant fraction for a specified outage probability.

Abstract: A method for enabling enhanced call return in a wireless network comprising receiving an incoming telephone call from a caller, wherein the incoming telephone call identifies a mobile subscriber (MS) as a callee thereof; capturing caller-specific information for the caller, wherein the caller-specific information includes at least one of the name of the caller and the telephone number of the caller; and storing the caller-specific information into an intelligent peripheral (IP) within the wireless network. The method further comprises allowing the MS to access the caller-specific information stored in the IP. The present invention thus allows the mobile subscriber (MS) to subscribe to an enhanced call return (ECR) feature as part of the mobile telephone service plan. The ECR feature allows the mobile subscriber to access caller-specific information for a predetermined number of past callers and also to return calls from those past callers.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and products are disclosed for conducting a conference amongst remote participants. Prior to the conference a library of digital objects is communicated to a participant communications device. During the conference a synchronization command is communicated from a host communications device to the participant communications device. The synchronization command commands the participant communications device to present an object from the library of digital objects. A synchronization acknowledgment is then received from the participant communications device, and the synchronization acknowledgment confirms a successful presentation of the object on the participant communications device.

Abstract: A packet switched telephone system includes a packet switched routing apparatus. The packet switched routing apparatus selectively associates a local telephone number with a phone call based on a called telephone number, and routes the phone call based on the called telephone number. The local telephone number may be substituted for a calling telephone number when the called telephone number corresponds to a predefined number, such as an emergency number. When the called telephone number corresponds to an emergency number, the phone call may be routed with the substituted local telephone number to a Public Safety Access Point (PSAP) that services the local area of the subscriber.

Abstract: Systems and methods for automatically segmenting speech inventories. A set of Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) are initialized using bootstrap data. The HMMs are next re-estimated and aligned to produce phone labels. The phone boundaries of the phone labels are then corrected using spectral boundary correction. Optionally, this process of using the spectral-boundary-corrected phone labels as input instead of the bootstrap data is performed iteratively in order to further reduce mismatches between manual labels and phone labels assigned by the HMM approach.

Abstract: Methods and systems are disclosed for enhancing line records with Global Positioning System coordinates. Global Positioning System information is acquired and associated with an address. A line record is assembled for the address using the Global Positioning System information.

Abstract: A unified storefront system includes a recommendation module, a coupon module, and a payment module. The recommendation module is adapted to recommend and cross promote a first plurality of assets based on a user context and based on an access device. The coupon management module is coupled to the recommendation module, and the coupon management module adapted to store a coupon associated with a user account. The payment module is coupled to the recommendation module, and the payment module is adapted to provide an ability to purchase a first asset with a plurality of payment methods during a single transaction.

Abstract: An event notification system includes a provision module, a scheduling module, and a notification module. The provision module is adapted to determine multiple types of devices associated with subscribed services of a user account. The scheduling module is adapted to store a calendar event, and further adapted to generate an impending event signal based upon an impending occurrence of the calendar event. The notification module is in communication with the provision module and the scheduling module. The notification module is adapted receive the impending event signal, adapted to retrieve the multiple types of devices associated with the subscribed services of the user account, adapted to determine which of the multiple types of devices are in current communication with the system, and adapted to send an event notification message to the devices that are in current communication with the system based upon receiving the impending event signal.

Abstract: A network switch. The network switch includes a processor configured to execute a set of instructions to access a recorded announcement with attendant text and to transmit the recorded announcement with the attendant text to a telecommunications device.

Abstract: In a particular embodiment, a method of evaluating a network is disclosed. The method identifies potential failure points between a layer two asynchronous transfer mode network and a layer one Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) network. The method includes identifying a first set of circuit identifiers of inter-nodal links of a layer two asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network, correlating a second set of circuit identifiers associated with elements of a layer one SONET network, identifying a subset of the first set of circuit identifiers of those inter-nodal links that are mated with each other, and comparing the subset of the first set of circuit identifiers to the second set of circuit identifiers to identify single point of failure elements including interface elements and add drop multiplexer elements.

Abstract: A system, method and apparatus for facilitating communication among a number of distributed clients in a distributed network is disclosed. A user, such as through a personal digital assistant device, may select one or more instant messages for transmission to one or more other users in the network. The instant messages may be sound instant message and/or text instant messages. During messaging, message status indicators provide users with the status of their respective messages. In one embodiment, the messages may be deemed to be either pending or received as distinguished by a pending status indicator and a received status indicator.

Abstract: According to MPEG-4's TTS architecture, facial animation can be driven by two streams simultaneously—text, and Facial Animation Parameters. In this architecture, text input is sent to a Text-To-Speech converter at a decoder that drives the mouth shapes of the face. Facial Animation Parameters are sent from an encoder to the face over the communication channel. The present invention includes codes (known as bookmarks) in the text string transmitted to the Text-to-Speech converter, which bookmarks are placed between words as well as inside them. According to the present invention, the bookmarks carry an encoder time stamp. Due to the nature of text-to-speech conversion, the encoder time stamp does not relate to real-world time, and should be interpreted as a counter. In addition, the Facial Animation Parameter stream carries the same encoder time stamp found in the bookmark of the text.