Abstract: A voice platform monitors a conversation between a call center agent and a caller to identify any predetermined keywords or phrases used in the conversation therebetween. These keywords or phrases can then be used to interface into an existing knowledge management system in order to allow information from the system to be pushed to the agent, thus improving agent efficiency. In a preferred embodiment additional processing is provided which generates an information item score based in the detected keywords or phrases, and those information items with the highest scores are then pushed to the agent, by displaying shortcuts to the information to the agent in the form of a shortcut tree.

Abstract: A communications network including nodes which permit networks to be tunnelled across intermediate networks. The present invention has application, in particular, to SDH networks, SONET and OTN. The content of entities for transportation across an existing network are mapped into a series of subframes and are virtually concatenated across the network. Each subframes is assigned a sequence indicator, which allows the original entity to be assembled at a remote node.

Abstract: A datagram network is operated by placing a group address in the source address field of the datagram. Nodes within the datagram network forward the datagram in dependence on the contents of the source address field. This provides many of the scalability advantages offered by Multiprotocol Label Switched (MPLS) networks without introducing the overheads caused by connection set-up in MPLS networks. The method can also easily provide different quality of service levels to different types of packets and is especially useful in providing Virtual Private Networks across a shared internetwork such as the public Internet.

Abstract: A network access arrangement must allocate and store a network address to a client computer. The network access arrangement then monitors file request messages which include an originating network address and compares the originating network address in each request with the stored network address. In the event of a match then instead of returning the requested file, a substituted file is returned to the client. The originating network address is deleted from the network access store such that subsequent file requests are unaffected. Thus, instead of client computer user first receiving the default file requested, a file substituted by the operator of the network access arrangement is received. This substituted file can, for example, contain a variety of information of utility to the user, including news, service information and advertisements.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for detecting a fault in a joint connecting sections of an electrical transmission line together are disclosed. Previously known methods for detecting joint faults require a visual inspection of the joint or testing the transmission line using sophisticated, expensive equipment. This manual testing is expensive and inefficient. In the proposed method, a fault in a joint (301) connecting sections of an electrical transmission line (107) together is detected by measuring the resistance to current flowing through the joint (301) in one and the other directions along said electrical transmission line (107) and detecting a fault in the joint (301) if the measured resistance differs substantially in said one and the other directions. The method has particular utility in relation to low power transmission lines such as telephone lines.

Abstract: The invention provides a modification to the operation of the intelligent network instruction set whereby on transmitting an Initiate Call Attempt message between the SCP 7 and an SSP 4 an instruction is included which forces the SSP 4 to send a response message whereby the identity assigned to the actions requested is known to the SCP 7 prior to the occurrence of a BCSM event at the SSP.

Abstract: The adaptive modification of the security level of a node in a network is enabled. For example, such modification may be achieved in a dynamic network i.e. networks in which nodes may be mobile and in which the network topology is not constant. The node receives beacon signals from other nodes in the network, the signals providing an indication of the alert level of the other nodes and an indication of whether the other nodes are trusted members of the network. The alert level of the node is determined based on the received signals.

Abstract: A device for testing a data carrying service operating over a telecommunications line includes a plurality of test circuits. Each test circuit is arranged to determine and test one or more characteristics of a data carrying service and a termination of the telecommunications line is emulated. The operation of each of the plurality of test circuits is controlled, and the telecommunications lines is connected to one or more of the plurality of test circuits. The data carrying service remains connected via a connection during all of the testing operations provided by one or more of the test circuits which enables the device to automatically determine the identity of the data carrying service. The test circuits may be arranged to enable emulation of a termination to be interconnected so as to enable the device to provide a passive link in the data carrying service and/or provide throughput testing of the telecommunications line.

Abstract: A routing protocol scatters a stream of packets along a number of parallel paths, the packets being treated independently. The next hop for each packet is chosen probabilistically by comparing the ‘resistance’ of available options. The resistance of a given hop depends upon the time the packet would spend in an output buffer from the current node, the time the packet would spend in the input buffer of the next hop node, the transfer time between the nodes and the number of hops that the packet would take from the current node to the ultimate destination of the packet using the shortest path. This routing protocol is more efficient that shortest path first routing under simulation.

Abstract: A work allocation system has a plurality of agents that bid for work in accordance with preferences and behavior of corresponding resources. Each agent represents a group of resources and is arranged to evaluate the likelihood that at least one resource in the group can carry out a work item. The evaluation is dependent on work items previously selected and/or carried out by the resource, so that the agent effectively models the preferences of its workers. The agent can use this preference information to decide a bidding strategy (i.e. to decide which work items it can bid for), and, having successfully bid for a work item, can allocate work based on individual characteristics and observed work preferences. The bidding for work between agents is, for example, conducted in accordance with contract net based negotiation.

Abstract: The luminance and chrominance values of pixels encoded according to MPEG or JPEG encoding are extracted using a forward discrete cosine transform (DCT). The forward DCT used in MPEG encoding is analyzed to derive a set of equations which directly relate a pixel value in an encoded image to one or more of the DCT coefficients obtained via the forward DCT transform in the usual image encoding process. These predetermined equations are used to allow for extremely fast and computationally efficient extraction of pixel values directly from the DCT coefficients of an encoded pixel block, without having to undergo an inverse DCT transform. Original images from MPEG and JPEG encoded versions may be extracted in a fast and efficient manner.

Abstract: A foreground object part is distinguished from a substantially static background part of each videoframe within a video sequence. Each video frame is divided into a number of video blocks each of which comprises one or more pixels. A mask frame is generated in respect of each video frame, each mask frame having a mask block corresponding to each video block in each respective video frame. Each mask block is then set to either an object value, indicating that the corresponding video block in the corresponding video frame includes one or more pixels depicting a foreground object part, or to another value.

Abstract: Security check method and apparatus reduces problems that can arise if the user security data set becomes known by unauthorized persons. To address this problem only part of the user data set is recorded in insecure sections of the system. For example, a security check preventing unauthorized remote access to a shared computer is provided by capturing a user data set representing a user's iris, operating the user's personal computer to select only a portion of the captured data set requested by the shared computer and transmitting the portion along a telecommunications line. The shared computer derives partial data sets from stored user data sets using a similar selection to that used by personal computer and compares the partial data set it has derived with the partial data set transmitted by the personal computer in deciding whether to grant access. Point-of-sale devices and cards recording only partial user data sets are also disclosed.

Abstract: A fault location system for a telecommunications network including a local exchange or switch, a node such as a primary connection point and a plurality of line terminations to the customer includes probability calculation to establish the location of a fault measuring from the exchange. Historical non-faulty reference values of capacitance are compiled for each line passing through the node providing a measure of the distance of each line. A lowest valid capacitance value provides an estimate of the reference capacitance between the exchange and the node. Using various parameters, probability tables are compiled of historic fault values and a new fault is compared against these tables to establish the probability of it being a fault at the node or elsewhere. As a result the reference capacitance can be obtained without the need for an engineer at the node, and the likely location of a fault can be pinpointed with greater accuracy.

Abstract: Security is provided in a network system. A message is received from a user, which message requires authentication of the user. An authentication message is sent indicating the identity of the user to an initial software security agent. The software security agent, on receipt of the authentication message, determines whether information relating to the user is stored on a security database associated with the software security agent, and, if so, the software security agent adds an authentication key to the authentication message. The authentication message is sent on to one or more further software security agents. The prior noted steps are repeated with the further software security agent(s) and, if user-related stored security information is found, adding an authentication key to the authentication message and sending the authentication message on to one or more further software security agents until the number of keys associated with the authentication message equals a predetermined number N.

Abstract: In a communications network, which may be a federated network such as the Internet, a tariff is distributed via the network to customer terminals. At each terminal a charge for use of the network is calculated by using the tariff. Different tariffs may be communicated for different services and a respective tariff may be varied depending upon the operational condition of the service. Different tariffs may be calculated for different customers and the tariffs may be varied in dependence upon the loading of network resources and different tariffs may have different volatilities. Part of the traffic from a user to the network may be sampled and the status of the user may be amended when a discrepancy is detected between the sampled parameters and the contracted parameters in the users contract.

Abstract: An authentication server (AS) is provided which stores authentication details of authorised users, and a list of currently-authenticated users. A number of application servers (APS) are connected to the authentication server (AS), to allow the application servers (APS) to check the current authentication status of a user (T1, T2, T3) which requests service by the application servers (APS).

Abstract: An identification code is assigned to a user by making a selection from a closed set of possible tokens. The selection is determined algorithmically by user identity data. The format of the identification code may comprise a sequence of natural language words chosen from closed sets and a separator character having a fixed value or a small range of possible values. The closed sets may be programmed in the recognition grammar of a speech interface to secure services such as banking.

Abstract: A communications service provision support system supports multiple different types of services during a service session. The system when in use comprises a session manager which performs functions generic to each of the multiple different types of services during service sessions. For each of the multiple types of services, the session manager is arranged during a service session to generate event messages indicating at least one discrete change which has just occurred in the session-related status of individual users of the system without any historical data, and to transmit the event messages to an event handler for processing.

Abstract: In a data distribution system, data is divided into a number of application data units. A sequence of keys is generated systematically, and a different key is used to encrypt each data unit at the source. At the receivers, corresponding keys are generated and used to decrypt the data units to gain access to the data. The constructions used to generate the keys are such that an intrinsically limited subset of the entire sequence of keys is made available to the user by communicating a selected combination of one or more seed values.