Abstract: A call-management method and system for distributing calls to agents, wherein each agent has a profile, e.g., defining agent skills, efficiency, etc. The call center management system implements an algorithm for selecting an agent to receive a call to optimize caller utility, call center efficiency, and agent training. Therefore, the algorithm does not seek to necessarily route a call to the agent having the skill set most suited to the call; rather, the call may be routed to an agent who needs experience in the area of the call, and thus serves as a training exercise. Skilled agents may be made available to shadow the training agent when available.

Abstract: The invention provides a device for enhancing performance of a portable cellular phone within a mobile vehicle. The device includes a housing located within the vehicle into which a portable cellular phone may be placed. The housing includes an exterior layer that reflects noise signals and an interior layer that reduces reflection of communication signals within the housing. Signals are transmitted between the cellular phone and an exterior-mount transceiver by means of a wireless RF coupling device that is contained within the housing and connected to the exterior-mount transceiver using a coaxial cable.

Abstract: The invention provides a microphone for the simultaneous pickup of both ambient background noise and speech in vehicles such as automobiles, aircraft, and marine vessels. The apparatus provides a plurality of cartridges that simultaneously exhibit frequency and polar response characteristics tailored to noise and speech, respectively. In an embodiment of the invention, a single housing contains both a directional microphone and an omni-directional microphone for use in an automobile. In an alternative embodiment, a microphone array having both directional and omni-directional outputs are derived from microphones contained in a single enclosure.

Abstract: A profile management system is provided for accessing and maintaining profile data associated with a telecommunications service subscribed to by a user. The profile data is stored on a telecommunications network which executes the telecommunications service subscribed to by the user in accordance with the profile data. The profile management system includes a client and a server. The client hosts a user interface allowing the user to view and update the profile data. The server processes user requests from the client to view and update the profile data by obtaining the profile data from the telecommunications network and forwarding the profile data to the client. The server also processes user requests from the client to update the profile data by forwarding user updates of the profile data from the client to the telecommunications network.

Abstract: An existing logical data link between a first subscriber terminal connected to a subscriber line of a telecommunications network and a switching center of the telecommunications network is transferred from a first subscriber terminal to a second subscriber terminal which is connected to the subscriber line of the first subscriber terminal or to another subscriber line of the second telecommunications network. The second subscriber terminal receives a message sent from the first subscriber terminal concerning the communication state of the existing logical data link and takes over this data link in the reported communication state, adapting its own state.

Abstract: A communication terminal has a user interface having a keypad and display means, said key pad is included in a releasable housing part assembly, a processor controlling the terminal in dependence of the operation of the user interface, and identification means included in said housing part assembly for identifying the housing part assembly. The processor controls the display means in dependence of the identified housing part assembly.

Abstract: A method, system, and medium for retrieving information stored within a telecommunications-network component is provided. The method includes presenting component information to a user in response to providing one or more links upon which to derive information. The present invention can optionally ensure integrity of the data provided and automatically present information about the communications links entered as well as other signal-transfer-point information. This information includes one or more processor components that service the link as well as all other links serviced by the processor(s). The query results are presented in an easy-to-understand format on a display device via a user interface.

Abstract: An embodiment of the invention is a method of tracking calls from technicians equipped with technician assistance devices. The method includes a call center personnel accessing a call center terminal and the call center personnel receiving a call from a technician. The call center personnel enters call data through a user interface including a plurality of fields, one of the fields being a designation of whether the call from the technician was necessary or unnecessary. The call data is stored. Upon receiving a request from a user, a report is generated identifying the call from the technician as necessary or unnecessary. A system and computer program for implementing the method are disclosed.

Abstract: A communication system comprising a routing system configured to receive a called number from a calling system and responsively transfer a first query to a call processing system wherein the called number comprises a destination number and a correlation code wherein the routing system uses the destination number to route a call and the routing system does not use the correlation code to route the call and wherein the correlation code is for correlating information entered over the call and wherein the first query indicates the destination number, and wherein the call processing system is configured to receive the first query, process the destination number to determine routing instructions for the call, and transfer a first response to the routing system with routing instructions, and wherein the routing system is further configured to receive the first response and responsively route the call according to the routing instructions and provide the correlation code as dialed number information service (DNIS) di

Abstract: An agent-based telephony system is provided for establishing a call between two or more telephony devices interconnected through an automated call dispatch server. The automated call dispatch server includes a call control agent for processing call requests; a call resource management agent in communication with the call control agent for allocating and controlling the resources needed to establish a call between telephony devices; and a resource control agent in communication with the call resource management agent for providing a hardware-dependent interface to the telephony devices.

Abstract: A method of controlling operation of a wireless device configured in a zero intermediate frequency architecture including a DC loop and a gain loop. The method includes processing energy in a wireless medium to generate a corresponding receive signal, monitoring the receive signal via a predetermined measurement window, detecting a changed condition in the channel, holding the gain feedback control loop at a constant gain level, and operating the DC loop in an attempt to search a stable DC value for the receive signal while the gain loop is held constant. A first case is DC saturation, where the gain is held constant until DC is controlled. A second case is clear channel assessment, where a prior stored gain setting is applied to the gain loop after detecting the end of the packet. A third case is preparation for receiving an expected acknowledgement packet after transmitting a packet, where again a prior stored gain setting is applied to the gain loop and DC is searched.

Abstract: A system, including a method for prioritizing on hold calls connected to an automated telephone system is disclosed. The system and method utilizes customer information retrieved from a customer database as call prioritizing information for each connected call. The method begins by connecting a plurality of calls to the automated telephone system. Caller identifying information is obtained from each connected call and each connected call is placed on hold. Then, a customer database is searched and a customer database record is identified corresponding the obtained caller identifying information for each connected call. A call record for each connected call is created and inserted into the hold queue. Each call record includes the caller identifying information and call prioritizing information corresponding to the connected call. The connected calls are then directed to available agents based on the call prioritizing information stored in each call record in the hold queue.

Abstract: A method of tracking calls received within a call center is disclosed. A call is received within a call center switch that is connected to a call center via a host interface link (HIL). The call center has an automatic call distributor (ACD) server and interactive voice response (IVR) server, which is functionally integrated with the ACD server. The call is routed to the IVR server of the call center and responses are solicited from the caller to determine a requested type of service and what skills are required for answering a call. A route request based on an HIL protocol is determined within the call center and includes a new extension number and HIL messages. The call is routed based on the route request back to the call center and to an agent via the ACD server and HIL link such that the call can be tracked while in the call center and in queue.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of communicating emergency call information originating from wireless phones among multiple entities using a set of network signaling operations for pooling and reconciling records of emergency calls and identifications for sources of fraudulent calls. A set of network signaling operations is described herein for communicating records of emergency calls among network entities of same or different levels, and for communicating identified sources of fraudulent calls among network entities of same or different levels.

Abstract: An audio conferencing apparatus and method. The apparatus includes a data bus, such as a TDM bus, a controller, and an interface circuit that receives audio signals from a plurality of conference participants and provides digitized audio signals in assigned time slots over the TDM bus. The audio conferencing platform also includes a plurality of digital signal processors (DSPs) adapted to communicate on the TDM bus with the interface circuit. At least one of the DSPs sums a plurality of the digitized audio signals associated with conference participants who are speaking, to provide a summed conference signal. This DSP provides the summed conference signal to at least one of the other DSPs, which removes the digitized audio signal associated with a speaker whose voice is included in the summed conference signal, to provide a customized conference audio signal to each of the speakers.

Abstract: A call center includes functionality for dynamically positioning newly received calls within an established call queue. The calls are positioned within the queue based on predefined service objectives for call types supported by the call center and a length of time that other calls have already been waiting in the queue. In a preferred embodiment, when a new call is received by the call center, an analysis is performed for individual queue positions within the queue until a queue position is identified that meets a predetermined selection criterion. The new call is then placed within this queue position and subsequent calls within the queue are moved accordingly.

Abstract: A cell search is continuously performed with respect to an active base station and peripheral base station which are objects, when a path from the active base station cannot be detected as a result of path search in a wake-up period in a standby state. Subsequently, an error of a reception frequency is detected based on the path detected by the cell search, and the reception frequency of a receiver is corrected so as to decrease the detected frequency error.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for call-limiting one or more candidate calls received by a router is disclosed. The method and apparatus may be configured to determine whether ringing one or more candidate calls will exceed a predetermined power limit. If ringing the calls will not exceed said power limit, the calls may be forwarded. If ringing the calls will exceed the power limit, the calls may be placed in a queue.

Abstract: A distributed call progress tone detection system and method of operation thereof. In one embodiment, the system includes a switching partition having line interface modules, a call progress tone detector configured to perform call progress tone detection analysis, and an input-output distributor configured to employ a circuit to interconnect the call progress tone detector and a first of the line interface modules. The system further includes a main control unit configured to receive requests from an application over a packet network, transmit call and control processing commands to the switching partition, create an interconnection between the first of the line interface modules and a second of the line interface modules based on an indication generated by the call progress tone detector and notify the application of the interconnection.

Abstract: To avoid interference with the reverse link of a base station within an underlay area, a described method determines when to redirect and handover a mobile terminal that is still communicating on an adjacent carrier with a border base station within an overlay area but is within the coverage area of the base station in the underlay area.