Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
84001720
TOLL-FREE TELECOMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT PLATFORM
[0001]
[0002]
FIELD
[0003] This
disclosure is related to the operation, control and management of toll-
free telecommunication lines.
BACKGROUND
[0004]
Businesses increasingly use toll-free telephone numbers for providing
customers with a convenient and cost-free means of communicating with them and
their
various departments, such as customer service and technical support
representatives. With the
proliferation of toll-free numbers and advanced business analytics for
receiving, routing, and
logging, the use of such numbers has come increased complexity in managing
toll-free
numbers.
SUMMARY
[0005] A method
according to one disclosed non-limiting embodiment of the
present disclosure can include receiving a one-click activate request from a
user, wherein the
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request includes at least a customer record template reference and an
indication of when to
active a toll-free number associated with the request; searching a responsible
organization
record to determine the presence of a defined customer template record
relating to the user
request, wherein the responsible organization is associated with toll-free
telecommunications;
retrieving at least one customer template record, wherein the customer
template record is a
defined customer template record for the responsible organization; and
activating the user
request, wherein the activation includes at least one of activating or
reserving the toll-free
number.
[0006] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the one-
click activate request is received from a widget that is operable on a client
device.
[0007] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the at
least one customer template record includes call path data derived at least in
part from a
predictive analytics engine.
[0008] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the
activation of the user request creates a toll-free service provider identifier
(TSPID) that is
associated with the user.
[0009] A method according to one disclosed non-limiting embodiment of
the
present disclosure can include creating at least two toll-free call routing
tables based on a
congestion threshold criterion, wherein the first of the two call routing
tables is to be used
when toll-free call volumes occurring within a toll-free telecommunications
carrier network
are below the congestion threshold, and the second of the two call routing
tables is to be used
when toll-free call volumes occurring within a toll-free telecommunications
carrier network
are equal to or above the congestion threshold; providing the call routing
tables to at least one
service control point that is associated with the toll-free telecommunications
carrier network;
monitoring toll-free call volumes and durations occurring within a toll-free
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telecommunications carrier network; receiving at least one of a call count
datum or call
duration datum from the toll-free telecommunications carrier network wherein
the call count
datum or call duration datum indicates a change in call volumes over the toll-
free
telecommunications carrier network from below the congestion threshold to
above the
congestion threshold; and instructing the service control point to switch from
using the first
call routing table to the second call routing table.
[0010] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the
switch from the first call routing table to the second call routing table is
based at least in part
on the receipt of an abuse report associated with toll-free number within the
toll-free
telecommunications carrier network.
[0011] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the call
volume is expressed as a percentage of the total call volume occurring over
the network.
[0012] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the call
volume is specific to an entity.
[0013] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the
switch to the second call routing table is automated and occurs in real time.
[0014] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
decision
nodes of the first and second call routing tables are loaded into the service
control point.
[0015] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the call
volumes are used to create a call path score for a possible call route path
that is available on
the network.
[0016] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the call
path score is based at least in part on a call travel distance estimate.
[0017] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the call
path score is based at least in part on a call travel speed estimate.
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[0018] A method according to one disclosed non-limiting embodiment of the
present disclosure can include receiving data relating to toll-free number
call activity from a
toll-free telecommunications system, wherein the data includes at least one of
call duration or
call count data; receiving third party data relating to macroeconomic
activity; modeling at
least one of call duration or call count data with the third party data to
derive a
macroeconomic trend; receiving a request from a client device to present the
macroeconomic
trend; and presenting a representation of the macroeconomic trend to a user
interface on the
client device.
[0019] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the
presentation of the macroeconomic trend is presented to the user interface in
conjunction with
a sponsored content.
[0020] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the third
party data is stock market data.
[0021] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the third
party data is Bloomberg TM data.
[0022] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the third
party data is government data.
[0023] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the third
party data is social media data.
[0024] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
there is a
temporal delay between the time of the request and the time of the
presentation of long
enough duration that the client device enters a sleep mode as regards the
interaction, and the
client device is activated out of sleep mode upon the presentation.
[0025] A method according to one disclosed non-limiting embodiment of the
present disclosure can include receiving a one-click activate request from a
user, wherein the
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request includes at least a customer record template reference and an
indication of when to
active a toll-free number associated with the request; searching a responsible
organization
record to determine the presence of a defined customer template record
relating to the user
request, wherein the responsible organization is associated with toll-free
telecommunications;
retrieving at least one customer template record, wherein the customer
template record is a
defined customer template record for the responsible organization; and
activating the user
request, wherein the activation includes at least one of activating or
reserving the toll-free
number.
[0026] A user interface according to one disclosed non-limiting
embodiment of
the present disclosure can include a webpage; and a widget operable to reserve
a toll free
number embedded within the webpage.
[0027] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the
widget provides a login element.
[0028] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the
widget provides a search feature for the toll free number.
[0029] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the
widget provides a reservation feature for the toll free number.
[0030] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the
widget provides an activation feature for the toll free number.
[0031] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the
widget provides historical information related to actions previously
perfottned by a user.
[0032] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the
widget provides one-click functionality.
[0033] A method to secure user interface according to one disclosed non-
limiting
embodiment of the present disclosure can include lazy loading a widget
operable to reserve a
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toll free number embedded within a webpage.
[0034] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include
providing a
login element upon loading of the widget.
[0035] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include
providing a
search feature for the toll free number.
[0036] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include
providing a
reservation feature for the toll free number.
[0037] A method according to one disclosed non-limiting embodiment of the
present disclosure can include receiving data relating to at least one of a
dip rate or dip
volume that is associated with a toll-free number; receiving social media data
relating to
usage of the toll-free number; analyzing the combined data and social media
data to create a
valuation metadata tag that is associated with the toll-free number, wherein
the valuation
metadata is a quantitative summary of the demand associated with the toll-free
number; and
distributing a communication to an entity regarding the current valuation of
the toll-free
number.
[0038] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the data
is data sniffer data.
[0039] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the tag
includes data related to a category of toll-free number.
[0040] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the
category relates to an industry segment.
[0041] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the tag
includes data relating to popularity as derived at least in part from the
search history
associated with the toll-free number.
[0042] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the tag
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includes location information associated with the toll-free number.
[0043] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the tag
includes financial information associated with the toll-free number.
[0044] A method according to one disclosed non-limiting embodiment of the
present disclosure can include analyzing data relating to a toll-free number
and social media
data to create a valuation metadata tag that is associated with the toll-free
number, wherein
the valuation metadata is a quantitative summary of the inferred economic
activity associated
with the toll-free number; inferring a rating of a second toll-free number
based at least in part
on the valuation metadata, wherein the toll-free number and the second toll-
free number share
an attribute; and storing the inferred rating of the second toll-free number.
[0045] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the data
is data sniffer data.
[0046] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the
inferred rating is presented to a user in a user interface upon the user
submitting a toll-free
number query.
[0047] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the
inferred rating generates an alert to a user if it exceeds a given rating
value.
[0048] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the alert
is sent to a user sharing the attribute.
[0049] A method according to one disclosed non-limiting embodiment of the
present disclosure can include receiving data relating to at least one of a
dip rate or dip
volume that is associated with a toll-free number; receiving social media data
relating to
usage of the toll-free number; analyzing the combined data and social media
data to create a
valuation metadata tag that is associated with the toll-free number, wherein
the valuation
metadata is a quantitative summary of the demand associated with the toll-free
number; and
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initiating a toll-free number reservation based on the current valuation of
the toll-free
number.
[0050] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the data
is data sniffer data.
[0051] A method according to one disclosed non-limiting embodiment of the
present disclosure can include creating at least two toll-free call routing
tables based on a
congestion threshold criterion, wherein the first of the two call routing
tables is to be used
when toll-free call volumes occurring within a toll-free telecommunications
carrier network
are below the congestion threshold, and the second of the two call routing
tables is to be used
when toll-free call volumes occurring within a toll-free telecommunications
carrier network
are equal to or above the congestion threshold; providing the call routing
tables to at least one
service control point that is associated with the toll-free telecommunications
carrier network;
monitoring toll-free call volumes and durations occurring within a toll-
free telecommunications carrier network; receiving at least one of a call
count datum or call
duration datum from the toll-free telecommunications carrier network wherein
the call count
datum or call duration datum indicates a change in call volumes over the toll-
free
telecommunications carrier network from below the congestion threshold to
above the
congestion threshold; and instructing the service control point to switch from
using the first
call routing table to the second call routing table.
[0052] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the call
volume is expressed as a percentage of the total call volume occurring over
the network.
[0053] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the call
volume is an indication of a network failure to transmit calls.
[0054] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the call
volume is specific to an entity.
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[0055] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the entity
is a carrier.
[0056] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the entity
is a call center.
[0057] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the entity
is a service control point.
[0058] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the
switch to the second call routing table is automated and occurs in real time.
[0059] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
decision
nodes of the first and second call routing tables are loaded into the service
control point.
[0060] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the call
volumes are used to create a call path score for a possible call route path
that is available on
the network.
[0061] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the call
path score is based at least in part on a call travel distance estimate.
[0062] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the call
path score is based at least in part on a call travel speed estimate.
[0063] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the call
path score is used in association with the congestion threshold criterion to
determine the
switch to the second call route table.
[0064] A method according to one disclosed non-limiting embodiment of the
present disclosure can include associating a toll-free telecommunications
network congestion
threshold criterion with a first rule regarding the usage of a plurality of
call routing tables,
and a second rule regarding the usage of a plurality of telecommunications
carriers, wherein
the congestion threshold criterion indicates a level of toll-free call volumes
occurring within
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the toll-free telecommunications network; and switching toll-free calls across
the
telecommunications carriers based at least on the congestion threshold
criterion, wherein the
switched calls are further routing according to at least one of the plurality
of call routing
tables.
[0065] A method according to one disclosed non-limiting embodiment of the
present disclosure can include creating at least two toll-free call routing
tables based on a
congestion threshold criterion, wherein the first of the two call routing
tables is to be used
when toll-free call volumes occurring within a toll-free telecommunications
carrier network
are below the congestion threshold, and the second of the two call routing
tables is to be used
when toll-free call volumes occurring within a toll-free telecommunications
carrier network
are equal to or above the congestion threshold; providing the call routing
tables to at least one
service control point that is associated with the toll-free telecommunications
carrier network;
monitoring toll-free call volumes and durations occurring within a toll-free
telecommunications carrier network; receiving at least one of a call count
datum or call
duration datum from the toll-free telecommunications carrier network wherein
the call count
datum or call duration datum indicates a change in call volumes over the toll-
free
telecommunications carrier network from below the congestion threshold to
above the
congestion threshold; creating a second congestion threshold criterion based
on the data
received from the toll-free telecommunications network; and creating a third
call routing
table based on the second congestion threshold criterion.
[0066] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the toll-
free call traffic occurring within a toll-free telecommunications network is
switched based at
least in part on one of the first or second congestion threshold criterion.
[0067] A method of identifying and storing an identifier associated with
a toll-
free-communication entity, according to one disclosed non-limiting embodiment
of the
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present disclosure can include locating an identifier within the header
portion of an SMS text
message routed over a toll-free telecommunications line, the identifier
located based at least
in part through latent semantic indexing; comparing the located identifier
with metadata
stored on a server, the metadata associated with a plurality of entities;
selecting an entity from
among the plurality of entities based at least in part on the comparison; and
storing a code
associated with the entity within a translation table associated with a toll-
free
telecommunications management platform.
[0068] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the code
is an FCC code.
[0069] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the entity
is engaged in multimedia content distribution.
[0070] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the entity
is an ad agency.
[0071] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the
translation table pertains to routing voice data.
[0072] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the
translation table pertains to routing multimedia data.
[0073] A method of creating and storing an identifier associated with a
toll-free-
communication entity, according to one disclosed non-limiting embodiment of
the present
disclosure can include locating data within the header portion of an SMS text
message routed
over a toll-free telecommunications line, the data located based at least in
part through latent
semantic indexing; creating an entity identifier based at least on the data;
storing a code
associated with the entity identifier and an entity within a translation table
associated with a
toll-free telecommunications management platform; and associating the entity
and entity
identifier with a call routing table.
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[0074] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the call
routing table is configured to include multiple carriers.
[0075] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the call
routing table is configured to have at least on rule pertaining to the time of
day at which a call
occurs.
[0076] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the call
routing table is configured to have at least one rule pertaining to the
proximity of a caller to
the entity.
[0077] A method of identifying and storing an identifier associated with
a toll-
free-communication entity, according to one disclosed non-limiting embodiment
of the
present disclosure can include identifying a toll-free call route trend among
a plurality of toll-
free calls taking place within a toll-free telecommunications network; wherein
the call route
trend is identified at least in part by call routings among toll-free numbers
sharing an
attribute; creating a call route template based at least in part on the trend;
identifying an entity
using at least one toll-free number with the shared attribute; prepopulating a
call route tree for
the entity based on the call route template.
[0078] A method according to one disclosed non-limiting embodiment of the
present disclosure can include storing a taxonomy of abuse events that may
occur regarding
the usage of a toll-free number; storing a rule regarding an action to take
upon receipt of a
reported abuse event, wherein the rule specifies a routing rule defining how a
call that is
associated with the abuse event is to be routed over a toll-free
telecommunications system;
receiving a report of abuse of a toll-free number; identifying at least one
abuse event within
the stored taxonomy and routing rule that is related to content of the abuse
report; and
automatically routing a call that is the subject of the abuse report according
to the routing
rule.
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[0079] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the report
of abuse derives from a call center.
[0080] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the report
of abuse derives from a telecommunications carrier.
[0081] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the report
of abuse derives from a business entity.
[0082] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the
routing rule is integrated within a call routing template.
[0083] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the call
routing template is shared with an entity other than that generating the
report of abuse.
[0084] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the
routing of the call is manual instead of automatic.
[0085] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the report
of abuse includes data relating to a responsible organization.
[0086] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the report
of abuse includes data relating to a time of the abuse event.
[0087] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the report
of abuse includes data relating to an originating number.
[0088] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the report
of abuse includes data relating to a geographic location of an originating
number.
[0089] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the report
of abuse includes data relating to a geographic location of a terminating
number.
[0090] A method according to one disclosed non-limiting embodiment of the
present disclosure can include receiving a report of abuse of a toll-free
number; identifying an
absence of an abuse event definition within a stored taxonomy that is related
to the type of
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abuse reported; storing a new definition of the abuse event within the
taxonomy; and creating
a routing rule defining how a call that is associated with the abuse event is
to be routed over a
toll-free telecommunications system.
[0091] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the stored
definition is further associated with third party industry data.
[0092] A method according to one disclosed non-limiting embodiment of the
present disclosure can include storing a taxonomy of abuse events that may
occur regarding
the usage of a toll-free number; associating the abuse events in the taxonomy
with a toll-free
number rating action; receiving a report of abuse of a toll-free number;
identifying at least
one abuse event within the stored taxonomy and rating action that is related
to content of the
abuse report; automatically computing a rating for the toll-free number based
on the rating
action; and reporting the rating to an entity.
[0093] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the rating
is associated with a call routing rule.
[0094] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the call
routing rule is shared with a service provider.
[0095] A mobile device, according to one disclosed non-limiting
embodiment of
the present disclosure may include a unique toll-free ID (TFID) present in the
mobile device,
the TFID operable to facilitate toll-free communication between the mobile
device and a
manufacturer.
[0096] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the TFID
is hard flashed in the mobile device and present at the time of manufacture of
the mobile
device.
[0097] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the TFID
is operable to identify a customer.
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[0098] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the TFID
is operable to identify a toll free provider that is providing the toll free
communication.
[0099] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
the TFID
is provided via a standard support app that is natively installed.
[00100] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that the
TFID
is agnostic of type of mobile device.
[00101] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that the
TFID
facilitates a consumer's ability to at least one of talk, message, view, and
browse support
related features associated with merchandise at a point of sale.
[00102] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that the
TFID
facilitates a registration process.
[00103] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that the
TFID
facilitates a warranty process.
[00104] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include a TFID
Mobile App resident on the mobile device, the TFID Mobile App operable with
the TFID.
[00105] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that the
TFID
Mobile App facilitates reading of at least one of a QR code, Barcode, RFID,
and a serial
number via a camera of the mobile device.
[00106] A method of communication via a toll-free service according to one
disclosed non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure can include
associating at least
one mobile device to merchandise purchased from a manufacturer via a unique
toll-free ID
(TFID) present in the mobile device, the TFID operable to facilitate toll-free
communication
between the mobile device and the manufacturer.
1001071 A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include reading of
at
least one of a QR code, Barcode, RFID, and a serial number via a camera of the
mobile
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device.
1001081 A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include associating
at
least one of the QR code, Barcode, RFID, and the serial number with the TFID
via a TFID
Mobile App.
[00109] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include identifying
a
customer via the TFID.
[00110] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include identifying
a
toll free provider that is providing the toll free service via the TFID.
[00111] A method according to one disclosed non-limiting embodiment of the
present disclosure can include receiving data relating to toll-free number
call activity from a
toll-free telecommunications system, wherein the data includes at least one of
call duration or
call count data; receiving third party data relating to macroeconomic
activity; modeling at
least one of call duration or call count data with the third party data to
derive a
macroeconomic trend; receiving a request from a client device to present the
macroeconomic
trend; and presenting a representation of the macroeconomic trend to a user
interface on the
client device.
[00112] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that the
toll-
free telecommunications system is a toll-free service provider.
[00113] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that the
toll-
free telecommunications system is a service control point.
[00114] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that the
toll-
free telecommunications system is an interex change carrier.
[00115] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that the
third
party data is stock market data.
[00116] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that the
third
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party data is Bloomberg TM data.
1001171 A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that the
third
party data is government data.
[00118] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that the
third
party data is social media data.
[00119] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that the
third
party data is credit card processing data.
[00120] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that
there
is a temporal delay between the time of the request and the time of the
presentation of long
enough duration that the client device enters a sleep mode as regards the
interaction, and the
client device is activated out of sleep mode upon the presentation.
[00121] A method according to one disclosed non-limiting embodiment of the
present disclosure can include receiving data relating to toll-free number
call activity from a
toll-free telecommunications system, wherein the data includes at least one of
call duration or
call count data; receiving metadata about the toll-free numbers that are the
subject of the call
activity, wherein the metadata includes data pertaining to at least one of
business type or
location; modeling at least one of call duration or call count data with the
metadata to derive
a macroeconomic trend; receiving a request from a client device to present the
macroeconomic trend; and presenting a representation of the macroeconomic
trend to a user
interface on the client device.
[00122] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that the
business type is a governmental office.
[00123] A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include that the
governmental office is an unemployment office.
[00124] A method of distributing a macroeconomic data trend over a network to
a
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remote client device, according to one disclosed non-limiting embodiment of
the present
disclosure can include providing a user interface dashboard to a user for
installation on the
remote client device; receiving third party social media data; modeling at
least one of call
duration or call count data with the third party social media data to derive a
macroeconomic
trend; receiving a request from the remote client device to present the
macroeconomic data
trend; generating an alert from the macroeconomic data trend that contains a
stock name,
stock price and a universal resource locator (URL), which specifies the
location of the data
source; transmitting the alert over a communication channel to the remote
client device
associated with the user based upon a destination address and transmission
schedule that is
associated with the remote client device, wherein the alert activates the user
interface
dashboard to cause the alert to display on the remote client device and to
enable connection
with the user interface dashboard when the remote client device is activated.
[00125] The foregoing features and elements may be combined in various
combinations without exclusivity, unless expressly indicated otherwise. These
features and
elements as well as the operation thereof will become more apparent in light
of the following
description and the accompanying drawings. It should be appreciated, however,
the
following description and drawings are intended to be exemplary in nature and
non-limiting.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[00126] Various features will become apparent to those skilled in the art from
the
following detailed description of the disclosed non-limiting embodiments. The
drawings that
accompany the detailed description can be briefly described as follows:
[00127] Figure 1 depicts a high level view of a toll-free management platform.
[00128] Figure 2 depicts a simplified illustration of a toll-free management
platform.
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[00129] Figure 3 depicts a schematic view for a decision tree for the Customer
Record Template Builder (CRTB).
[00130] Figure 4 depicts a schematic of an example conceptual Call Processing
Record (CPR) Routing Tree.
[00131] Figure 5 depicts a simplified flow diagram for constructing a call
routing
template based at least part on natural language inputs from a user.
[00132] Figure 6 depicts a schematic view of a routing tree based disaster
recovery
and performance statistic structure.
[00133] Figure 7 depicts a schematic view of a customer dashboard structure.
[00134] Figure 8 depicts a schematic view of a whitelist management for toll-
free
spam control system.
[00135] Figure 9 depicts a schematic view of a Toll Free Number (TFN) abuse
reporting database for whitelist management for toll-free spam control system.
[00136] Figure 10 depicts a toll-free smart services central registry
deployed in
conjunction with an existing toll-free voice registry.
[00137] Figure 11 depicts a candidate service enablement workflow deployed via
a
toll-free smart services central registry.
[00138] Figure 12 depicts a schematic view of a systems page on a hard-flashed
phone with a toll-free number.
[00139] Figure 13 depicts a schematic view of a hard-flashed phone to a toll-
free
number that may be used for a customer or tech support call related to the
phone.
[00140] Figure 14 depicts a schematic view of a Toll-Free Service Provider ID
(TSPID).
1001411 Figure 15 depicts a schematic view of real time machine based routing
tree
enhancements.
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[00142] Figures 16-20 depict simplified schematic architecture views of
toll-free
Management Architectures.
[00143] Figure 21 depicts a schematic view of a system for predictive
analytics
based on toll-free number utilization.
[00144] Figures 22-26 depict a schematic view of a system for search result
population based on customer profile/behavior.
[00145] Figure 27 depicts a simplified view of a toll-free Management
Architecture.
[00146] Figure 28 depicts a North American Numbering Plan Administration
(NANPA) format.
1001471 Figure 29 depicts a schematic of an SS7 architecture.
[00148] Figure 30 depicts a schematic of toll-free call processing.
[00149] Figure 31 depicts a schematic of toll-free business interactions.
[00150] Figure 32 depicts a schematic of a toll-free IP Future State.
[00151] Figure 33 depicts a schematic of a Number Administration future state.
[00152] Figure 34 depicts a schematic view of a system for tagging toll-free
numbers.
[00153] Figure 35 depicts a schematic of a call routing future state.
[00154] Figures 36-39 are schematic views of a one-click activation system.
[00155] Figure 40 is a schematic of a current system flow.
[00156] Figure 41 depicts a Customer Record Status State Diagram.
[00157] Figure 42 depicts a Customer Record Status State Diagram.
[00158] Figure 43 depicts a schematic of a Carrier Identification Code (CIC)
validations abbreviated summary flow from a service provider perspective.
[00159] Figure 44 depicts a schematic of a Carrier Identification Code (CR)
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validations flow.
1001601 Figure 45 depicts a schematic of Service Control Point (SCP)
interactions.
[00161] Figure 46 depicts a schematic of an API interface used by Customer
Record Administration and Number Administration components of the disclosed
embodiment.
[00162] Figure 47 depicts a schematic representation of a disaster recovery
scenario.
[00163] Figure 48 is an example of hourly Responsible Organization Search
activity.
[00164] Figure 49 is an example of hourly Responsible Organization Reservation
activity.
[00165] Figure 50 is an example of hourly Responsible Organization Spare
activity.
[00166] Figure 51 depicts a graphical representation of daily customer records
updates.
[00167] Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are
illustrated
for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For
example, the
dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative
to other
elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the methods and
systems
disclosed herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[00168] The present disclosure will now be described in detail by describing
various illustrative, non-limiting embodiments thereof with reference to the
accompanying
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drawings and exhibits. The disclosure may, however, be embodied in many
different forms
and should not be construed as being limited to the illustrative embodiments
set forth herein.
Rather, the embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough
and will fully
convey the concept of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. The claims
should be
consulted to ascertain the true scope of the disclosure.
[00169] With reference to Figure 1, a Toll-Free Management Platform (TFMP) 100
includes methods and systems for number administration 102, customer
administration 104,
call management services 108, texting services 110 and text registry, and a
smart services
registry 112, as described herein. The TFMP may allow users to search for,
receive
recommendations for, and make reservations of toll-free numbers 114. A user
interface may
allow activating a toll-free number, for example through a one-click
activation function 118,
as described herein. Users may access the TFMP to create and access existing
templates 120
of toll-free call routing templates, and utilize a routing tree engine 122 to
create customized
call routing trees for the toll-free numbers of interest to the user. A Toll-
Free Service
Provider ID "TSPID," 124 may provide an aggregate identifier for Service
Registrars, who
provide services such as, but not limited to, SMS, MMS, video conferencing,
and streaming
content. Predictive analytic services 128 may be provided that allow a user
154 through a
customizable user interface, or "dashboard," 132 to access third party data
sources 144 and
information derived from toll-free telecommunications networks, including but
not limited to
telecommunications carriers 140, service control points 144, call centers 142,
or other parties
affiliated with a toll-free telecommunication network 138. Access to third
party data sources
146 outside of the TFMP 100 may be, for example, through the Internet 150, a
cloud
computing environment 148, a virtual private network, or some other
connectivity. A user
154 may access the reporting capabilities of the TFMP through a client device
152, such as a
personal computer, mobile phone, tablet computer, or some other computing
facility, and
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receive data, including multimedia to the user's client device.
Functionalities of the TFMP
include, but are not limited to, Number Administration (NA) and Customer
Record (CR)
administration (Figure 2).
[00170] With reference to Figure 2, the main functional components of the TFMP
100, illustrating examples of the functionality provided by the TFMP and
interfaces 204 to
the TFMP 100. The NA function 102 may allow toll-free providers to search a
pool of toll-
free numbers using specified criteria and reserve numbers that will be used by
toll-free
subscribers, and perform CR administration 104. This functionality may
include, but is not
limited to, storing toll-free provider and telecommunications data 210,
reporting processes
212, billing, and service control point (SCP), and management functionality
220 for the
coordination with SCPs 222.
[00171] Responsible organizations, also referred to herein as "RespOrgs," 202,
may utilize the TFMP 100. Reporting from the TFMP 100 may be back to RespOrgs
or to
other systems and platforms 124 that are external to the TFMP 100. The TFMP
enables
searching for any random number or to search for a plurality of numbers that
are consecutive
and/or include an indicated combination of digits. Since certain toll-free
number codes (e.g.
800) and combinations of digits (e.g. repeating digits, digits whose
corresponding telephone
keypad letter values spell a word or phrase) may be considered most desirable,
the NA
function 102 includes capabilities for searches and reservations to be handled
so that a toll-
free provider does not gain an advantage to reserve a given toll-free number.
1001721 The TFMP 100 also enables tracking the overall assignment of numbers
for each toll-free provider to enforce regulations for toll-free number
allocation specified by a
tariff NA may maintain a status for each number that reflects whether it has
been reserved
and whether a customer record has been created and sent to SCPs. It is
possible to query the
TFMP 100 for status and reservation information associated with a toll free
number.
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[00173] A view of the main functional components which is intended to
illustrate
the functionality provided by embodiments of the system and is not intended to
reflect design
or implementation of the current system or a potential replacement system. In
addition to the
functional components embodiments may alternatively or additionally provide
Operations,
Administration, Maintenance, and Provisioning (0AM&P) capabilities to
configure,
maintain, monitor and audit the system.
[00174] The NA function 102 facilitates toll-free service providers to search
the
pool of to11-11-ce numbers using specified criteria and reserve numbers that
can be used by
toll-free subscribers. It is possible to search for any random number or to
search for a
number or numbers that may be consecutive and/or include an indicated
combination of
digits. Numbers may be reserved on a First In ¨ First Out basis. It is also
necessary to track
the overall assignment of numbers for each toll-free service provider in order
to enforce
regulations for toll-free number allocation specified by a tariff.
[00175] The NA function 102 may maintain a status for each number that
reflects
whether it has been reserved and whether a customer record has been created
and sent to
SCPs. It is possible to query embodiments of the system for status and
reservation
information associated with a number.
A reserved toll-free number becomes active when routing information for the
number, specified in a CR, is uploaded into SCPs. The CR administration 104
function facilitates toll-free service providers to create a CR and to specify
when the information should be sent to SCPs. Records can be updated or
deleted and the send time can be updated prior to sending. Once a CR has
been sent, a record can be created to update or delete the routing specified
by
the previous record. The routing information specified in a customer record
may typically includes:
a. An Area of Service (AOS) that specifics from where the toll-
free number can receive calls;
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b. The carrier that can route calls to the toll-free number;
c. The terminating number that can receive calls to the toll-free
number; and
d. Optionally, a set of rules that specifies different routing based
on criteria like time of day and area from where the call
originated.
[00176] Carriers who have arrangements to carry calls for a toll-free service
provider may approve the CR when routing for a toll-free number has been
assigned to the
carrier. The CR administration 104maintains a list of carriers and preferences
for whether
approval is required when a toll-free service provider indicates the carrier
in a CR. A
notification is sent carrier when approval of a CR is required. Each CR has an
associated
status. CRs can be queried to view the status and information contained in the
record, based
on the permissions of the user.
[00177] The user interface function facilitates manual access for human users
and
mechanized access for systems to make use of the NA and CR functions. The
mechanized
interface provided by a current system is known as Mechanized Generic
Interface (MGI).
Capabilities may be required for external users to establish data connectivity
with
embodiments of the system and gain access to the available functions. In
embodiments, the
system can maintain logins and passwords to provide security to limit system
access to only
authorized users. Permission levels that restrict access to system functions
and to proprietary
data may be assigned for each authorized user. In addition, the user interface
function may
provide notifications and other information to external users using mechanisms
such as email
and File Transfer Protocol (FTP).
[00178] In embodiments, interfaces are maintained to send routing information
from CRs to SCPs. The SCP Management Function manages interactions with SCPs,
including maintaining data connectivity, sending CR information at the
specified date and
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time and monitoring responses in order to update customer record status. The
SCP interface
is specified by TM-STS-00798, CMSDB/SMS Interface Specification Manual and
Interface
Message Manual.
[00179] The SCP Administration functions allow users to establish and modify
SCP-related reference data in embodiments of the system and send messages to
the SCP node
and the Call Management Services Database (CMSDB) within the SCP to manage
data tables
at the SCP.
[00180] Network management functions for toll-free database service involves
the
management of various automatic capabilities intended to monitor and control
toll-free query
traffic and calling volumes at the Service Control Points, Service Switching
Points,
teiminating switches and terminating subscriber lines. When various call
volume thresholds
may be exceeded, the SCPs trigger Automatic Code Gapping (ACG) controls at the
originating SSPs. The Network Management functions allow network managers to
configure
and adjust the relevant control parameters. Data collection at the SCPs can be
requested to
provide network managers with relevant surveillance information useful to
monitor traffic
and analyze problems, such as the detection of SCP overloads and excessive
calling or
excessive ineffective attempts to dialed codes.
[00181] To track user actions, system events, and performance statistics and
format
the information into reports for toll-free service providers and system
administrators,
embodiments of the system may provide capabilities for users to request
reports and for
delivery of report results in various formats. Reports may be requested online
by users as per
the assigned permissions and delivered over the interface on which the report
was requested.
It is also possible for users to request reports offline. Offline reports may
be compiled in
embodiments by the system administrator using information provided by the
system. It
should be appreciated that other requests may be performed.
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[00182] The disclosed embodiment may track and report on events that can
result
in charges to toll-free service providers. A tariff specifies the rate
elements that can result in
charges on a monthly bill and the rate to be charged. A tariff specifies the
rate elements that
can result in charges on a monthly bill and the rate to be charged. These
include
establishment of a system logon ID, monthly access to the system, reservation
of a toll-free
number, and report requests. Information provided by embodiments of the system
is needed
to calculate monthly charges and create monthly bills that may be sent to each
toll-free
service provider.
[00183] The user interface function facilitates manual access for human users
and
mechanized access for systems to make use of the NA and CR functions provided
by the
disclosed embodiment. The mechanized interface provided by the current system
is known as
Mechanized Generic Interface (MGI). Capabilities may be required for external
users to
establish data connectivity with the system and gain access to the available
functions. The
system maintains logins and passwords to provide security to limit system
access to only
authorized users. Permission levels that restrict access to system functions
and to proprietary
data may be assigned for each authorized user. In addition, the user interface
function
provides notifications and other information to external users using
mechanisms such as
email and File Transfer Protocol (FTP).
[00184] The security function defines a security framework that identifies the
aspects of a system or service that require security and the methods available
to address the
security threats for each. From a security perspective, a system or service
can be viewed as
consisting of user, control and Management planes. Each plane includes
infrastructure,
services, and application layers.
1001851 Toll free may have unique IP requirements. The North American
Numbering Plan Administration (NANPA) administers geographic numbers. Number
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portability is handled through the Number Portability Administration Center
(NPAC). Toll-
free numbers require enhanced number management capabilities for the following
primary
reasons:
e. The significantly higher search load on NPAC due to unique
toll-free search patterns diluting and distracting from its core
purpose.
f. Toll-free numbers have strict rules around hoarding, bartering,
auctioning and fair trade practices.
g. Toll-free numbers differ in their access patterns compared to
geographic numbers:
h. Toll-free numbers have to go through an allocation process for
assignment and sparing, as specified by the FCC.
i. Toll-free numbers have strict rules around hoarding, bartering,
auctioning and fair trade practices.
[00186] Prior to assigning toll-free numbers, owners traverse a validation and
vetting process to establish identity compared to straight number allocation
for a geographic
number. Vanity toll-free numbers typically may be searched millions of times
during a day
compared to 100s of searches for a geographic number in an entire year.
[00187] Toll-free number portability has its own set of rules that may be more
strict and different from geographic numbers. Relying solely on the geographic
number
NPAC would be inadequate since toll-free numbers differ in their use and
management from
geographic numbers.
1001881 The NA function 102 may allow toll-free providers to search a pool of
toll-
free numbers using specified criteria and reserve numbers that will be used by
toll-free
subscribers, and perform CR administration 218. This functionality may
include, but is not
limited to, storing toll-free provider and telecommunications data 210,
reporting processes
212, billing, service control point (SCP), and management functionality 220
for the
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coordination with SCPs 222. Responsible organizations, also referred to herein
as
"RespOrgs," 202, may utilize the TFMP 100. Reporting from the TFMP 100 may be
back to
RespOrgs or to other systems and platforms 224 that are external to the TFMP
100. The
TFMP 100 facilitates searching for any random number or to search for a
plurality of
numbers that are consecutive and/or include an indicated combination of
digits. Since certain
toll-free number codes (e.g. 800) and combinations of digits (e.g. repeating
digits, digits
whose corresponding telephone keypad letter values spell a word or phrase) may
be
considered most desirable, the NA function 102 includes capabilities for
searches and
reservations to be handled so that a toll-free provider does not gain an
advantage to reserve a
given toll-free number. The TFMP also enables tracking the overall assignment
of numbers
for each toll-free provider in order to enforce regulations for toll-free
number allocation
specified by a tariff The NA function 102 may maintain a status for each
number that
reflects whether it has been reserved and whether a customer record has been
created and sent
to SCPs. It is possible to query the TFMP 100 for status and reservation
information
associated with a number.
[00189] The TFMP 100 enables customer record administration, allowing toll-
free
providers to create a customer record and to specify when the information
should be sent to
SCPs. A reserved toll-free number may become active when routing information
for the
number, specified in a customer record, is uploaded into SCPs. Customer
records may be
updated or deleted and the send time updated prior to sending. Once a customer
record has
been sent, a new record may be created to update or delete the routing
specified by the
previous record. The routing information specified in a customer record may
include, but is
not limited to:
= An Area of Service (AOS) that specifies from where the toll-free
number can receive calls
= The carrier that will route calls to the toll-free number
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= The teiminating number that will receive calls to the toll-free number
= A set of rules that specifies different routing based on criteria like
time
of day and area from where the call originated
[00190] Carriers who have arrangements to carry calls for a toll-free provider
may
wish to approve customer records when routing for a toll-free number has been
assigned to
the carrier. The customer record function may maintain a list of carriers and
preferences for
whether approval is required when a toll-free provider indicates the carrier
in a customer
record. A notification may be sent to a carrier when approval of a customer
record is
required. In embodiments, each customer record may have an associated status.
Customer
records may be queried to view the status and information contained in the
record, based on
the permissions of the user.
[00191] In another disclosed non-limiting embodiment, the TFMP may include a
user interface functionality that allows manual access for human users and
mechanized access
for systems (such as an application programming interface) to make use of the
NA and CR
functions provided by the TFMP. The user interface functionality may be
embodied in a
distributed computing environment, such as a "cloud" based computing network.
In another
embodiment, the user interface functionality may be embodied in hybrid
networks, including
usage of a cellular telephone network (and associated mobile communication
devices, such as
smart phones), a distributed, cloud network and an enterprise network
associated with a
carrier or other business organization (and any combination or sub-combination
of such
networks). The mechanized interface provided by the TFMP may also allow
external users to
establish data dynamic connectivity with the platform and gain access to its
available
functions. The TFMP may maintain logins, passwords, encryption,
authentication, and the
like to provide security to limit system access to only authorized users.
Permission levels
that restrict access to TFMP's functions and to proprietary data may be
assigned for each
authorized user, and stored locally or remotely to an enterprise utilizing the
TFMP, including
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within a computing storage facility that is remote to, but operatively
coupled, with the TFMP.
In embodiments, the user interface functionality may provide real time
notifications and other
information to external users using mechanisms such as email and File Transfer
Protocol
(FTP).
[00192] In another disclosed non-limiting embodiment, the TFMP may provide an
interface to send routing information from CRs to SCPs. The SCP Management
Function of
the TFMP may enable management of interactions with SCPs, including
maintaining data
connectivity, sending CR information at the specified date and time, and
monitoring
responses in order to update customer record status. The SCP interface may
include an
interface that is based on the specification provided by TM-STS-00798,
CMSDB/SMS
Interface Specification Manual and Interface Message Manual.
[00193] In another disclosed non-limiting embodiment, the SCP administration
functions of the TFMP may allow users to establish and modify SCP-related
reference data in
the system and send messages to the SCP node and the Call Management Services
Data Base
(CMSDB) within the SCP to manage data tables at the SCP. Network management
functions
for toll-free database services may involve the management of various
automatic capabilities
intended to monitor and control toll-free query traffic and calling volumes at
the SCPs,
Service Switching Points, terminating switches, terminating subscriber lines,
and the like.
When various call volume thresholds are exceeded, the SCPs may trigger
Automatic Code
Gapping (ACG) controls at the originating SSPs. The TFMP's management
functions may
allow network managers to configure and adjust relevant control parameters.
Data collection
at the SCPs may be requested through the TFMP to provide network managers with
surveillance information that is useful to monitor traffic and analyze
problems, such as the
detection of SCP overloads and excessive calling or excessive ineffective
attempts to dialed
codes.
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[00194] In another disclosed non-limiting embodiment, the TFMP may enable
reporting functionalities that allow tracking user actions, system events,
performance
statistics, and other events and formatting the information into reports for
toll-free providers
and system administrators. The TFMP may provide capabilities for users to
request reports
and for delivery of report results in a plurality of formats. Reports may be
requested online
by users as per the assigned permissions and delivered over the interface on
which the report
was requested. Requests may be made from any computing facility, including,
but not
limited to, a personal computer, laptop computer, tablet, mobile communication
facility (such
as a smart phone), or some other type of computing device. It may also be
possible for users
to request reports off-line using the TFMP. For example, a system
administrator using
information provided by the platform may dynamically compile off-line reports.
In
embodiments, the TFMP may track and report on real time events that will
result in charges
to toll-free providers. A tariff specifies the rate elements that may result
in charges on a
monthly bill and the rate to be charged. These may include, but are not
limited by,
establishment of a system logon ID, monthly access to the system, reservation
of a toll-free
number, report requests, or some other type of element. Information provided
by the TFMP
may be needed to calculate monthly charges and create monthly bills that are
sent to each
toll-free provider.
[00195] The current practice of managing toll-free numbers and activities, and
the
tools currently available to users for building a complex customer record, are
very often
single threaded and cumbersome. In addition, the current industry practices do
not provide
the ability to define a default customer record for a user, in part because it
may not be
intuitive to build a complex customer record. According to the methods and
systems
presently disclosed, the TFMP may provide tools that work intelligently with
the user,
allowing a natural language input, such as English words, to translate and map
such language
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to signifiers that may be less familiar to a user, such as call routing codes.
This translation
and mapping of natural language to toll-free number management information and
data may
produce a dynamic, complex customer record, including using existing user
records and
usage data, to populate information for the user. This may speed the creation
of complex
routing and other metadata that is associated with a toll-free line, based at
least in part on the
TFMP enabling the dynamic querying of the real time status of data that is
associated with a
toll-free number, guide the user in providing the necessary natural language
information that
allows the TFMP to map such language to toll-free number mctadata (e.g.,
routing codes),
and store and implement a complex decision tree describing the actions to take
for a given
toll-free number.
1001961 In an example, the TFMP may provide a user interface in which a user
types a command such as "Route all incoming calls made to toll-free numbers
having the
extension 571 to the technical support staff." The TFMP may take this natural
language
input and map it to routing codes or other data corresponding to the natural
language. In
another example, the natural language may be selected from a menu that is
provided in the
user interface of the TFMP, provided via voice command using voice recognition
software,
via scanned text that is input to the TFMP, or using some other means of
conveying natural
language. The Customer Record Template Builder (CRTB) of the TFMP may allow
building
a complex customer record template using a user interface, enabling that
record to be
designated as the default customer record. Using the TFMP, a toll-free
provider may build
multiple complex customer record templates for their use and define a record
as the default
customer record, allowing the user to select the default with a single click,
thus reducing their
work effort.
1001971 In another disclosed non-limiting embodiment, the CRTB may lead a user
through an initial customer data population (known as the Customer
Administrative Data
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(CAD) portion), and also the call routing logic (Call Processing Record; known
as the CPR
portion) that is associated with a toll-free number, by utilizing the TFMP
user interface to
construct a decision tree logic structure with defined data nodes derived from
the user's
natural language inputs.
[00198] Based upon the decisions at the nodes in the decision tree that is
constructed by the TFMP, the user interface may drive down a branch to a new
decision node
ultimately driving the customer record decision logic to the lowest level. In
embodiments,
decision trees constructed by the TFMP based on a user's input may represent a
series of
decision points. Each decision point may be called a node and off of each node
may be one
of more branches. The point at which there are no more decisions to be made
may be referred
to as a leaf and used as the "end point" of a branching structure.
[00199] Figure 3 illustrates an example generic visualization of one possible
decision tree structure 300 created by the TFMP 100. For example, a call to a
particular toll-
free number may initially have a node 302 based on the area code from which
the toll-free
number is called, to segregate an East Coast or West Coast technical support
staff Then, the
next node may be a time node to segregate the time of day between business
hours where the
call is routed to the technical support staff, or after business hours where
the call is routed to
a voice-mail system. The decision tree may further branch into "leaves" 304,
308 to indicate
additional routing rules, such as specifying a single termination number for a
received call to
be routed to, a particular department within an organization, or some other
routing tree rule.
The TFMP performs such routing essentially instantaneously or near
instantaneously.
[00200] In another disclosed non-limiting embodiment, the CAD portion of the
CRTB may logically lead a user to populate information including, but not
limited to, the
following:
= Administrative data about the toll-free customer
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o Toll-Free Number
o Effective Date and Time
o Control Toll Free Provider Identifier
o End Customer Name
o End Customer Address
= Area of Service (AOS)
= List of destination telephone number(s)
= Carrier identification Codes (CTCs) for intraLATA and InterLATA
traffic
[00201] In another disclosed non-limiting embodiment, complex customer record
(CPR) decision nodes that may be supported by the TFMP include, but are not
limited to, the
following:
= Originating State
= Originating Numbering Plan Area (NPA)
= Originating LATA
= Originating Plain Old Telephone System (POTS) Central Office
Exchange (NXX)
= Originating POTS NPANXX
= Originating POTS number
= Specific date
= Day(s) of the week
= Time-of-day range
= Percent load share, which may be used to automatically direct different
percentages of processed queries (calls) to different branches below the
node.
[00202] In another disclosed non-limiting embodiment, the "leaves" that may be
supported by the TFMP data model at the ends of a given branch include, but
are not limited
to, the following:
= Destination Telephone Number
= Carrier
= Announcement Treatment
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[00203] With reference to Figure 4, a simplified depiction of a customer
record
routing, created using the TFMP, is provided. In this simple example, starting
from the left-
most branched path, the three decision paths corresponding to the decision
trees branched
paths may be represented as a routing from a toll-free number 400, detecting
an area code
402, an exchange 404, carrier 408, and terminating telephone number 410, as in
the following
example:
1. Area Code = 732, NXX={699,494},Canier¨ATX-0288, Tel#=800-
234-5678
2. Area Code = 732, NXX=Other, Carrier=MCI-0222, Tel#=800-234-
5678
3. Area Code = Other, NXX=<null>, Carrier¨MCI-0222, Tel#=800-234-
5678.
[00204] Continuing the example of Figure 4 using the TFMP, the CRTB toll may
be built in such a manner to allow a user to work though the decision tree and
anticipate /
prepopulate information based upon the information already provided in this
build or also
information provided in previous customer record entries. Once a default
customer record
template is built, the TFMP may invoke this template when creating a customer
record for a
new number, thus reducing the time and effort for a subsequent customer record
to be built.
Invocation of the default customer record template by the TFMP may also serve
to reduce
human error associated with the manual creation of such records insofar as the
template may
already embody necessary data, thereby not requiring a user to remember or
retrieve the
same.
[00205] With reference to Figure 5, the methods and systems of the present
disclosure may provide for pre-populating a call routing template based on
natural language
inputs including, associating a natural language element 500 with a
telecommunications
routing code 502, the telecommunications routing code associated with decision
tree logic
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associating routing of incoming calls to a toll-free number 504; storing the
association in a
database 508 that is associated with a toll-free telecommunications system;
receiving a
natural language input 512 from a user 510, the natural language input 512 may
include the
natural language element 500; selecting the telecommunications routing code
514 based at
least in part on the stored association 504; populating the telecommunications
routing code
518 at a node of a call routing decision tree 520 to generate a populated call
routing decision
tree 522; and storing the populated call routing decision tree as a call
routing template 524
that may be identified and presented to a user interface based at least in
part on the natural
language input.
[00206] In embodiments, a natural language input may be a text or voice
element.
A text element may be a scanned text element. A voice element may be obtained
by voice
recognition software.
[00207] In embodiments, the decision tree logic may determine the call path
taken
by an incoming toll-free call to a termination number, the call path taken by
an incoming toll-
free call based at least in part on the time of day the incoming call is
received, the call path
taken by an incoming toll-free call based at least in part on the geographic
location of the
device from which the incoming call is received, the call path taken by an
incoming toll-free
call within a business entities telecommunications system, or some other call
path outcome.
[00208] Further provided herein are methods and systems for creating a call
routing decision tree, the system comprising a user device of a user
configured to receive a
natural language input from a user; select a stored call routing template,
wherein the selection
is based at least in part on a stored association of the call routing template
and a natural
language element that is included in the natural language input; present the
stored call routing
template to the user within a graphic user interface; receive a command from
the user,
through the graphic user interface, to associate the selected call routing
template with a toll-
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free number indicated by the user; and store the association between the call
routing template
and the toll-free number.
[00209] In embodiments, the command from the user may be text-based, such as a
text-based item that is presented within the graphic user interface in a menu
or other location.
In embodiments, the command may be a voice command.
[00210] The following are illustrative clauses demonstrating non-limiting
embodiments of the disclosure described herein:
[00211] A method of pre-populating a call routing template based on natural
language inputs comprising:
associating a natural language element with a telecommunications
routing code, the telecommunications routing code associated
with decision tree logic associating routing of incoming calls to
a toll-free number;
storing the association;
receiving a natural language input from a user, wherein the natural
language input includes the natural language element;
selecting the telecommunications routing code based at least in part on
the stored association;
populating the telecommunications routing code at a node of a call
routing decision tree to generate a populated call routing
decision tree;
storing the populated call routing decision tree as a call routing
template that may be identified and presented to a user
interface based at least in part on the natural language input.
[00212] A system for creating a call routing decision tree, the system
comprising:
a user device of a user configured to:
receive a natural language input from a user;
select a stored call routing template, wherein the selection is based at
least in part on a stored association of the call routing template
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and a natural language element that is included in the natural
language input;
present the stored call routing template to the user within a graphic
user interface;
receive a command from the user, through the graphic user interface,
to associate the selected call routing template with a toll-free
number indicated by the user; and
store the association between the call routing template and the toll-free
number.
[00213] In embodiments, and with reference to Figure 6, the TFMP may
facilitate
determining toll-free network congestion in real-time. The TFMP system may
include a
subsystem, referred to as a "node," and in this example embodiment called the
Percent (%)
Node 602. This node may be used to build a decision tree that is downloaded to
the SCPs.
The Percent Node may allow a tree to be built so that a certain percentage of
the calls are
routed to different branches on the call tree. The Percentage may be whole
numbers and can
range from 0% to 100%, with the total percentage for all sibling branches not
to exceed
100%. This may allow Resp Orgs to use the TFMP as their disaster recovery
routing for a
toll-free number. In an example, a call routing tree may be built with
multiple branches to
different locations, such as terminating numbers. in a normal situation, 100%
of the calls
may go to a main location 604. In a disaster, which could be a carrier system
failure, for
example, and which may originate outside of the carrier itself, a call routing
table created
according to the Percent Node and related rules may allow that all calls are
diverted to
another branch 608, 610 on the tree that uses a different carrier.
[00214] In embodiments, real time network data may be used by the TFMP to
create, and allow Resp Orgs to use, a "congestion threshold" node in the call
routing tree.
This may allow a Resp Org to determine with an end subscriber the appropriate
congestion
threshold for each branch in a call routing table. For example, if one call
center can only
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handle 200 calls per minute before calls are placed in queue, and statistics
show for this end
subscriber that wait times start to creep up to 20 minutes when 1000 calls per
minutes are
received, and they do not want this to occur, the ability to obtain real time
call
counts/congestion will allow the SCP to route the calls using call
counts/congestion in
addition to all the other possible call decision nodes. Call counts may be
very specific to an
end subscriber, and congestion thresholds may differ and depend on congestion
on the line as
a whole. The congestion measurement and threshold value may allow detecting
congestion
issues and routing to another branch, including one that may be in a different
area, should a
congestion threshold be reached. This may occur in real-time without a need to
change the
routing tree. The TFMP may confirm real-time call count information that is
available from
SCPs and use such data to confirm real-time network congestion. Call count
information
may be further organized and analyzed by TSPID to permit tracking, for
example, by service
provider.
[00215] In embodiments, nodes in a call routing table may be mapped to real-
time
information in the SCPs from the network. With the decision nodes embedded in
the call tree
and loaded into the SCPs, real-time routing may be provided by the TFMP. In
embodiments,
a call routing table may be a crowd-sourced translation table associated with
the TSS that
may enable mapping of service providers to unique identifiers, as described
herein. Such a
mapping would enable a registry that may be used by third parties to locate
the plurality of
identifiers that may be associated with a service provider or plurality of
service providers.
[00216] In embodiments, nodes in a call routing table may be used to
facilitate
predictive analytic services that may be provided to allow a user, through the
customizable
user interface, or "dashboard," to access third party data services, sponsored
data and
information derived from toll-free telecommunications networks, including but
not limited to
telecommunications carriers, service control points, call centers, or other
parties affiliated
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with a toll-free telecommunication network. Nodes in a call routing table may
also be
utilized with origination data that may be combined with social media and
other public
domain third party data, and near real-time, apply a valuation model to
display a trends and
prices on an interactive map via the TFMP.
[00217] In embodiments, nodes in a call routing table may be used to
facilitate
reporting capabilities of the TFMP through a client device, such as a personal
computer,
mobile phone, tablet computer, or some other computing facility, and receive
data, including
multimedia to the user's client device. Functionalitics of the TFMP include,
but are not
limited to, Number Administration (NA) and Customer Record (CR)
administration.
[00218] In embodiments, the TFMP may determine accessibility among VoIP and
tandem calls. For example, with VoIP the TFMP may ping an IP address at
regular intervals
to determine status. Using real-time network information and static call
routing information,
the TFMP may create a real-time call path score. SCPs may also be a source of
real-time call
routing data. SCPs are in the call path of every toll-free call. The ability
to collect real-time
data about every call, and every carrier, based on dates, times, day of week,
and locations are
available to SCPs. Using this information it is possible to extrapolate and
determine uptime,
downtime, congestion, geographical movement and economic movement of people
communicating via calls. Based on real-time data that can be obtained from the
SCPs and
from the network, the TFMP may create a score that can be assigned to each
call decision
node. Similar to a mapping algorithm that uses distance and speed limit, given
a starting
point and a destination, the quickest or shortest map may be mapped. Changes
in the call
routing tree may be dependent upon an update to the routing tree that is then
validated by the
TFMP and then downloaded to the SCPs. With the use of real-time data, and more
network
decisions nodes added to a call routing tree based on the needs of the end
subscriber, the
TFMP may provide the ability to allow an end subscriber to have real-time
business
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continuity for their toll-free number instead of having to contact their
service provider, or
getting a ticket opened to update their routing tree, and then having it
download to all the
SCPs for the new routing to take place.
[00219] In embodiments, a call path score and real-time routing may be based
on
the best possible availability score. This may also be modified by the TFMP to
allow for
lowest cost score, based on the per-call and per-minute cost for particular
carrier. The call
score may be updated during low activity periods with a date/time stamp
associated with it.
This may allow real-time, or near real time, detection of a path's status.
Upon completion of
a call down a particular path, the TFMP may also update the call path score,
thereby keeping
the score up-to-date.
1002201 In embodiments, nodes in a call routing table may be used to
facilitate
determination of the call path score such that real-time routing may be
displayed via a
distributed computing environment, such as a cloud-based computing network. In
another
embodiment, such systems may be hybrid networks, including usage of a cellular
telephone
network (and associated mobile communication devices, such as smart phones), a
distributed,
cloud network and an enterprise network associated with a carrier or other
business
organization (and any combination or sub-combination of such networks).
[00221] The following are illustrative clauses demonstrating non-limiting
embodiments of the disclosure described herein:
[00222] A method comprising:
creating at least two toll-free call routing tables based on a congestion
threshold criterion, wherein the first of the two call routing
tables is to be used when toll-free call volumes occurring
within a toll-free telecommunications carrier network are below
the congestion threshold, and the second of the two call routing
tables is to be used when toll-free call volumes occurring
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within a toll-free telecommunications carrier network are equal
to or above the congestion threshold;
providing the call routing tables to at least one service control point
that is associated with the toll-free telecommunications carrier
network;
monitoring toll-free call volumes and durations occurring within a toll-
free telecommunications carrier network;
receiving at least one of a call count datum or call duration datum from
the toll-free telecommunications carrier network wherein the
call count datum or call duration datum indicates a change in
call volumes over the toll-free telecommunications carrier
network from below the congestion threshold to above the
congestion threshold; and
instructing the service control point to switch from using the first call
routing table to the second call routing table.
[00223] A method comprising:
[00224] associating a toll-free telecommunications network congestion
threshold
criterion with a first rule regarding the usage of a plurality of call routing
tables, and a second
rule regarding the usage of a plurality of telecommunications carriers,
wherein the congestion
threshold criterion indicates a level of toll-free call volumes occurring
within the toll-free
telecommunications network; and
[00225] switching toll-free calls across the telecommunications carriers
based at
least on the congestion threshold criterion, wherein the switched calls are
further routing
according to at least one of the plurality of call routing tables.
[00226] A method comprising:
creating at least two toll-free call routing tables based on a congestion
threshold criterion, wherein the first of the two call routing
tables is to be used when toll-free call volumes occurring
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within a toll-free telecommunications carrier network are below
the congestion threshold, and the second of the two call routing
tables is to be used when toll-free call volumes occurring
within a toll-free telecommunications carrier network are equal
to or above the congestion threshold;
providing the call routing tables to at least one service control point
that is associated with the toll-free telecommunications carrier
network;
monitoring toll-free call volumes and durations occurring within a toll-
free telecommunications carrier network;
receiving at least one of a call count datum or call duration datum from
the toll-free telecommunications carrier network wherein the
call count datum or call duration datum indicates a change in
call volumes over the toll-free telecommunications carrier
network from below the congestion threshold to above the
congestion threshold;
creating a second congestion threshold criterion based on the data
received from the toll-free telecommunications network; and
creating a third call routing table based on the second congestion
threshold criterion.
[00227] In the current industry practice, updates and additions to toll-free
providers
numbers are not available through conventional platfolin reporting
capabilities for up to 24
hours. This makes it difficult for end users to call up information about work
done on the
current day. If a toll-free number is reserved and for whatever reason the
user does not
record the actual number, there is often no way to find it, or a laborious
search is required to
assemble the necessary data elements for retrieval. One reason for the delay
in the ability to
report is that reporting is sourced from a Report History Data Base (RHDB)
that is only
populated with updates once a day. Additionally, most reporting from the RHDB
is run in
the background, thus in some cases, still further delaying the response.
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[00228] With reference to Figure 7, in another disclosed non-limiting
embodiment,
the TFMP 100 provides the user with the ability to report on its number
portfolio in real time
or near real time via an online customer dashboard 132. The online customer
dashboard 132
may display simulated gauges and dials, business graphics such as pie charts,
bar charts and
graphs to provide overview that summarizes all pertinent data in one or two
screens or views.
The gauges and dials may be based upon real time data that is stored within
the TFMP. The
TFMP may include a subsystem, referred to as a "node," that may be used to
build a decision
tree that is downloaded to the SCPs for use with the dashboard. The decision
tree may be
used in various manners as otherwise described to facilitate call efficiency.
[00229] The online customer dashboard may allow the user to see all its
customer
data and drill down in the details in near real time. To do so, a data source
for the dashboard
may maintain the data in real time or near real time. The online customer
dashboard may
also be associated with a user profile and security administration that grants
permissions to
different groups of users to access embodiments of the system to create, view,
update and
activate certain functions. The platform or system can implement a role-based
access control
mechanism.
[00230] The online customer dashboard 132 may provide the user with a view
into
the user portfolio of toll-free number information. This may allow a user to
see basic number
information about the toll-free numbers the user has the authority to view.
Predictive analytic
services may also be provided that allow a user, through the customizable user
interface, or
dashboard, to access third party data services, sponsored data and infounation
derived from
toll-free telecommunications networks, including but not limited to
telecommunications
carriers, service control points, call centers, or other parties affiliated
with a toll-free
telecommunication network. As elsewhere described, origination data may be
combined with
social media and other public domain third party data, and near real-time,
apply a valuation
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model to display a trends and prices on an interactive map via the TFMP.
1002311 A user may also access the reporting capabilities of the TFMP through
a
client device, such as a personal computer, mobile phone, tablet computer, or
some other
computing facility, and receive data, including multimedia to the user's
client device.
Functionalities of the TFMP include, but are not limited to, Number
Administration (NA) and
Customer Record (CR) administration. Such systems may alternatively or
additionally be
embodied in a distributed computing environment, such as a cloud based
computing network.
In another embodiment, such systems may be hybrid networks, including usage of
a cellular
telephone network (and associated mobile communication devices, such as smart
phones), a
distributed, cloud network and an enterprise network associated with a carrier
or other
business organization (and any combination or sub-combination of such
networks).
1002321 The online customer dashboard may utilize real time network
statistics,
sourced from carriers and the public domain, within an algorithm that provides
a call path
score. This call path score may be provided to LCR and SCPs to determine the
net value of a
route for display.
[00233] The online customer dashboard may also provide an alert system similar
to
Internet alerts for toll-free numbers. Numbers, or groups of numbers, may be
tagged based
on tag groups. The alert system for toll-free numbers may use a subscription
prioritization
engine and offer premium services for service prioritization.
[00234] The online customer dashboard for a toll-free voice registry may share
reserved, assigned, and working numbers with the Toll-Free Texting and Smart
Services
Registry (TSS)
[00235] The online customer dashboard may initially provide a main dashboard
screen from which the user may drill down within a specific toll-free number
to investigate
more detailed information thereof In one example, the main dashboard screen
may provide a
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base set, or minimum list of data elements that are available, including, but
not limited to, the
following:
= User Information
o Toll Free Provider
o User Id
o Last Login
o Amount of numbers reserved
= Number Information (a list of all toll free numbers associated with this
provider)
o Toll Free Number
o Number Status
o Date Reserved
o Date Last Updated
o Customer Name
[00236] The user can then drill down into the particular toll free number by
clicking on that particular number to find more detailed information such as,
Area of Service,
Carrier(s), Call Routing, Reserve numbers, or other information associated
with a toll-free
number.
[00237] A user may also view the history of the number i.e. "the life of a
toll-free
number." By selecting a particular toll free number, the history of use of the
toll free number
may be readily viewable. Various charts, timelines, and usage data may be
included therein.
This functionality may allow a user to view and report on the status and
activities of an entire
RespOrg in real time, rather than parts of a RespOrg's activity and/or only at
predefined time
intervals (e.g., once per day).
[00238] In another disclosed non-limiting embodiment, the online customer
dashboard is not a view only tool, but may provide additional or alternative
features to be
customized by the user. That is individual users may select their desired
types of information
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available via their dashboard.
1002391 Such features may include, but are not limited to, the following:
= Customer information updates from the dashboard.
= System alerts pertaining to all users
= Historical customer usage information and populate information to the
user such as suggestions of available numbers
= Alerts announcing the upcoming availability of numbers that the
customer has previously searched for
= Billing alerts and notification of payments made
[00240] Overall, the online customer dashboard may provide a single starting
point
for any user working with toll free numbers. Having a single location may
allow a user of the
system to use a single user interface (the dashboard) to view the entirety of
activity that is
associated with a plurality of toll-free numbers.
[00241] With reference to Figures 8 and 9, the TFMP may include a toll-free
number rating registry (TFRR) 802, that functions as a service to provide
customers an
indication of how often a toll-free number is abused, such as by fraudulent,
frequent calling
to increase billing costs. The rating may be calculated based on input from
users, automated
systems and/or proprietary algorithms that are collecting, storing and
analyzing call data from
throughout the toll-free system.
[00242] In embodiments, the system may collect toll-free number abuse
information 804 from a plurality of sources including, but not limited to, a
telephone service
provider 808, toll-free number operators and Resp Orgs. The abuse information
may be
collected and processed in real-time to provide timely rating information for
entities. In
embodiments, the TFMP may publish standard interfaces that reporting parties
can invoke to
register abuse. Such interfaces may allow clients to connect synchronously
and
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asynchronously. Interfaces may include, but are not limited to:
= A web page
= RestFul API
= Mobile application
[00243] In embodiments, the abuse reporting interfaces that are associated
with the
TFMP may be invoked in a manual or automated manlier. In the case of service
providers,
the reporting of abuse may occur during call setup. This may necessitate that
the reporting is
automated and introduces the least load on the device reporting the abuse. In
an example, an
asynchronous API may be made available to service providers for this purpose.
In another
example, for call centers where toll-free numbers terminate, such as a
technical support
department of a company, call-center processing software may be enhanced to
include a
module to detect and report abuse.
[00244] Additionally, the TFMP may also provide a mobile or other application
that small business and single toll-free number users can use to report abuse.
The TFMP may
include a subsystem, referred to as a "node," that may be used to build a
decision tree that is
downloaded to the SCPs. The decision tree may be used in various manners to
facilitate
operation of the service as otherwise described to facilitate call efficiency.
The service may
alternatively or additionally be embodied in a distributed computing
environment, such as a
cloud based computing network. In another embodiment, such systems may be
hybrid
networks, including usage of a cellular telephone network (and associated
mobile
communication devices, such as smart phones), a distributed, cloud network and
an enterprise
network associated with a carrier or other business organization (and any
combination or sub-
combination of such networks).
[00245] In embodiments, to automate the processing of toll-free calls and
reduce
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abuse, the TFMP system may be enhanced to allow customers to provision an
abuse route.
This route may be distributed to the SCPs along with current information being
shared.
When a service provider determines that a call being setup is an abuse call,
they can use the
abuse route specified by the customer.
[00246] With reference to Figure 9, an example abuse reporting interface
architecture 900 that is associated with the TFMP is provided. This abuse
reporting interface
may permit toll-free customers to report when a toll-free number abuse event
occurs. The
interface may allow for abuse to be reported manually and/or programmatically
in an
automated fashion. In embodiments, the abuse collection system described
herein may
collect information that includes, but is not limited to, the following:
= TFN 904
= Resp Org 908
= Date/time of abuse Date/time of report 909
= Originating number 910
= Has the originating number been verified as authentic (i.e., not
spoofed) 912
= Geographic location of the originating number 920
= Geographic location of the terminating number 922
[00247] The abuse database 924 may also collect information about Resp Orgs
and
other industry details in an offline mode. The abuse information may be
captured in the toll-
free number abuse database 924. This information may then be processed using a
rating
engine 928 to compute the toll-free number rating. The rating engine 928 may
take into
account a plurality of factors including, but not limited to, input provided
by Resp Orgs 928,
TSPID's associated with service providers, frequency of abuse 930, identified
source of
abuse, and the like, to compute a rating for the toll-free number. In the
absence of specific
reports of abuse, predictive analytics methods of the TFMP, as described
herein, may be used
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to infer abuse or unusual call activity, the results of which may be used in
computing a rating.
In an embodiment, the identification of abuse may be an inference of an abuse
event
produced by a predictive analytics engine that is associated with the TFMP
based on at least a
call history and metadata relating to calls placed over the toll-free
telecommunications
number. In an example, 100 calls may be placed over a toll-free number, each
of which by
itself does not appear to be abusive. For example the calls may be placed from
locations that
do not appear suspicious. However, an inference of abuse, based at least in
part on the
totality of calls placed over the toll-free number, may be used by the
predictive analytics
engine that is associated with the TFMP to infer that abuse is occurring or
has occurred. For
example, the totality of the calls may indicate a pattern indicative of abuse,
or a call
frequency that is indicative of abuse or some other criterion that may be used
by the
predicative analytics engine to infer that an abuse event, or plurality of
abuse events is
occurring or has occurred. In embodiments, a toll-free number rating may be a
number
between "0" and "100" that provides an indication of how often the number is
abused and/or
how severe the abuse is. A number with "0" rating may indicate a number that
is never
abused, and a number with a "100" rating may indicate a number for which the
majority of
activity is abusive in nature. The toll-free number rating may be made
available to users of
the TFMP, and may be used to make routing and other decisions about the toll-
free number.
[00248] Based on the rating of a toll-free number, the service provider may
take a
specific action to ensure legitimacy of a toll-free call. In addition to the
number rating, the
rating engine may also generate routing rules to be shared with service
providers. These rules
may be imported by the service provider into their call routing engine to
automatically route
abusive calls in a manner that is consistent with the routing rules. These
rules may also be
used in combination with user profiles and security administration may grant
permissions to
different groups of users to access the toll-free number rating to create,
view, update and
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activate certain functions. The system can implement a role-based access
control mechanism.
Predictive analytic services may be provided that allow a user, through the
customizable user
interface, or "dashboard," to access third party data services, sponsored data
and information
derived from toll-free telecommunications networks, including but not limited
to
telecommunications carriers, service control points, call centers, or other
parties affiliated
with a toll-free telecommunication network. Origination data may also be
combined with
social media and other public domain third party data, and near real-time,
apply a valuation
model to display a trend and prices on an interactive map via the TFMP.
[00249] The following are illustrative clauses demonstrating non-limiting
embodiments of the disclosure described herein:
[00250] A method comprising:
storing a taxonomy of abuse events that may occur regarding the usage
of a toll-free number;
storing a rule regarding an action to take upon receipt of a reported
abuse event, wherein the rule specifies a routing rule defining
how a call that is associated with the abuse event is to be routed
over a toll-free telecommunications system;
receiving a report of abuse of a toll-free number;
identifying at least one abuse event within the stored taxonomy and
routing rule that is related to content of the abuse report; and
automatically routing a call that is the subject of the abuse report
according to the routing rule.
[00251] A method comprising:
receiving a report of abuse of a toll-free number;
identifying an absence of an abuse event definition within a stored
taxonomy that is related to the type of abuse reported;
storing a new definition of the abuse event within the taxonomy; and
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creating a routing rule defining how a call that is associated with the
abuse event is to be routed over a toll-free telecommunications
system.
[00252] A method comprising:
storing a taxonomy of abuse events that may occur regarding the usage
of a toll-free number;
associating the abuse events in the taxonomy with a toll-free number
rating action;
receiving a report of abuse of a toll-free number;
identifying at least one abuse event within the stored taxonomy and
rating action that is related to content of the abuse report;
automatically computing a rating for the toll-free number based on the
rating action; and
reporting the rating to an entity.
[00253] The following are illustrative clauses demonstrating non-limiting
embodiments of the disclosure described herein:
[00254] A user device for presenting data to a user in real time regarding
changes
in metadata associated with a toll-free number, the user device configured to:
receive an indication of a change in status of a toll-free
communications number, wherein the telecommunications
number is associated with a responsible organization that
processes toll-free telecommunications;
update a metadatum associated with the toll-free communications
number based at least in part on the change in status;
store the mctadatum;
receive a status request from a user relating to the responsible
organization;
present the user with a graphic representation of the
telecommunications number's status
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[00255] A method of toll-free telecommunications data visualization
comprising:
presenting a data visualization dashboard to a mobile application on a
client device, wherein the presentation includes a selectable
listing of toll-free telecommunications data parameters;
receiving a selection from the client device of the toll-free
telecommunications data parameters to analyze and at least one
type of data analysis to perform;
retrieving, in substantially real time, data relating to the selected toll-
free telecommunications data parameters;
analyzing the data according to the at least one type of data analysis;
and
presenting to the mobile application a summary of an analytic result.
1002561 In another disclosed non-limiting embodiment, the TFMP may provide a
click-to-chat tool. The click-to-chat tool enables users to quickly contact a
support
representative through the user interface, dashboard, or other interface. The
click-to-chat tool
may integrate with existing web based access, provides an immediate channel to
a support
representative, and may facilitate support training.
[00257] In another disclosed non-limiting embodiment, the TFMP may provide a
simplified two-factor authentication tool for maintaining identity and access
security (e.g.
dual factor authentication). This may eliminate the need to use hard tokens
and improve
VPN accessibility.
[00258] In another disclosed non-limiting embodiment, the TFMP may provide a
password self-service tool that provides the ability for self-service
passwords and unlock
logon IDs. This may be automated via structured email processes.
[00259] In another disclosed non-limiting embodiment, the TFMP may provide a
real-time status update tool that provides number counts and tasks within the
application.
This may facilitate a real-time view of number counts and status (i.e.
reserved, assigned, etc.)
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[00260] In another disclosed non-limiting embodiment, the TFMP may provide
integrated data stores and a reporting tool that integrates data stores for
consolidated
reporting. This may facilitate the creation of a single operational data store
to eliminate
separate software as a service licenses and consolidated reporting for
responsible
organizations.
[00261] In another disclosed non-limiting embodiment, the TFMP may provide a
single sign-on tool for Web Based Access (WBA), mechanized generic interface
(API),
Website/Billing, Web-based Reporting System (WRS), Virtual Private Networks
(VPNs), IP
Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), or some other network type.
[00262] In another disclosed non-limiting embodiment, the TFMP may provide an
enhanced configurability tool that allows administrators to configure the
limit of TFN that
can be reserved in a single request, for example, more than 10. This may
provide, for
example, up to 5000 (would then do 500 batch calls).
[00263] The present disclosure includes a toll-free management platform (TFMP)
for providing services to toll free subscribers and providers, enabling them
to manage a
plurality of toll-free numbers and tasks associated with such numbers.
Functionalitics of the
TFMP include, but are not limited to, Number Administration (NA) and Customer
Record
(CR) administration.
[00264] The TFMP enables searching for any number, random number or to search
for a plurality of numbers that are consecutive and/or include an indicated
combination of
digits. Since certain toll-free number codes (e.g. 800) and combinations of
digits (e.g.
repeating digits, digits whose corresponding telephone keypad letter values
spell a word or
phrase) may be considered most desirable, the NA function includes
capabilities for searches
and reservations to be handled so that a toll- free provider does not gain an
advantage to
reserve a given toll-tree number. The TFMP also enables tracking the overall
assignment of
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numbers for each toll-free provider in order to enforce regulations for toll-
free number
allocation specified by a tariff. NA may maintain a status for each number
that reflects
whether it has been reserved and whether a customer record has been created
and sent to
service control points (SCPs). It is possible to query the TFMP for status and
reservation
information associated with a number.
[00265] The TFMP enables customer record administration, allowing toll-free
providers to create a customer record and to specify when the information
should be sent to
SCPs. A reserved toll-free number may become active when routing information
for the
number, specified in a customer record, is uploaded into SCPs. Customer
records may be
updated or deleted and the send time updated prior to sending. Once a customer
record has
been sent, a new record may be created to update or delete the routing
specified by the
previous record. The routing information specified in a customer record may
include, but is
not limited to:
= An Area of Service (AOS) that specifies from where the toll-free
number can receive calls
= The carrier that will route calls to the toll-free number
= The terminating number that will receive calls to the toll-free number
= A set of rules that specifies different routing based on criteria like
time
of day and area from where the call originated
[00266] Carriers who have arrangements to carry calls for a toll-free provider
may
wish to approve customer records when routing for a toll-free number has been
assigned to
the carrier. The customer record function may maintain a list of carriers and
preferences for
whether approval is required when a toll-free provider indicates the carrier
in a customer
record. A notification may be sent to a carrier when approval of a customer
record is
required. In embodiments, each customer record may have an associated status.
Customer
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records may be queried to view the status and information contained in the
record, based on
the permissions of the user.
[00267] In another disclosed non-limiting embodiment, the TFMP may include a
user interface functionality that allows manual access for human users and
mechanized access
for systems (such as an application programming interface) to make use of the
NA and CR
functions provided by the TFMP. Such systems may be embodied in a distributed
computing
environment, such as a cloud based computing network. In another embodiment,
such
systems may be hybrid networks, including usage of a cellular telephone
network (and
associated mobile communication devices, such as smart phones), a distributed,
cloud
network and an enterprise network associated with a carrier or other business
organization
(and any combination or sub-combination of such networks). The mechanized
interface
provided by the TFMP may allow external users to establish data dynamic
connectivity with
the platform and gain access to its available functions. The TFMP may maintain
logins,
passwords, encryption, authentication, and the like to provide security to
limit system access
to only authorized users. Permission levels that restrict access to TFMP's
functions and to
proprietary data may be assigned for each authorized user, and stored locally
or remotely to
an enterprise utilizing the TFMP, including within a computing storage
facility that is remote
to, but operatively coupled, with the TFMP. In embodiments, the user interface
functionality
may provide real time notifications and other information to external users
using mechanisms
such as email and File Transfer Protocol (FTP).
[00268] In another disclosed non-limiting embodiment, the TFMP may provide an
interface to send routing information from CRs to SCPs. The SCP Management
Function of
the TFMP may enable management of interactions with SCPs, including
maintaining data
connectivity, sending CR information at the specified date and time, and
monitoring
responses in order to update customer record status.
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[00269] In another disclosed non-limiting embodiment, the SCP administration
functions of the TFMP may allow users to establish and modify SCP-related
reference data in
the system and send messages to the SCP node and the Call Management Services
Data Base
(CMSDB) within the SCP to manage data tables at the SCP. Network management
functions
for toll-free database services may involve the management of various
automatic capabilities
intended to monitor and control toll-free query traffic and calling volumes at
the SCPs,
Service Switching Points, terminating switches, terminating subscriber lines,
and the like.
When various call volume thresholds are exceeded, the SCPs may trigger
Automatic Code
Gapping (ACG) controls at the originating SSPs. The TFMP's management
functions may
allow network managers to configure and adjust relevant control parameters.
Data collection
at the SCPs may be requested through the TFMP to provide network managers with
surveillance information that is useful to monitor traffic and analyze
problems, such as the
detection of SCP overloads and excessive calling or excessive ineffective
attempts to dialed
codes.
[00270] With reference to Figure 10, in embodiments, the TFMP may provide a
Toll-Free Texting and Smart Services Registry (TSS) 1000 to support toll-free
telephone
numbers and related services, such as SMS, MMS and streaming media. The TSS
1000 may
include several components such as, but not limited to, number administration,
call control
and route provisioning, as well as number status assessment. The number
administration
function may provide number assignment for toll-free subscribers as well as
provide services
to manage the toll-free numbering plan. This component may provide for toll-
free number
portability as well as managing the mapping of toll-free numbers to geographic
numbers.
The number administration function may also open new number plan
administration codes.
The number administration function may forecast the exhaustion of codes and
demand for
codes for use by organizations such as the FCC.
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[00271] The call control and routing function may be responsible for providing
intelligent routing for calls made to toll-free numbers. Toll-free subscribers
may have the
ability to configure call routing to include multiple carriers, time of day
rules, and rules based
on the caller's proximity, among others. These rules may be downloaded to real-
time
network routing databases or Service Control Points (SCPs) 1008. The number
status
assessment function may determine the availability of certain numbers. Numbers
may be
reserved and assigned according to activation date and then are deployed. The
number status
function may assess whether numbers are spare, reserved, assigned, or
currently deployed.
[00272] Providers of various smart services, such as voice, media, or
texting
services, may be able to access the TSS that can be text enabled from a list
of reserved,
assigned, and working numbers. After numbers are identified, an automated
online letter of
authorization/agency may be executed. The letter of authorization/agency may
independently
demonstrate authorization to a responsible organization that maintains the
registration for
individual toll-free numbers in a distributed database. The distributed
database may be
associated with a distributed computing network, as described herein. Upon
execution of the
letter of authorization/agency, the information may then be provisioned to
industry routing
databases for delivering various services, such as SMS (text) messaging, MMS
messaging
1010, and content streaming, including but not limited to video content as
well as future
services 1012.
[00273] Letter of authorization/agency, as used herein, may include but is not
limited to communication used by a toll-free end subscriber, such as during
the provisioning
phase of a toll-free number engagement, to enable that end subscriber to
switch providers for
a given telephone, messaging service, and the like. In an example, an end
subscriber may
wish to change its long distance provider so that a local company need not be
used. The long
distance provider to whom the end subscriber wishes to do business would
typically walk the
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end subscriber through an authorization process to enable the end subscriber
to switch long
distance carriers from the local company to the new company. This
authorization may
manifest in the carrier's system as a letter of authorization/agency that
documents the needed
approvals from the end subscriber.
[00274] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the TSS may enable a
letter of
authorization/agency process for a provider to authorizing texting and other
services on a toll-
free number or plurality of toll-free numbers that are used by an end
subscriber. The letter of
authorization/agency may be electronically stored and presented to the
responsible
organization or owner of record for a given number or service. The letter
of
authorization/agency may further define a time frame during which certain
actions, such as
the turning on of texting services for a toll-free number, are permitted. Such
letters of
authorization, as defined herein, may be further associated with stored
profiles of an owner of
record and/or end subscriber. A letter of authorization/agency may allow a
toll-free number
end-user, or toll-free number subscriber, to authorize service enablement for
services not
covered by their existing responsible organization. In this way, consumers can
have multiple
services enabled on a single telephone number, across multiple service
providers. In an
example, a letter of authorization/agency may authorize a responsible
organization or other
entity to take a plurality of actions so that additional communication with,
for example, an
end subscriber is unnecessary and actions may be taken more quickly and
efficiently. This
may enable service registrars, and others, to activate new services, such as
toll-free texting
services or bandwidth increases on a shorter timeline, which may have
commercial benefits
as speed activation of needed telecommunications services.
[00275] With reference to Figure 11, in an embodiment of the present
disclosure,
the TSS may facilitate the enablement of a letter of authorization/agency
process 1100 used
to enable toll-free texting capability and capture basic data such as customer
name,
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responsible organization, service registrar, toll free number, service
enablement date, and
letter of authorization/agency, status of services, or some other type of data
associated with
toll-free telephone numbers and services. The TSS may facilitate the letter
of
authorization/agency process by programmatically sending a notification to the
responsible
organization of record to memorialize the transaction. A timer may be set that
will give the
responsible organization a limited period of time to dispute the transaction.
If no action is
taken, the transaction may proceed and texting service enablement, or some
other service
type, may be fulfilled in the TSS Registry. Continuing the example, this
letter of
authorization/agency process may be provided for each toll-free number that is
provisioned
1102 in the TSS registry, or only a subset of numbers depending on the wishes
of the end
users.
[00276] In order to streamline the letter of authorization/agency process, a
"blanket" letter of authorization/agency may be used whereby the customer of
record may
authorize a specific service registrar to provision, update, and deactivate
records in the TSS
as needed 1104. In such cases, a notification may be sent to the responsible
organization to
memorialize each transaction. In order to further streamline the letter of
authorization/agency
process, responsible organization's may choose to put a "blanket"
authorization on specific
service registrar's which will allow the transaction to take place in real
time 1108.
[00277] In embodiments, the TSS may allow electronic documentation to be
stored
and managed, providing a library of legal documentation that may be used by
the system in
real time to facilitate transactions more efficiently, and to provide more
concrete evidence of
formal authorization through a physical electronic document proving, for
example, the end
user's identity and validity.
1002781 In embodiments, the TSS may operate in conjunction with current toll-
free
services, including a toll-free voice registry. In order to establish
unambiguous authority for
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the use of a toll-free number, a controlling organization for a toll-free
number may be the
responsible organization of record in the toll-free voice registry. Number
administration may
be the exclusive function residing only in the authoritative toll-free voice
registry.
[00279] In embodiments, the TSS may be flexible and extensible to support a
plurality of toll-free services such as SMS or MMS messaging services, and
content
provisioning. The TSS may additionally provide toll-free numbers for services
such as
videos, mobile device applications, games, or any other software, products or
services that
may be important to an organization to anchor their identity and brand. To
support this
environment, in embodiments, the TSS may reside on a stand-alone platform
using hardware,
software, and support systems independent of those used today in the toll-free
voice registry.
The TSS may be able to connect to a toll-free voice registry to obtain number
information,
such as availability and reservation status, as well as control responsible
organization
information, such as the responsible organization contact information, but may
remain
otherwise separate in its operation.
[00280] A responsible organization may maintain a toll-free voice registry
that
provides number administration, route provisioning, toll-free database
services to various
service control points, or some other type of toll-free service. The TSS, as
described herein,
may incorporate the services from a toll-free voice registry to provide smart
services
enablement, route provisioning, and smart services registry to existing
SMS/MMS routing
databases as well as other smart services requiring toll-free numbers, such as
mobile device
applications or games.
[00281] With reference to Figure 12, in another embodiment, a mobile device
1200
may utilize an unambiguous support identifier along with a toll-free data,
message, and voice
service. In this embodiment, the mobile device may be assigned a unique Toll-
Free ID
(TFID) 1202 at the time of manufacturing. That is, the TFID may be agnostic of
type of
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device and may be hard flashed into the mobile device to identify a customer
with a toll free
provider that is providing the toll free communication. The TFID may be
associated with the
carrier identifier such as IMEI, MEID if GSM phone, CDMA, a service provider
identifier
such as a TSPID, as described herein, or to another identifier associated with
a mobile device.
In another embodiment, the TFID may be associated with other systems,
including usage of a
cellular telephone network (and associated mobile communication devices, such
as smart
phones), a distributed, cloud network and an enterprise network associated
with a carrier or
other business organization (and any combination or sub-combination of such
networks).
[00282] A standard support app that is natively installed, such as a
"setting" 1208
app distributed as part of the device, or separately though an app store,
facilitates a
consumer's ability to talk, message, view, browse support related features of
merchandise,
devices or other issues that the consumer may have. The standard support app
may further
interact with a user profile and security administration that grants
permissions to different
groups of users to access embodiments of the system to create, view, update
and activate
certain functions. The system can implement a role-based access control
mechanism.
[00283] When consumers buy a device, the device manufacturers and retailers
may
"auto register" the device to the support application at the Point of Sale
(POS). The TFID
may be embedded in the hardware of the device and cannot be changed to provide
a
definitive way to identify a device when using toll-free services.
[00284] With reference to Figure 13, in another embodiment, the TFID may
permit
a customer who is purchasing an appliance, a device, or other merchandise to
be presented
with an opportunity to associate one or more mobile devices to the merchandise
purchased
1300. For example, this can be performed at the POS or after the sale as a
registration and/or
warranty process 1302. The process of registration is thereby automated to
simplify these
somewhat otherwise bothersome processes for the customer.
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[00285] In one example, a TFID Mobile App is operable to permit the mobile
device to read QR codes, Barcodes, RFIDs, serial numbers, or other merchandise
identifiers
and then communicate with the manufacturer via toll free service provided by
the
manufacturer 1304. For example, a user may need only point a camera of the
mobile device
toward the merchandise to capture the merchandise identify and thereby
complete a
registration, warranty, support or other process.
[00286] On the backend, a TFID Mobile App registry 1308 may be updated with
the added mobile device TFID to merchandise association. Via a separate
mechanism,
merchandise manufactures 1310 can then update the registry with the contact
information
associated with the TFID for registration and user association. The TFID
Mobile App
registry may alternatively or additionally be embodied in a distributed
computing
environment, such as a cloud based computing network. In another embodiment,
such
systems may be hybrid networks, including usage of a cellular telephone
network (and
associated mobile communication devices, such as smart phones), a distributed,
cloud
network and an enterprise network associated with a carrier or other business
organization
(and any combination or sub-combination of such networks).
[00287] Once the merchandise is associated with the particular mobile device ¨
the
TFID Mobile App may present or otherwise store the various information about
the
merchandise, e.g., product documentation, upgrades, manufacture contact
information, etc.
This permits the user to readily communicate with the manufacturer via the
toll free service
provided by the manufacturer and accessed via the TFID. For example, once the
merchandise is associated with the mobile device, a support call registry may
be made readily
available from the manufacturer via a toll free service. Support such as
repair and
troubleshooting for the merchandise may then be more readily provided as the
initial
validation of the merchandise to the particular user, e.g., warranty
registration and
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confirmation has already been automatically provided by the registry. That is,
the registry
facilitates more direct access to support from the manufacturer via a toll
free communication
provided by the manufacturer as supported by the support application on the
device.
[00288] The following are illustrative clauses demonstrating non-limiting
embodiments of the disclosure described herein:
[00289] A mobile device, comprising:
a unique toll-free ID (TFID) present in the mobile device, the TFID
operable to facilitate toll-free communication between the
mobile device and a manufacturer.
[00290] A method of communication via a toll-free service, comprising:
associating at least one mobile device to merchandise purchased from
a manufacturer via a unique toll-free ID (TFID) present in the
mobile device, the TFID operable to facilitate toll-free
communication between the mobile device and the
manufacturer.
[00291] A toll-free voice registry may share reserved, assigned, and working
numbers with the TSS. The TSS may then establish available numbers for service
enablement. As described herein, a service registrar may identify toll-free
numbers to be
provisioned to an organization and may complete a letter of
authorization/agency and provide
"owner of record" documentation. The TSS may then request approval for service
enablement from a responsible organization. The responsible organization may
review the
service enablement request. If approved, the TSS may change the service status
of the toll-
free number from "available" to "assigned." The service registrar may then
assign a unique
identifier to number such as a Service Provider Identifier (SPID) or eSPID.
The TSS may
then provision the service and change the number status from "assigned" to
"active." The
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routing database associated with the TFMP may then provision the toll-free
number with the
unique identifier.
[00292] With reference to Figure 14, a toll-free voice registry may share
reserved,
assigned, and working numbers with the Toll-Free Texting and Smart Services
Registry
(TSS). The TSS may then establish available numbers for service enablement. As
described
herein, a service registrar may identify toll-free numbers to be provisioned
to an organization
and may complete a letter of authorization/agency and provide "owner of
record"
documentation. The TSS may then request approval for service enablement from a
responsible organization. The responsible organization may review the service
enablernent
request. If approved, the TSS may change the service status of the toll-free
number from
"available" to "assigned." The service registrar may then assign a unique
identifier to
number such as a Service Provider Identifier (SPID) or eSPID. The TSS may then
provision
the service and change the number status from "assigned" to "active." The
routing database
associated with the TFMP may then provision the toll-free number with the
unique identifier.
[00293] Additionally, the TFMP may also provide a mobile or other application
that small business and single toll-free number users can use to report abuse
in combination
with the TSS. The TFMP may include a subsystem, referred to as a "node," that
may be used
to build a decision tree that is downloaded to the SCPs. The decision tree may
be used in
various manners to facilitate operation of the service as otherwise described
to facilitate call
efficiency. The TFMP may alternatively or additionally be embodied in a
distributed
computing environment, such as a cloud based computing network. In another
embodiment,
the TFMP may include hybrid networks, including usage of a cellular telephone
network (and
associated mobile communication devices, such as smart phones), a distributed,
cloud
network and an enterprise network associated with a carrier or other business
organization
(and any combination or sub-combination of such networks).
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[00294] Telecommunication service providers are required by industry
guidelines
to have a unique company code assigned to them. This unique company code
identifies
carriers as they interconnect with each other and allows for rating, guiding,
billing and
routing functionality. Historically, when service providers provided voice
only services, each
service provider was identified by a company code termed an Operating Company
Number
(OCN). With the evolution of the communications industry, service providers
started
introducing additional voice services, for example number portability. As
these services were
introduced, the need for uniquely identifying the carriers became of paramount
importance.
Registries and organizations were set up to facilitate the integration and
interactions required
to fulfill these services. Such developments prompted service organizations'
need for
additional context-based metadata to support these interactions (for example
number
portability). One result was the adding of additional identifiers to each
service provider that
required integration. These are sometimes referred to as the SPID or Alternate
Service
Provider Identifier (Alt-SPID).
[00295] With the introduction of over-the-top (OTT) providers, for example
Skype,
and Internet Protocol-based vendors (IP Vendors) selling traditional
communication services
over a full Internet Protocol (IP) network, the activities between software
and the traditional
telecommunications industry become more interactive. IP allowed for a new
breed of
vendors to integrate with traditional communication service provider networks
for delivery
and exchange of consumer data. This created a new set of challenges for the
unique
identification of service providers since the IP Vendors were not traditional
carriers and did
not meet industry guidelines for OCNs. Additional, sometimes proprietary
metadata were
created to support these new service providers, for example an eSPID, as
described herein.
The preponderance of different identifiers from eclectic industry
organizations lead to lack of
a consistent, unique way to identify and interact with service providers, with
no centralized
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industry provider, organization or registry having a complete view of service
provider
community.
[00296] In an example embodiment of a service provider routing text messages
though the network, as the text messages are processed the TSS may obtain
metadata
associated with the messages that includes coding data. By reading these
codes, the TSS may
confirm that a given message is derived from a service provider such as Skype
for delivery to
an AT&T subscriber. Such metadata may be obtained, for example, in a header
file. Fields
in the header file may be associated with a SPID. This may allow the TSS to
determine that
the text message is coming from Skype en route to ATT. If it were the case
that many texts
were originating from Skype at a particular time or day, the TSS may utilize
this data to assist
third parties in providing targeted advertising content. The TSS may also
utilize this data to
identify the unnecessary usage of intermediaries in processing communications
such as text
messages and assist users in avoiding the excess charges for intermediaries by
routing
messages without using intermediaries. The TSS may utilize a context-based
unique
identifier to distinguish specific services associated with the TSS Registry.
The TSPID 1402
may be enabled in TSS and applies to such multimedia services such as but not
limited to
SMS, MMS, video conferencing, and streaming data. Resp Org IDs may also be
associated
with any toll free number enabled in TSS. The TSPID may further facilitate the
value chain
of a multimedia service for toll-free numbers in order for that service to be
delivered.
[00297] The Toll-Free Service Provider ID "TSPID," provides an aggregate
identifier for Service Registrars, who provide services such as, but not
limited to, SMS,
MMS, video conferencing, and streaming content that may be registered and
distributed by
the TSS Registry. That is, the TSPID provides a single unified identifier that
may include
other identifiers 1404 over a broad distribution of data, to include, but not
be limited to,
traditional voice services. The TSPID may also be utilized as an authoritative
identifier of
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the service provider of record for toll-free numbers, and/or ultimately local
10 digit numbers.
The TSPID may be enabled by a user profile and security administration that
grants
permissions to different groups of users to access embodiments of the system
to create, view,
update and activate certain functions. The system can implement a role-based
access control
mechanism.
[00298] Telecommunication service providers are required by industry
guidelines
to have a unique company code assigned to them. This unique company code
identifies
carriers as they interconnect with each other and allows for rating, guiding,
billing and
routing functionality. Historically, when service providers provided voice
only services, each
service provider was identified by a company code called as Operating Company
Number or
(OCN). With the evolution of the communications industry, service providers
started
introducing additional voice services, for example number portability. As
these services were
introduced, the need for uniquely identifying the carriers became of paramount
importance.
Registries and organizations were set up to facilitate the integration and
interactions required
to fulfill these services. Such developments prompted service organizations'
need for
additional context-based metadata to support these interactions (for example
number
portability). One result was the adding of additional identifiers to each
service provider that
required integration. These are sometimes referred to as the SPID or Alternate
Service
Provider Identifier (Alt-SPID).
[00299] The SPID is the authoritative identifier for telephone number
ownership in
the Number Portability Administration Center, which includes "ported" numbers
associated
with Local Number Portability as well as "pooled" numbers, which are
associated with
assigned pool blocks as administered by the Pooling Administration. Over time,
many
companies may map various identifiers such as the SPIDs to a broader table for
use with the
TSPID to still further aggregate such data. Further, traditional voice
services may be mapped
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as well.
1003001 With the introduction of value added mobile services (for example
SMS),
exchanges and hubs set up by Inter Carrier Vendors (ICV) provide communication
between
multiple mobile network operators. Route tables are stored in industry
proprietary databases
that provided a call path service to determine, in real time, the destination
service provider for
an incoming mobile service. These ICVs further add additional metadata to
identify carriers
and facilitate integration. This process may have added complexity insofar as
countries have
their own local and regional authorities and naming conventions.
[00301] With the introduction of over-the-top (OTT) providers, for example
Skype,
and Internet Protocol-based vendors (IP Vendors) selling traditional
communication services
over a full Internet Protocol (IP) network, the activities between software
and the traditional
telecommunications industry become more interactive. IP allowed for a new
breed of
vendors to integrate with traditional communication service provider networks
for delivery
and exchange of consumer data. This created a new set of challenges for the
unique
identification of service providers since the IP Vendors were not traditional
carriers and did
not meet industry guidelines for OCNs. ICVs created additional, sometimes
proprietary
metadata to support these new service providers, for example an eSPID, as
described herein.
The preponderance of different identifiers from eclectic industry
organizations lead to lack of
a consistent, unique way to identify and interact with service providers, with
no centralized
industry provider, organization or registry having a complete view of service
provider
community.
[00302] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the TSS may provide an
inclusive view of industry identifiers, enabling a single system of record for
identifying
service providers, whether traditional telecommunications provider, OTT
provider, or some
other type of service provider. During the on-boarding process (e.g., toll-
free number
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reservation and provisioning), service registrars may be required to provide
their unique
identifiers (UIds) with the various organizations they interact.
[00303] In embodiments, the TSS may establish a baseline of UIds by public
domain information gathering. Data gathered through the public domain may be
further
validated through crowd sourcing, where a global, potentially mechanical human
process can
be used to identify, validate and confirm UIds to create a baseline for the
registry. In another
embodiment, latent sematic indexing may be used to associate data and metadata
associated
with communications to the actual owner, provider, or responsible party that
is associated
with a communication, such as a text message. This crowd-sourced translation
table
associated with the TSS may enable mapping of service providers to unique
identifiers. Such
a mapping would enable the a registry that may be used by third parties to
locate the plurality
of identifiers that may be associated with a service provider or plurality of
service providers.
[00304] In order to facilitate proper content delivery, service providers may
be
required by the TSS to periodically update their UIds. A validation,
verification and
certification process may be used to ensure integrity and validity of data
entering the TSS.
This may provide the industry with a single resource that may be used to
identify and validate
the identity of service providers. In an example usage scenario, a
communications company
that intends to optimize its network and manage traffic, may wish to identify
where its end
traffic (original source) is located by looking at packet headers and
identifying service
providers. In another example, a consumer reports-based rating service may use
the TSS to
provide consumers with message or delivery metrics. Bulk-advertising (pam)
management
companies may use the TSS look at detailed metadata and associate a name to a
code. ICVs
may use the TSS to streamline establishment and setup of their recipients
without requiring
expensive and costly set up. Ad agencies may use data derived from the TSS to
customize
ads to end users by understanding the source and destination (as opposed to
area codes), and
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personalize content based on the service provider(s), for example if the
content originated on
an IP network.
[00305] In an example embodiment of a service provider routing text messages
though the network, as the text messages are processed the TSS may obtain
metadata
associated with the messages that includes coding data. By reading these
codes, the TSS may
confirm that a given message is derived from a service provider such as Skype
for delivery to
an AT&T subscriber. Such metadata may be obtained, for example, in a header
file. Fields
in the header file may be associated with a SP1D. This may allow the TSS to
determine that
the text message is coming from Skype en route to AT&T. If it were the case
that many texts
were originating from Skype at a particular time or day, the TSS may utilize
this data to assist
third parties in providing targeted advertising content. The TSS may also
utilize this data to
identify the unnecessary usage of intermediaries in processing communications
such as text
messages and assist users in avoiding the excess charges for intermediaries by
routing
messages without using intermediaries.
[00306] With reference to Figure 15, in embodiments, the TSS (Texting and
Smart
Services) Registry 1500 may establish a baseline of UIds by public domain
information
gathering for messages 1508 sent from a client device 1504. Data gathered
through the
public domain may be validated through crowd sourcing, where a global,
potentially
mechanical human process can be used to identify, validate and confirm UIds to
create a
baseline for the registry. Every Service Provider has a set of unique UIds by
which its
customers are reached by various methods such as, but not limited to, voice,
short messaging
service (SMS), multimedia messaging service (MMS), video conferencing, and
streaming
content. When any of these Service Providers signs up to be a TSS user 1502,
it has a unique
UId, called a TSPID, which is assigned. This TSPID provides the baseline for
which many
other UIds can be mapped. Many Data Providers, Messaging Hubs, Aggregators,
and others
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who are in the business of routing and providing services such as voice, SMS,
MMS, video
conferencing, streaming content, and other multimedia services, to sign on to
consume TSS
Data. Each of these entities that consume data will have a unique identifier
to which the
TSPID will be mapped. Data Providers that consume TSS data will be required to
provide to
TSS a new toll-free specific UId for each established TSPID. The end result is
a mapping
that extends to any data provider that is consuming TSS data. As distribution
widens, a fairly
comprehensive routing table 1514 for each Service Provider is created.
[00307] Furthermore, each TFN that is enabled in the TSS Registry, has the
Resp
Org ID and Resp Org Entity associated with it, and thus is also mapped to the
TSPID. The
result is the most comprehensive routing table specific to toll-free numbers
that will map toll-
free numbers to their voice provider, messaging provider, as well as the
routing information
across a plurality of data providers. Once this comprehensive Toll-Free
routing table 1514 is
established, it can be further extended to layer in other identifiers, such
as, but not limited to
local ten digit numbers (also known as "long codes"), SPID, LRN, OCN, and
LATA.
[00308] In another embodiment, latent semantic indexing may be used to
associate
data and metadata associated with communications to the actual owner,
provider, or
responsible party that is associated with a communication, such as a text
message. This
crowd-sourced translation table associated with the TSS may enable mapping of
service
providers to unique identifiers. Such a mapping would enable a registry that
may be used by
third parties to locate the plurality of identifiers that may be associated
with a service
provider or plurality of service providers. In embodiments, toll-free number
abuse
information, as described herein, from a plurality of sources including, but
not limited to, a
telephone service provider, toll-free number operators and Resp Orgs may also
be used for
the purposes of creating translation tables, including but not limited to
crowd-sourced
translation tables. The TSS routing table, once sufficiently established, may
be used for
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services such as value added predictive analytics, as described herein, that
service providers
can use to gain valuable insights about their customers. Service Providers and
other
consumers of the data in the routing table would access the information using
either an
application programming interface (API) for automated integration into their
own analytics
engines, or a web-based GUI for simpler one-time lookups. Below are some
examples of
probable use-cases for the routing table.
[00309] In order to facilitate proper content delivery, service providers may
be
required by the TSS to periodically update their UIds. A validation,
verification and
certification process may be used to ensure integrity and validity of data
entering the TSS.
This may provide the industry with a single resource that may be used to
identify and validate
the identity of service providers. In an example usage scenario, a
communications company
that intends to optimize its network and manage traffic, may wish to identify
where its end
traffic (original source) is located by looking at packet headers and
identifying service
providers.
[00310] In another embodiment, a consumer reports-based rating service may use
the TSS to provide consumers with message or delivery metrics. Bulk-
advertising (spam)
management companies may use the TSS to look at detailed metadata and
associate a name
to a code to streamline establishment and setup of their recipients without
requiring
expensive and costly set up. Ad agencies may use data derived from the TSS to
customize
ads to end users by understanding the source and destination (as opposed to
area codes), and
personalize content based on the service provider(s), for example if the
content originated on
an IP network.
[00311] In another embodiment of a service provider routing text messages
though
the network, as the text messages 1508 are processed, the TSS may obtain
metadata
associated with the messages that includes coding data. By reading these
codes, the TSS may
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confirm that a given message is derived from a service provider such as Skype
for delivery to
an AT&T subscriber. Such metadata may be obtained, for example, in a header
file. Fields
in the header file may be associated with a SPID. This may allow the TSS to
determine that
the text message is coming from Skype en route to AT&T. If it were the case
that many texts
were originating from Skype at a particular time or day, the TSS may utilize
this data to assist
third parties in providing targeted advertising content. The TSS may also
utilize this data to
identify the unnecessary usage of intermediaries in processing communications
such as text
messages and assist users in avoiding the excess charges for intermediaries by
routing
messages without using intermediaries.
[00312] In embodiments, the TFMP may provide a Toll-Free Texting and Smart
Services Registry (TSS) to support toll-free telephone numbers and related
services, such as
SMS, MMS and streaming media. The TSS may comprise several components such as,
but
not limited to, number administration, call control and routing, as well as
number status
assessment. The number administration function may provide number assignment
for toll-
free subscribers as well as provide services to manage the toll-free numbering
plan. This
component may provide for toll-free number portability as well as managing the
mapping of
toll-free numbers to geographic numbers. The number administration function
may also open
new number plan administration codes. The number administration function may
forecast the
exhaustion of codes and demand for codes for use by organizations such as the
FCC. The
call control and routing function may be responsible for providing intelligent
routing for calls
made to toll-free numbers.
[00313] Toll-free subscribers may have the ability to configure call
routing to
include multiple carriers, time of day rules, and rules based on the caller's
proximity, among
others. These rules may be downloaded to real-time network routing databases
or Service
Control Points (SCPs). The number status assessment function may determine the
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availability of certain numbers. Numbers may be reserved and assigned
according to
activation date and then are deployed. The number status function may assess
whether
numbers are spare, reserved, assigned, or currently deployed. Providers of
various smart
services, such as voice, media, or texting services, may be able to access the
TSS that can be
text enabled from a list of reserved, assigned, and working numbers. After
numbers are
identified, an automated online letter of agency may be executed. The letter
of agency may
independently demonstrate authorization to a responsible organization that
maintains the
registration for individual toll-free numbers in a distributed database. The
distributed
database may be associated with a distributed computing network, as described
herein. Upon
execution of the letter of agency, the information may then be provisioned to
industry routing
databases for delivering various services, such as SMS (text) messaging, MMS
messaging,
and content streaming, including but not limited to video content.
[00314] Letter of agency, as used herein, may include but is not limited to
communication used by a toll-free end subscriber, such as during the
provisioning phase of a
toll-free number engagement, to enable that end subscriber to switch providers
for a given
telephone, messaging service, and the like. In an example, an end subscriber
may wish to
change its long distance provider so that a local company need not be used.
The long
distance provider to whom the end subscriber wishes to do business would
typically walk the
end subscriber through an authorization process to enable the end subscriber
to switch long
distance carriers from the local company to the new company. This
authorization may
manifest in the carrier's system as a letter of agency that documents the
needed approvals
from the end subscriber. In an embodiment, the TSS may enable a letter of
agency process
for a provider to authorize texting and other services on a toll-free number
or plurality of toll-
free numbers that are used by an end subscriber. The letter of agency may be
electronically
stored and presented to the responsible organization or owner of record for a
given number or
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service. The letter of agency may further define a time frame during which
certain actions,
such as the turning on of texting services for a toll-free number, are
peunitted. Such letters of
agency, as defined herein, may be further associated with stored profiles of
an owner of
record and/or end subscriber. A letter of agency may allow a toll-free number
end-user, or
toll-free number subscriber, to authorize service enablement for services not
covered by their
existing responsible organization. In this way, consumers can have multiple
services enabled
on a single telephone number, across multiple service providers. In an
example, a letter of
agency may authorize a responsible organization or other entity to take a
plurality of actions
so that additional communication with, for example, an end subscriber is
unnecessary and
actions may be taken more quickly and efficiently. This may enable service
registrars, and
others, to activate new services, such as toll-free texting services or
bandwidth increases on a
shorter timeline, which may have commercial benefits as speed activation of
needed
telecommunications services.
[00315] In an embodiment, the TSS may facilitate the enablement of a letter of
agency process used to enable toll-free texting capability and capture basic
data such as
customer name, responsible organization, service registrar, toll free number,
service
enablement date, and letter of authorization/agency, status of services, or
some other type of
data associated with toll-free telephone numbers and services. The TSS may
facilitate the
letter of agency process by programmatically sending a notification to the
responsible
organization of record to memorialize the transaction. A timer may be set that
will give the
responsible organization a limited period of time to dispute the transaction.
If no action is
taken, the transaction may proceed and texting service enablement, or some
other service
type, may be fulfilled in the TSS Registry. Continuing the example, this
letter of agency
process may be provided for each toll-free number that is provisioned in the
TSS Registry, or
only a subset of numbers depending on the wishes of the end users. In order to
streamline the
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letter of agency process, a "blanket" letter of agency may be used whereby the
customer of
record may authorize a specific service registrar to provision, update, and
deactivate records
in the TSS as needed. In such cases, a notification may be sent to the
responsible
organization to memorialize each transaction. In order to further streamline
the letter of
agency process, responsible organization's may choose to put a "blanket"
authorization on
specific service registrar's which will allow the transaction to take place in
real time.
[00316] In embodiments, the TSS Registry, as described herein may be an
authoritative database of all, or some subset of, text-enabled toll-free
numbers in North
America. It may also contain the top-level routing information, in the form of
a toll-free
service provider identifier (TSPID), used by the texting ecosystem to send
messages to the
proper toll-free subscriber. Since a letter of agency is required for each
toll-free number that
is enabled in the TSS, the TSPID may become a centralized and authoritative
source
identifier and may be used in the provisioning of additional services
associated with toll-free
numbers such as, but not limited to MMS, video conferencing, and streaming
data.
Furthermore, since part of the enablement process includes Responsible
Organization
authorization and/or notification, coupled with the direct connection to a
voice
telecommunications platform associated with the TFMP, the TSPID may also serve
to
validate the authority of a call routing table.
[00317] The following are illustrative clauses demonstrating non-limiting
embodiments of the disclosure described herein:
[00318] A method of identifying and storing an identifier associated with a
toll-
free-c ommuni c ati on entity, comprising:
locating an identifier within the header portion of an SMS text message
routed over a toll-free telecommunications line, the identifier
located based at least in part through latent semantic indexing;
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comparing the located identifier with metadata stored on a server, the
metadata associated with a plurality of entities;
selecting an entity from among the plurality of entities based at least in
part on the comparison; and
storing a code associated with the entity within a translation table
associated with a toll-free telecommunications management
platform.
[00319] A method of creating and storing an identifier associated with a
toll-free-
communication entity, comprising:
locating data within the header portion of an SMS text message routed
over a toll-free telecommunications line, the data located based
at least in part through latent semantic indexing;
creating an entity identifier based at least on the data;
storing a code associated with the entity identifier and an entity within
a translation table associated with a toll-free
telecommunications management platform; and
associating the entity and entity identifier with a call routing table.
[00320] A method of identifying and storing an identifier associated with a
toll-
free-communication entity, comprising:
identifying a toll-free call route trend among a plurality of toll-free
calls taking place within a toll-free telecommunications
network; wherein the call route trend is identified at least in
part by call routings among toll-free numbers sharing an
attribute;
creating a call route template based at least in part on the trend;
identifying an entity using at least one toll-free number with the shared
attribute;
prepopulating a call route tree for the entity based on the call route
template.
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[00321] With reference to Figures 16-20, a system according to various
embodiments, and which may be referred to in some instances herein as an
intelligent
platform, platform, or an architecture, is operable to support the ever
evolving toll-free
industry through the use of modern technologies which may include enhanced
functionality
and deliver improved cost efficiencies and quality of service.
[00322] The architecture depicted in Figures 16-20 may include aspects such
as:
j. Number searches return suggestions
k. Scheduled number search
1. One-click number search to activate
m. Number search based on history
n. Smart number search
o. Bulk search
p. Sparc number availability notification
q. Enhanced number configurability
r. Enhanced route management
s. Self-service administration
t. Additional user roles
u. Customer record builder
v. Customer record template transfer
w. Dashboard
x. Customer access
y. Open API
z. Bulk Processing
aa. Improved Search
bb. Workflow
cc. Customer records/Template
dd. System Performance
ee. Reporting and Analyties
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[00323] The architecture depicted in Figures 16-20 may include the components
in
the following table:
Component Decision Rationale
Application Apply Service-oriented (SOA) and SOA and EDA create loose
Platform event-driven (EDA) design coupling and high cohesion,
throughout the application. The which enable flexibility and
core system should be considered a extensibility to business change
platform for existing application in alignment with the solution
services as well as future products principles.
and services, some of which may
be provided by the TFMP while
others would be provided by either
third parties or affiliated entities,
interfacing with the system via
.............. public APIs.
Application Follow web scale IT design to Web-Scale design concepts
Platform enable cloud-based scale and high consider global-class
compute
availability using stateless models, capacity given the massive
open source tools, Agile/DevOps expansion of web- and cloud-
approaches, and Web Oriented enabled capabilities. Web-Scale
Architecture (Web APIs) concepts. is the modem equivalent to high
quality of service architectures
on low cost/commodity
infrastructure.
Application Utilize web API architecture to Traditional N-Tier
architectures
Platform simplify traditional N-Tier models require significant
"platfonn
by connecting any plumbing," and may be quickly
device/channel/interface via a being replaced by simpler, more
single API that encapsulates a modem Web API architectures
back-end data/process service, that use generic interfaces to
back-end data/processing
services. This simpler
architecture aligns well with the
solution principles.
Application Distributed queue with guaranteed Traditional, storage-based
Platform (storage-based) messaging to queues should be sufficient to
ensure FIFO request management. handle transaction volumes. If
Develop a proof of concept for in- the queue becomes a bottleneck
memory queue if requirements and the database architecture
necessitate faster performance. cannot maintain integrity, an in-
memory queue may be
necessary.
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Application Prefer Java as the programming Over the last few years, Java
Platform platform/language of choice for has consistently been ranked
as
core application components. one of the most popular
Leverage alternative languages programming languages with an
opportunistically to accelerate installed base that rivals any
development for lightweight Web other programming language. A
components, native sockets, or wide availability of resources
analytics, among others, and products exist to
complement the language. A
minimal risk exists with Java
based on the fact that it is
controlled by Oracle and does
not share the same degree of
openness as many other
languages. Nonetheless, Java is
a generic rather than a purpose-
specific language, so the
architecture should expect a
plurality of alternatives to solve
discrete technical or business
problems.
User Design for web-based, thin client Responsive/cross-channel web
Interface user interface with HTML5, design and cross-
JavaScript and CSS. platfoloildevice compatibility
requires modern user interface
technologies to deliver
consistency across a variety of
browsers, screen-sizes and
platforms. JavaScript libraries
(formerly referred to as
AJAX/RIA) have significantly
matured, when combined with
HTML5 and CSS, can now
deliver rich, dynamic and
usable experiences that
integrate easily with web APIs.
These tools do, however,
require significant hand-coding.
Business Implement a business rule engine Current business processes
may
Process and (BRE), but not a BPMS, to not require use of a business
Rules simplify call-tree routing for process management suite
customer records and enable (BPMS) because 1) processes
configuration of valid values and may be deterministic with
ranges throughout the application, defined beginnings and ends, 2)
processes do not change
frequently, and 3) processes do
not require business user
change. Basic
workflow/orchestration logic
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and rule evaluation tools meet
minimum solution
requirements. These basic
capabilities may be packaged in
many leading products
including service buses and
open source tools.
Integration Use a lightweight service bus to An integration layer
centralizes
= intermediate Web APIs between and
simplifies Web API
channels/devices/interfaces. The mediation and security, as well
service bus can be one of two as decouples the architecture to
patterns/usages: increase flexibility and
1. Open Source Enterprise extensibility. ESBs may be
Service Bus (ESB) that traditional integration mainstays
provides advanced service that provide a suite of
mediation, intelligent integration functionality.
routing, BPEL/orchestration, Popular open source tools
rule evaluation, security and include Talend, Mulesoft, Red
robust message Hat Fuse, and WS02. Lighter-
transformation weight API Management
2. APT Management Appliances Appliances (formerly referred
that provide basic service to as SOA Governance tools)
mediation, routing, may be increasingly popular for
orchestration and simplified and accelerated
transformation plus hardware service mediation. Popular
acceleration for security/SSL appliances may be CA/Layer 7,
and message processing DataPower, and Intel SOA
Express.
= Integration Both SOAP and REST, and others Both REST and SOAP
WS-I
can be used. SOAP WS-I is may be mainstream Web
= preferred for higher quality of
Service integration
service requirements such as technologies. These
security and reliable messaging, technologies provide for
REST is preferred for ubiquity and relatively easy and efficient
interoperability. integration following industry-
accepted standards.
Integration Use data integration to ensure CDC and ETL may be both
consistency across data stores and mainstream options for moving
synchronization for replication. data. CDC should be used for
Data integration tools may deliver near real-time data integration
two patterns/usages: whereas ETL should be used to
1. Change data capture (CDC) move bulk changes on a
for moving data from periodic basis. Numerous open
transaction processing source data integration tools
systems (OLTP) into the may be available, including
operational data store (ODS) those packaged with the chosen
in near/real-time database.
2. Extract, transform, load
(ETL) for moving data from
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ODS to other data stores for
replication and analysis in
batch/scheduled mode
Business Expand use of the SAP There is an existing investment,
Intelligence BusinessObjects suite investment .. comfort, and experience
with
to address the three business BusinesObjects for end-user
intelligence use cases: Dashboards, reporting. BusinessObjects is a
Reporting, and Analytics. This leading product and suite for
includes using BusinessObjects as dashboards, reporting and
a replacement for Concurrent analytics. The Knosys platform
Technologies Knosys, which is is expensive, adds complexity
currently used for management to the environment, and
reporting. Evaluate use of requires data to be sent off-site
= BusinessObjects On-Demand/SaaS without clear repossession
to reduce the infrastructure rights.
footprint.
Business Analytics and Reporting can run A separate reporting database
is
Intelligence against the operational data store .. essential to remove
those
(ODS) for both management and workloads from the transaction
end-user reports (dashboards, processing database (when not
canned reports, parameterized using an in-memory database,
reports, ad hoc reports). The ODS which is the current direction).
can provide insight into "what The ODS can maintain an
happened?" and "what is integrated, near real-time set of
happening?" all operational data including
number, customer, and billing
infounation.
...,.................................,.........,.,.,... ...... ......
.....................,..... ........ .....................................
........ ...........,..
Business Analytics and Repotting can run .. A separate analytics database
is
Intelligence against a data warehouse or "big essential to remove those
data" data store. The analytics data workloads from the ODS. This
store can be created for industry analytics data store may also
intelligence workloads, which may include a different schema,
include mining, forecasting, and different data types, and
trending to provide insight into different semantics. ETL, and
"why is this happening?" and others can be used to move data
"what is likely to happen next?" from the ODS to the analytics
data store unless near/real-time
infounation is necessary for
industry analytics.
= Data There is no need for master or ..
There may be current or future
Management metadata management, search requirements that necessitate
engines or Web/content/document active data quality management,
= management. metadata management, or
unstructured content search.
Web and content management
may be out of scope.
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Data The database architecture can Traditional, shared-everything,
Management enable partitioning in a shared monolithic database
nothing model. This can ensure architectures may be being
that data access and indexing can replaced by modem, shared-
be scaled in a widely accepted, nothing, highly scalable
fault-tolerant manner. architectures. These concepts
align with Web-Scale
deployments and disclosed
embodiments solution
principles.
Data Data integrity and availability may ACID is the traditional, high
Management be characterized by two data model integrity database model that
patterns/usage: ACID and BASE. provides ample scale and
Preference is for ACID, but others capacity. This is a low risk
may be prototyped such as BASE solution for well-known
using strict success criteria number and customer
(monitoring, management, administration functionalities.
consistency, responsiveness) to BASE offers nearly infinite
detcHnine if additional benefits performance and scale benefits,
exceed the risks of complexity, but requires a significant shift
difficulty, and ability to maintain in developer and user
user expectations. experience that introduces risk
1. ACID: Traditional session- into the deployment. This
based database locking degree of change and risk
strategies to guarantee currently outweigh the benefits
transaction integrity (e.g., of scale and capacity. Further
Oracle, DB2, SQL Server, investigation is needed to
mySQL) understand the true
2. BASE: Trending stateless benefits/tradeoffs, and
database models that favor implications to other
= data availability and eventual architectural decisions.
consistency over data
integrity (e.g., mySQL
Cluster, Cassandra,
= MongoDB)
Data If the performance requirements Data sharding is an advanced
Management necessitate additional scale, the alternative technique that not
BASE pattern design should be only partitions data but also
favored over data sharding. moves those partitions into
separate databases. This
requires intelligence in the
application to know in which
database certain sets of data
reside. For disclosed
embodiments, the benefit of
= sharding scale and performance
do not justify the costs of
additional application
complexity.
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Monitoring Monitoring may cover three levels: Application monitoring is a
1) application performance critical piece of application
monitoring (end-user experience, management and is essential to
application runtime, transaction reduce maintenance costs.
profiling, component deep-dives), Consistent application
2) server monitoring and 3) instrumentation implementation
network monitoring. Unified practices are followed to ensure
monitoring tools may be utilized to accurate end-to-end user and
simplify the landscape and provide transaction level monitoring.
a single console for application and
infrastructure health.
Security Multiple products may be used to Application security is a
secure the runtime environment, fundamental concern for all
Web Application Firewalls provide application development, and
real-time event monitoring and should be ingrained into every
protect against known SQL aspect of the application code.
injection and phishing Web Application Firewalls may
vulnerabilities. Dynamic security be simple hardware appliances
testing tools may continually verify that can also accelerate and load
protection against known balance requests. Many other
signatures and patterns. Data security tools may be open
masking tools should be used to source or easily acquired.
obfuscate production data for
test/development purposes.
Security Identity and Web access Security cannot be
management can be provided via compromised, but there may be
on-premises Web Access more usable solutions available
Management tools. These tools that can sustain and even
provide integrated identity enhance system security
management, self-service password posture.
management, authentication
management and authorization
integration. Disclosed
embodiments may still require two-
factor authentication. A password
is likely to be the first factor. A
token (soft or certificate-based) or
a one-time password (OTP) may be
likely to be the second factor. A
VPN should be used to create a
secure tunnel and mitigate Man-In-
The-Middle attacks.
[00324] With reference to Figure 21, in embodiments, the TFMP may include a
subsystem that enables distributed call collectors to collect data from
various sources
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including service control points (SCPs), toll-free service providers,
interexchange carriers,
and others. Data may be real-time grouped, aggregated and reduced based on
toll-free
numbers and relevant parameters, including but not limited to origination
location,
originating area of service, originating NPA, ANT, or some other criterion.
Call counts may
be calculated for high priority numbers. Data may be enriched with call
duration information
when it is available. This process may assist in reducing the overall data set
size and
speeding processing. A local NoSQL data store may be used to aggregate local
trends and
pre-process raw data.
[00325] In embodiments, once pre-processing completes, data may be shared in
real time, or near real time, to a centralized analytics data store 2102 that
is associated with
the TFMP for more real time mapping and reduction. The analytics NoSQL
datamart may
combine data feeds from various service providers from the network and further
reduce
information to call counts, call completion rates and call duration for high
priority numbers.
This subsystem of the TFMP may gather historical macroeconomic data from
market sources
2104 like Bloomberg TM and Reuters TM and create a reference data store that
groups and
summarizes economic trends month over month. This subsystem may serve as a
reference
data source for the analysis, inference and indexing system.
[00326] In embodiments, this subsystem may collect historical call completion
and
call count data from high priority numbers and apply mapping and data
reduction techniques
to create historical baselines for calls. Calls may be sourced from market
data sources, data
purchases, data bartering from call sources, or through some other type of
data source. Call
sampling and aggregation may be iteratively performed until a statistically
significant dataset
is created (e.g., over a tuning period). Multi-factor models may be created
for correlating
toll-free call activity with selected macroeconomic trends, backed by high
priority numbers
tied to businesses. For example, calls to toll-free numbers for employment
commissions in
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the 50 states may be tied to a forward-looking indicator for unemployment and
consumer
sentiment.
[00327] In another example, historical changes in macroeconomic data may be
plotted with changes in call metrics like call volume, call duration, or some
other data related
to toll-free data. This may provide a correlation between telemetry and
economic indicators.
Financial modeling techniques may be applied, and additional factors may be
analyzed,
including but not limited to consumer sentiment, including sentiment that is
sourced by social
media comments and online behaviors related to relevant topics (e.g.,
questions regarding
unemployment benefits or questions regarding food stamps). Interrelationships
between
indicators may also be analyzed. Credit card spending data may be an
additional factor
analyzed. These underlying factors may drive stochastic probabilities to
determine a
prediction model that may be utilized by the TFMP. The TFMP system may include
a
subsystem, referred to as a "node," that may be used to build a decision tree
that is
downloaded to the SCPs to facilitate the stochastic probabilities to determine
a prediction
model. The decision tree may be used in various manners as otherwise described
to facilitate
call efficiency. The output of the model may be a prediction trend 2108 that
can forecast the
probability of a relative positivity or negativity of the upcoming indicator.
Data from the
analytics data store and the historical trends data store may be analyzed
through a multi-
factor model for deriving a macro economic trend indicator and a relative
level of confidence
with the trend.
[00328] In embodiments, a client device 2110 such as an online and/or a mobile
application may allow users to filter, search and sort trend data, increase or
reduce
granularity, include or exclude factors and zone in or drill down based on
dimensions. For
example, a user may choose to include or exclude a state from the model to
derive a trend
prediction and a prediction confidence indicator. Alternatively or in
addition, a customizable
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user interface, or "dashboard," may be utilized to provide access for third
party data services,
sponsored data and information derived from toll-free telecommunications
networks,
including but not limited to telecommunications carriers, service control
points, call centers,
or other parties affiliated with a toll-free telecommunication network. As
elsewhere
described, origination data may be combined with social media and other public
domain third
party data, and near real-time, apply a valuation model to display a trends
and prices on an
interactive map via the TFMP. Further, the user profile and security
administration grants
permissions to different groups of users to access embodiments of the system
to create, view,
update and activate certain functions. The system can implement a role-based
access control
mechanism.
1003291 In embodiments, this analytic subsystem of the TFMP may provide a
flexible mapping interface for a user 2112 to enter their own data as part of
an analysis. Once
configured, additional data sources may be added in real time, or near real
time, through an
API or a web interface to further refine the model based on customer specific
data sets to
make intelligent business decisions. The system may alternatively or
additionally be
embodied in a distributed computing environment, such as a cloud based
computing network.
In another embodiment, such systems may be hybrid networks, including usage of
a cellular
telephone network (and associated mobile communication devices, such as smart
phones), a
distributed, cloud network and an enterprise network associated with a carrier
or other
business organization (and any combination or sub-combination of such
networks).
1003301 The system may also provide a marketplace for data trading where
subscribers can choose and buy data sources that are of interest to them to
include in their
analysis to further refine their predictive model. The system may facilitate
the sale of data
sources and assist in ensuring that the data uploaded and made available on
the data market is
scrubbed of personally identifiable or other sensitive data. For facilitating
the data sale, the
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system may charge a percentage of the sale proceeds in addition to an annual
or monthly
subscription fees. For consumers interested in a monthly subscription, overall
sentiment data
may be made available through a number trend report. Alerts may be presented
to users, such
as to a client device. The user may also access the reporting capabilities of
the TFMP
through a client device, such as a personal computer, mobile phone, tablet
computer, or some
other computing facility, and receive data, including multimedia to the user's
client device.
Functionalities of the TFMP include, but are not limited to, Number
Administration (NA) and
Customer Record (CR) administration.
[00331] In embodiments, the TFMP may provide macroeconomic data trend over a
network to a remote client device, by providing a user interface dashboard to
a user for
installation on the remote client device; receiving third party social media
data; modeling at
least one of call duration or call count data with the third party social
media data to derive a
macroeconomic trend; receiving a request from the remote client device to
present the
macroeconomic data trend; generating an alert from the macroeconomic data
trend that
contains a stock name, stock price and a universal resource locator (URL),
which specifies
the location of the data source; and transmitting the alert over a
communication channel to
the remote client device associated with the user based upon a destination
address and
transmission schedule that is associated with the remote client device,
wherein the alert
activates the user interface dashboard to cause the alert to display on the
remote client device
and to enable connection with the user interface dashboard when the remote
client device is
activated.
[00332]
The following are illustrative clauses demonstrating
non-limiting
embodiments of the disclosure described herein:
[00333] A method comprising:
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receiving data relating to toll-free number call activity from a toll-free
telecommunications system, wherein the data includes at least one of call
duration or call count data;
receiving third party data relating to macroeconomic activity;
modeling at least one of call duration or call count data with the third party
data to derive a macroeconomic trend;
receiving a request from a client device to present the macroeconomic trend;
and
presenting a representation of the macroeconomic trend to a user interface on
the client device.
[00334] A method comprising:
receiving data relating to toll-free number call activity from a toll-free
telecommunications system, wherein the data includes at least one of call
duration or call count data;
receiving metadata about the toll-free numbers that are the subject of the
call
activity, wherein the metadata includes data pertaining to at least one of
business type or location;
modeling at least one of call duration or call count data with the metadata to
derive a macroeconomic trend;
receiving a request from a client device to present the macroeconomic trend;
and
presenting a representation of the macroeconomic trend to a user interface on
the client device.
[00335] A method of distributing a macroeconomic data trend over a network to
a
remote client device, the method comprising:
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providing a user interface dashboard to a user for installation on the remote
client device;
receiving third party social media data;
modeling at least one of call duration or call count data with the third party
social media data to derive a macroeconomic trend;
receiving a request from the remote client device to present the
macroeconomic data trend;
generating an alert from the macroeconomic data trend that contains a stock
name, stock price and a universal resource locator (URL), which specifies the
location of the data source; and
transmitting the alert over a communication channel to the remote client
device associated with the user based upon a destination address and
transmission schedule that is associated with the remote client device,
wherein
the alert activates the user interface dashboard to cause the alert to display
on
the remote client device and to enable connection with the user interface
dashboard when the remote client device is activated.
[00336] With reference to Figure 22, in another embodiment, a toll-free
management platform (TFMP) may refine a recommendation for a toll-free number
search
via a recommendation engine that utilizes a searcher's profile to improve the
search. The toll-
free management platform (TFMP) may utilize other assets of a toll-free system
generally,
such as carrier data, location information regarding call origination, payment
data and so
forth. The TFMP system may include a subsystem, referred to as a "node," that
may be used
to build a decision tree that is downloaded to the SCPs. The decision tree may
be used in
various manners as otherwise described to facilitate call efficiency. In one
example, the toll-
free number search may be based upon a customer's historical data such as
prior search
criteria and existing toll-free numbers, and thereby provide the customer
suggestions or
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notification of toll-free numbers that are available for use. This toll-free
number search may
be based upon previous searches by either that customer and alternatively or
in addition, upon
other customer searches.
[00337] The toll-free number predictive search is operable to utilize multiple
sources of data to extrapolate possible toll-free numbers and those included
in a Resp Org
and/or user's search history to include, but not be limited to, a current Resp
Org inventory, an
overall search history, lists of upcoming available numbers, or some other
type of data.
Predictive analytics is an area of data mining that deals with extracting
information from data
and using it to predict trends and behavior patterns. The toll-free number
predictive search is
operable for the user profile and security administration grants permissions
to different
groups of users to access embodiments of the system to create, view, update
and activate
certain functions. The system can implement a role-based access control
mechanism.
[00338] Predictive analytics utilized for the predictive search may encompass
a
variety of statistical techniques from predictive modeling, machine learning,
and data mining
that analyze current and historical facts to make predictions about future, or
otherwise
unknown, events. Predictive analytics can be applied to any type of unknown
whether it be
in the past, present or future. Predictive analytic services may also be
provided that allow a
user, through the customizable user interface, or dashboard, to access third
party data
services, sponsored data and information derived from toll-free
telecommunications
networks, including but not limited to telecommunications carriers, service
control points,
call centers, or other parties affiliated with a toll-free telecommunication
network. As
elsewhere described, origination data may be combined with social media and
other public
domain third party data, and near real-time, apply a valuation model to
display a trends and
prices on an interactive map via the TFMP.
[00339] The toll-free number predictive search may check on the availability
of a
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suggested toll-free number before making a particular suggestion and may
otherwise
automatically reserve that toll-free number, based upon the customer selecting
an
"automatically reserve" option. That is, the toll-free number may be
automatically reserved
if it meets particular search criteria to essentially automate the reservation
thereof Further,
the automatic reservation may be a fee-based function in which particular
bidders are able to
prioritize the choice of toll free numbers via particular fee based
arrangements.
[00340] In embodiments, initially, a user may be provided the option to opt in
to
the toll-free number predictive search feature as well as the option to
automatically reserve
toll-free numbers determined to be available based upon the predictive search.
That is, rather
than wait for a request, a customer-desired number is predicted, offered, and
potentially
reserved. The user may also access the reporting capabilities of the TFMP
through a client
device, such as a personal computer, mobile phone, tablet computer, or some
other
computing facility, and receive data, including multimedia to the user's
client device.
Functionalities of the TFMP include, but are not limited to, Number
Administration (NA) and
Customer Record (CR) administration. It should be appreciated that other
options may be
alternatively or additionally provided.
[00341] In one disclosed non-limiting embodiment of a method 2200 for
operation
of a toll-free number predictive search is initiated via accessing a Resp
Org's search history
(step 2202; Figures 23, 24, 25, and 26). Numerous criteria may be used when
searching for
toll-free numbers including the use of wildcards, words translated to numbers,
and the like.
The search may be performed at both a Resp Org level and broken down by a user
as well.
This history may be one of the factors used in providing suggestions.
Typically, an inventory
of toll-free numbers associated with a particular Resp Org as well as an
inventory of available
toll-free numbers is accessible. Next, the toll-free number predictive search
feature may
utilize an algorithm that would, for example using the data noted above,
produce a list of
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customer desired toll-free numbers for the customer (step 2204). For example,
the algorithm
may use any and/or all of the following information to make a search
recommendation:
= Previous search number history (what numbers has a user / Resp Org
searched for recently and how many times has the search been
performed).
= Current inventory of toll-free numbers managed by this particular Resp
Org. For example, if 888-234-CARS is managed perhaps 800-234-
CARS may be predicted as being desired.
= Numbers that are to be spared (made available). Examine numbers
that are going to become available and determine if they meet any
patterns in which a user has expressed interest.
= Search histories from this or other Resp Orgs as it relates to a number
this Resp Org has searched for.
[00342] The predictive search results may facilitate a standing willingness
for a
customer to pay for a particular toll-free number and thus automatically
reserve the predicted
toll-free number (step 2206). For example, once a toll-free number is
identified, various
offers may be made available via an auction, payment to be first in line,
subscription
offerings, and others. Finally, a plurality of options may be provided when
the customer
receives the predictive search results (step 2208), such as, but not limited
to:
= At every logon;
= Emailed at a specific time of the day. In one example, coordinated
around the TFN Spare activity.
[00343] The following are illustrative clauses demonstrating non-limiting
embodiments of the disclosure described herein:
[00344] A method of searching for a toll-free number, comprising:
identifying a previous search number history for a user; and
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offering a toll free number associated with the previous search number
history to the user.
[00345] A method of searching for a toll-free number, comprising:
predicting a customer-desired toll free number for a user;
reserving a toll free number in response to the predicting; and
offering the reserved toll free number to the user.
[00346] A method of searching for a toll-free number, comprising:
identifying a previous search number history for a user;
predicting a customer-desired toll free number for a user from the
previous search number history; and
offering the predicted toll free number to the user.
[00347] One disclosed embodiment of the system can support future and the ever-
evolving toll-free industry through the use of modern technologies, enhanced
functionality,
and improved cost efficiencies and quality of service. The system can provide
additional and
enhanced system capabilities that meet or exceed the performance of the
existing legacy
system on all parameters such as response time, capacity, scalability and
cost. The system
can improve core services, lower operational expenses, and enable innovations
for customers.
[00348] More specifically, embodiments of the system can facilitate:
ff. Modernization of core technologies
gg. Relevance with transition to IP.
hh. Use cloud, mobile, and leading-edge technologies to enable
new business opportunities and facilitate customer innovation.
ii. Meet/Exceed current service levels.
jj. Optimize processes and data.
kk. Make it easier for customers to do business thereby building
stronger relationships.
11. Increase customer satisfaction and perceived value
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mm. Enable business process automation to optimize cycle
time
nn. Make data more valuable and accessible for both internal and
external use.
oo. Optimize functionality and system access methods to the
minimum required. Increase ability to change.
pp. Be more flexible to quickly add/enhance products and services.
qq. More easily adapt to and support business/industry change over
time.
n-. Simplify in everything to optimize and reduce costs.
ss. Broaden pool of available talent by leveraging current
technologies and leading concepts.
[00349] Embodiments of the disclosed system may include the integration of one
or more of the following capabilities:
tt. Number searches return suggestions.
uu. Scheduled number search.
vv. One-click number search to activation.
ww. Number search based on history.
xx. Smart number search.
yy. Bulk search.
zz. Spare number availability notification.
aaa. Enhanced number configurability.
bbb. Enhanced route management.
ccc. Self-service administration.
ddd. Additional user roles.
eee. Customer record builder.
fff. Customer record template transfer.
ggg. Dashboard.
hhh. Customer access.
[00350] Additionally, the capabilities listed herein may include the following
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features in its integration such as Minimal Feature Sets ("MFS"), New Feature
Sets ("NFS")
and Non-Functional Requirements. Additionally, the capabilities listed in the
MFS, NFS,
and Non-Functional Requirements may include the following:
iii. Ease of Use.
jjj. Open API.
Ickk. Bulk Processing.
111. improved Search.
mmm. Workflow.
nnn. Customer records/Template.
000. System Performance.
PPP. Reporting and Analytics.
[00351] With reference to Figure 27, a high performance Agile and DevOps
application delivery organization 2700 permits each vendor to examine the
organization and
sample toolset to see if it fits within their idea of a delivery organization.
The system can be
built on a Web-Scale infrastructure capable of delivering continuous
availability and
continuous delivery. The Web-Scale infrastructure can enable developers and
administrators
to easily provision and deploy environments on-demand. The infrastructure and
application
services can scale up and down based on external factors (i.e., current load,
performance
requirements). Integrated teams, process and tools that provide increased
agility, transparency
and ease of governance, and effective allocation of resources
[00352] A subscriber to basic telephone service is assigned a telephone number
that identifies the service and is billed for calls originated from the
telephone line associated
with the service. In contrast, with toll-free service the subscriber is
assigned a toll-free
telephone number and is billed for all calls terminated to that number. There
is no charge to
the originator of the toll-free call.
[00353] Toll-free number portability made it possible for any company to
provide
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service for any available toll-free number. FCC Tariff No. 1 x, 800 Service
Management
system functions specified the functionality of a Service Management system
that would be
operated by the Bell Operating Companies (BOCs). One embodiment of a tariff is
Tariff
F.C.C. No. 1 x, 800 Service Management System Functions, Issued January 31,
2013,
Effective February 15, 2013. A disclosed embodiment, originally developed and
maintained
by Bellcore, facilitates a company that wishes to provide toll-free service
(referred to as a
Responsible organization/Resp Org/toll-free service provider) to obtain
control of toll-free
numbers and provision of the information in the network needed to route calls
to a designated
terminating number. (This information is sometimes referred to as a Customer
Record.) This
tariff outlines the requirements for becoming a toll-free service provider,
the capabilities
required of the disclosed embodiment to allow toll-free service providers to
search for and
reserve toll-free numbers and provision Customer Record information, and how
toll-free
service providers may be to be billed for use of the disclosed embodiment and
control of toll-
free numbers.
[00354] With geographic portability made possible through the use of
centralized
routing databases, it became possible for the same toll-free number to be
dialed from
anywhere in the country and for the toll-free call to be delivered to
different destinations
based on routing criteria specified in the Customer Record. Toll-free service
quickly grew in
popularity, and the supply of available 800 numbers neared exhaustion. The
toll-free code
888 was opened in 1996, followed by 877 in 1998, 866 in 2000, and 855 in 2010.
Plans may
be underway for opening of the 844 code in the near future and the FCC tariff
has designated
the future use of the 833 and 822 codes. As the value of toll-free service and
the advantages
to having a meaningful combination of digits in a toll-free number (referred
to as a vanity
number) became increasingly apparent, numerous companies became toll-free
service
providers and established businesses selling toll-free service. Today, there
may be more than
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450 toll-free service providers, including telecommunications network
providers, resellers,
and independent organizations.
[00355] To understand routing of toll-free calls, it may be useful to
understand how
routing is performed for standard (i.e., not toll-free) calls.
[00356] With reference to Figure 28, the North American Numbering Plan (NANP)
2800, introduced in the 1940s, established the 10-digit telephone number
format used in the
United States, Canada, and neighboring countries in the Caribbean. The format,
shown in
Figure 28 consists of a three-digit Numbering Plan Area (NPA) code, and a
seven-digit
telephone number that includes three digits that identify an office code or
local exchange and
four digits that identify the individual number within the office code. The
NPA, or area code,
uniquely identifies a geographic area, the office code uniquely identifies a
central office
switching system (historically referred to as an exchange) within an NPA, and
the line
number points to the service components and dedicated resources in the
switching system
that provide the service instance identified by the line number.
[00357] When toll-free service was introduced in 1967, telephone calls were
routed
using information provisioned in each Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)
local
switching system. A routing table specified how the switch should process an
originating call
based on the digits dialed by the calling party and the arrangement of
facilities that connected
the switch to other switches. A switch has direct connections to other
switches in the same
area and connections to intermediate switches called tandems that provide the
next hop
toward other switches operated by the same company. Additional connections to
specialized
tandems provide access to long distance networks to transport calls to
switches outside the
local area. The local area where a company provides services is known as a
Local Access and
Transport Area (LATA).
[00358] The NPA or NPA-NXX of the dialed called party number identifies an
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entry in the routing table that points to the route needed to transport the
call toward the
teiminating switch that serves the dialed line number. Initially, calls within
a local area only
required 7-digit dialing (just the NXX and the final 4 digits), but as the
demand for telephone
numbers grew, additional area codes were opened within a local area, and it
became
necessary to dial 10 digits for both local and long distance calls. If the
digits dialed may be
for an NPA-NXX served by the same switch, the routing table can indicate that
a call should
be offered to the subscriber identified by the telephone number. If the digits
dialed indicate a
NPA-NXX not served by the switch, the routing table can point to a route to a
neighboring
local switch, a local tandem, or a long-distance tandem.
[00359] Unlike a typical NPA, the 800 code introduced to identify toll-free
numbers does not identify a unique area to which a call can be routed. To
support toll-free
service, additional entries had to be made in each local switch routing table
to indicate the
route for an 800-NXX code. Calling a particular 800 number was limited to the
local
switches that had been provisioned with routing information for that number.
Additionally,
further routing information was required at a terminating switch to map the
800 number to
the terminating line.
[00360] In the early 1980s, AT&T introduced centralized call routing databases
to
handle routing of 800 calls. With a centralized database, it was not necessary
to provision
routing information for toll-free numbers in every local switch. Instead,
switches were
configured to query the database for routing information when it was
recognized that an 800
number had been dialed. The database can be provisioned with routing
information to direct a
call to a route based on many factors, providing flexibility and removing the
association of an
800 number to a specific local switch. This made it possible for a company to
own a national
800 number and for calls to that number to be routed to a different local
switch depending on
where the call originated or the time of day. The flexibility provided by
centralized call
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routing databases also enabled any carrier to provide service for any 800
number. Both
geographic and carrier portability for toll-free service had become possible.
[00361] Today, in addition to toll-free calling, services like local number
portability, operator services, and Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN)
features, make use of
advanced routing capabilities enabled by signaling system 7 (SS7).
[00362] With reference to Figure 29, in the SS7 network 2900, the local switch
is
known as a Service Switching Point (SSP). A Signal Transfer Point (STP) 2902
provides
routing of SS7 messages, and databases with call routing and feature
information may be
known as Service Control Points (SCP) 2904. To enable advanced routing via a
centralized
database, local switch routing tables may be configured to trigger a query to
a database for
additional call processing instructions based on various criteria.
[00363] In the case of a toll-free call origination, the switch can recognize
the 8)0(
code in the dialed digits and launch a query to an SCP for routing information
using the SS7
Signaling Connection Control Part (SCCP) protocol to transport a Transaction
Capabilities
Application Part (TCAP) query.
[00364] As shown in Figure 30, the query may be routed by an STP to an SCP
that
has been provisioned with the information that describes how to route the toll-
free call. In
some cases the initial SCP that is queried by the local switch can return
information that can
cause the call to be routed to a switch operated by another carrier where a
subsequent query
to a different SCP can be performed to obtain the routing information needed
to direct the
call to the destination.
[00365] The routing information, consisting of a carrier code and terminating
number, is returned in a TCAP response to the originating switch. The switch
uses the
information to select a route from its routing database and continues
processing 3000 of the
toll-free call.
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[00366] Toll-free number administration includes management of number
assignment and provisioning of customer records. This section describes the
toll-free
business, the key stakeholders, roles and responsibilities, and disclosed
embodiment
capabilities.
[00367] Key aspects of the toll-free number business may be described by the
FCC
tariff This tariff, describing "regulations, rates and charges applying to the
provisioning of
functions and support services" was first released in 1993. Updates have
occurred since, with
the latest released January, 2013, becoming effective in February, 2013. This
tariff describes
the undertakings of the company responsible for the disclosed embodiment and
the
capabilities required of embodiments of the system itself It defines key
terminology and
specifies the responsibilities of toll-free service providers, who may be the
primary users of
the disclosed embodiment. It also provides a schedule of rates and charges
with regulations
for billing toll-free service providers for disclosed embodiment access and
usage. System
requirements defined by this, or any other, tariff may be provided in
"Business Rules"
Section.
[00368] Some key participants in the toll-free business 3100 and the
interactions
between them may be illustrated in Figure 31. Note that a primary geographic
area for the
toll-free business is the United States, Canada, and other areas where the
NANP is used.
[00369] A toll-free subscriber contacts a toll-free service provider to
order toll-free
service. The toll-free service provider may be a carrier who operates a
network or may have a
relationship with a network provider in order to enable service. The toll-free
service provider
has an interface to the disclosed embodiment to search the pool of unassigned
toll-free
numbers and reserve one or more for use by the toll-free subscriber. Working
with the toll-
free subscriber, the Resp. Org determines how calls to the toll-free number
should be routed.
[00370] On behalf of the toll-free subscriber, the toll-free service
provider enters a
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Customer Record in the disclosed embodiment that specifies routing and carrier
information
for the toll-free number. The disclosed embodiment sends this information to
the SCPs that
control real-time routing of calls in the network. When the SCPs have received
the routing
information in the customer record, toll-free service is enabled for the toll-
free number.
[00371] The toll-free subscriber has a business relationship with the toll-
free
service provider 3102 to pay for toll-free service. The toll-free service
provider has a
relationship with the TFMP to pay for access to the disclosed embodiment and
use of the toll-
free number assigned to the toll-free subscriber.
[00372] There may be a number of stakeholders that play key roles in the toll-
free
business, which may include those that follow:
1003731 FCC 3108 - The FCC is the federal agency that has responsibility for
the
FCC tariff that specifies the need for a toll-free number Service Management
system and
defines the regulations, rates, and charges applicable for the use of system
functions and
support services. The FCC may approve changes to rates or other aspects of the
FCC tariff.
[00374] The TFMP 100 - The TFMP is responsible for the administration and
operations of the disclosed embodiment and enforcement of the regulations
outlined by a
tariff. The TFMP may retain a number of contractors to assist with the
activities required to
manage the disclosed embodiment and related functions, including maintaining
the disclosed
embodiment software, running the data centers that house the disclosed
embodiment,
performing routine and corrective maintenance activities on the disclosed
embodiment
hardware, handling billing for access and use of the disclosed embodiment, and
running the
help desk to handle questions and requests from disclosed embodiment users.
[00375] Administrators and the TFMP Help Desk personnel can access the
disclosed embodiment. Administrators can enter and maintain configuration and
reference
information needed for operation of the disclosed embodiment. Help Desk
personnel can
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assist with troubleshooting access and Customer Record issues, complete TFMP
Requests,
and submit trouble reports.
[00376] Toll-Free Subscribers - Toll-free subscribers may be the end users of
toll-
free service. Toll-free service includes a toll-free telephone number and the
network
capabilities that enable calls to a toll-free number to be delivered to a
designated terminating
number according to conditions specified by the toll-free subscriber. Toll-
free service is
obtained from a toll-free service provider.
[00377] Toll-free service providers (aka Rcsp Orgs) - Toll-free service
providers
may be responsible for the overall coordination required to provision,
maintain, and test toll-
free service. A toll-free service provider may be a carrier that operates a
network or instead
could be an independent company or organization that interfaces with a carrier
to arrange
toll-free service. Toll-free service providers may be the primary users of
disclosed
embodiment. In embodiments, the system may be used to search for and reserve
toll-free
numbers for subscribers and provision Customer Records that provide the
network with the
information needed to route toll-free calls. Toll-free service providers may
be billed for
access and use of the disclosed embodiment and control of toll-free numbers on
a monthly
basis as described by a tariff.
[00378] Toll-free service providers often maintain sub-organizations based on
geography or other organization classifications. The toll-free service
provider entity is the
top-level organization against which reservation limits may be imposed
(represented by the
first 2 digits of toll-free service provider ID in the current system). The
sub- organization
within a toll-free service provider entity (represented by the full 5 digit
toll-free service
provider ID in the current system) is referred to as a toll-free service
provider unit. The toll-
free service provider users who access the disclosed embodiment can be
associated with a
toll-free service provider unit and the corresponding toll-free service
provider entity. A toll-
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free service provider entity may manage many toll-free service provider units,
each having a
unique toll-free service provider ID.
[00379] SCP Owners/Operators (SCP 0/0) - SCPs may be the databases in the
SS7 network that contain the information used to route toll-free calls. SCP
Owners/Operators
contract with the TFMP to receive updates from the disclosed embodiment. An
interface is
established between the disclosed embodiment and the SCPs so Customer Record
information can be provisioned to SCPs to enable the real-time routing of toll-
free calls. SCP
0/0s may be billed for this service.
[00380] At SCP 0/0 companies, the SCP administrator is responsible for
establishing reference data about the SCPs and their corresponding SS7
networks. The
administrator also manages tables at the SCP node and the Call Management
Services
Database (CMSDB) within the SCP to set controls and limits for SCP operations.
They may
be permitted to access and change data only for the 0/0's SCPs in the SS7
network.
[00381] A network manager is a member of Network Management Center (NMC)
or Network Operations Center (NOC) at the SCP 0/0 company staff responsible
for
managing mass calling surveillance and control capabilities in its managed SS7
networks.
[00382] SCP 0/0 SCP administrators and SCO 0/0 Network managers may be
users of the disclosed embodiment.
[00383] Billing Administrator - This function coordinates the Billing of all
customers, using information provided in the disclosed embodiment.
[00384] Industry and Regulatory Liaison - This function uses information in
the
disclosed embodiment to respond to inquiries or to make inquiries to the
regulatory bodies.
[00385] Carriers - Actual telephone entity that carries the toll-free
call. Carriers
operate networks that process telephone calls. Local-Exchange Carriers (LECs)
operate end
office switches that provide access service to subscribers and carry calls
within a local area,
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known as a LATA. Interexchange carriers (IC) carry calls between local areas.
A subscriber
receives service from a local-exchange carrier and designates the default IC
to carry calls
between LATAs. Historically, local carriers and ICs were distinct, but today a
carrier can be
both a LEC and an IC. A carrier may also be an SCP 0/0, or a carrier may
obtain SS7
signaling and database services from a separate SCP 0/0.
[00386] With reference to Figure 32, in one disclosed embodiment, the
architecture
3200 for a solution for toll-free with key enhancements to support the unique
requirements
for to11-11-ce number administration and call routing is illustrated.
[00387] With reference to Figure 33, in one disclosed embodiment, the
architecture
3300 provides number administration capabilities for toll-free numbers
facilitating integration
between PSTN and an IP network. This unified platform can serve both PSTN and
IP
enabled numbers.
[00388] Toll-free subscribers work with Resp Orgs to search and reserve toll-
free
numbers. Responsible organizations continue to populate the disclosed
architecture with
CICs for PSTN numbers and an NS Records for IP-enabled numbers.
[00389] The disclosed embodiments of the architecture can store additional
metadata (for example: toll-free CNAM, industry code, description, license
status, trade
group affiliations, BBB ratings and such) for the toll-free organization As
the transition
completes, toll-free calls would provide consumer assurance through a
validated neutral third
party trust chain to significantly improve consumer confidence and prevent
identity fraud.
[00390] In addition to the NS Record for the iSCP, Resp Orgs can choose to
configure aspects of the routing logic with the disclosed architecture (second
dip). They can
map a SIP URI to a toll-free record. In this example scenario, a Resp Org
would copy over
that information with the iSCPs. In addition to the enhanced aspects of the
iSCP, the iSCP
may also facilitate direct IP interconnects between RespOrgs and their service
providers, if
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desired, through sharing additional metadata about a route.
1003911 With reference to Figure 34, Toll-free numbers 3414 (unlike mobile and
landline numbers) have evolved to be a branding and identity vehicle.
Companies are
increasingly using their toll-free numbers along with their online assets to
provide an
integrated customer experience. With this growth, availability of vanity
numbers has become
sparse and demand is increasing. In embodiments, a toll-free tagging service
may be
provided that includes a subscription-based service that is made available to
Responsible
Organizations (Rcsp Orgs), consumers and businesses. The toll-free tagging
service may
provide the ability to tag a toll-free number (or group of numbers), and once
a number is
tagged, to track updates to that number (e.g., a change in ownership, change
in availability,
increase in search statistics) that may then be distributed ("pushed") to
customers through
emails/text messages or other means. Subscribers of the toll-free tagging
service may also
have the ability to create, view, update and delete tags through a web
application, mobile
application, or some other user interface.
[00392] The toll-free tagging service may alternatively or additionally be
embodied
in a distributed computing environment, such as a cloud based computing
network. In
another embodiment, the toll-free tagging service may be utilized via hybrid
networks,
including usage of a cellular telephone network (and associated mobile
communication
devices, such as smart phones), a distributed, cloud network and an enterprise
network
associated with a carrier or other business organization (and any combination
or sub-
combination of such networks). The toll-free tagging service may permit the
user to access
the reporting capabilities of the TFMP through a client device, such as a
personal computer,
mobile phone, tablet computer, or some other computing facility, and receive
data, including
multimedia to the user's client device. Functionalities of the TFMP include,
but are not
limited to, Number Administration (NA) and Customer Record (CR)
administration.
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[00393] In embodiments, subscribers may be provided options to create custom
toll-free number tags based on keywords, using a website. Subscribers may have
the option
to choose, for example:
= Keywords that spell a number (for example 800-Success)
= Category based tagging (for example "Laundry")
= Location based tagging (for example "California Numbers")
= Popularity (suggestions based on search engine metrics)
= Social Media mentions (Facebook and twitter feeds)
= Suggestive Tags (based on peer user behavior)
[00394] In embodiments, the system may ingest data from a plurality of
sources,
including but not limited to the following:
= Number popularity sourced from number searches from the toll-free
management platforni (TFMP) 3402
= Number dips sourced from SCPs and network elements 3404
= Facebook, Linkedin and twitter mentions of key words based on
categories 3408
= Location information from fuzzy location parameters (including
network location elements like NPA-NXX, ANT, HP) and such
= Tag trend report based on tags that are most frequently indexed 3410
= News and Cun-ent event tags
= User contact sourcing (tag generation from subscribers address book)
= User social feed sourcing (tag generation based on users social media
feeds)
= Seasonal tag sourcing (for example, Thanksgiving ads)
[00395] In embodiments, the TFMP 100 may allow for differentiated services
based on subscriptions through a user interface 3420. For example, service
offerings may be
tiered:
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= Regular Tier: May allow for tag alerting based on acceptable latency.
Alerts maybe available through a non-guaranteed delivery mechanism
like email, and allows for basic subscription services with a cap on
subscribers.
= Plus Tier: May allow for low latency alerting based on multiple
mechanisms. Premium customer support and access to artificial
intelligence based indexing may be provided to see popular tags. This
may allow for extended customer bases.
= Premium Tier: May allow for premium access to see search patterns
from others, unlimited tags, high speed and high frequency alerting,
and the like. May also allow for an "auto reserve" function.
[00396] In embodiments, the tagging service of the TFMP may provide an
unbiased valuation for a number or group of numbers based on several factors
including, but
not limited to:
= Tag popularity
= Industry financial metrics
= Call completion, dip status
= Average call duration
= Vanity-ness
In embodiments, the tagging service of the TFMP may source data from
distributed data sniffers that reside in networks to see dip rate and dip
volume for
popular numbers. This data may be compiled with other data sources including,
for
example, Google TM and Alexa TM trends (or other web traffic data and
analytics)
for tags and provide a heat map that shows "hot spots" for where the numbers
are in
demand and who is calling these numbers, nationally and internationally. In
another
example, a view may be provided that is a near real time valuation trend
(e.g.,
analogous to a stock ticker) for, say, the top 10 tags/numbers by state/city.
Current
methods arc limited in that they cannot combine call origination data, with
social
media and other public domain data, and near real-time, apply a valuation
model to
display a trends and prices on an interactive map, however the methods and
systems
of the TFMP enable such functionality.
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The toll-free tagging service may alternatively or additionally utilize the
TFMP system and may include a subsystem, referred to as a "node," that may be
used
to build a decision tree that is downloaded to the SCPs. The decision tree may
be
used in various manners as otherwise described to facilitate call efficiency.
Tagging
data associated with toll-free numbers may be used, including with real-time
network
information and static call routing infoirnation, to create a real-time call
path score. In
an example, a toll-free number that is associated with spoofing or other
fraudulent call
activity may be tagged as a problematic number and a call route assigned to it
to
minimize the financial impact of receiving a high volume of fraudulent calls
to the
toll-free number. SCPs may also be a source of real-time call routing data and
data
used for tagging purposes. Using this information facilitates extrapolation
and
determination of uptime, downtime, congestion, geographical movement and
economic movement of people communicating via calls. Based on real-time data
that
can be obtained from the SCPs and from the network, the TFMP may create a
score
that can be assigned to each call decision node. Such a score may also be used
for the
purposes of tagging. Similar to a mapping algorithm that uses distance and
speed
limit, given a starting point and a destination, the quickest or shortest map
may be
mapped. Changes in the call routing tree may be dependent upon an update to
the
routing tree that is then validated by the TFMP and then downloaded to the
SCPs.
With the use of real-time data, and more network decisions nodes added to a
call
routing tree based on the needs of the end subscriber, the TFMP may provide
the
ability to allow an end subscriber to have real-time business continuity for
their toll-
free number instead of having to contact their service provider, or getting a
ticket
opened to update their routing tree, and then having it download to all the
SCPs for
the new routing to take place. In embodiments, a call path score and real-time
routing
may be based on the best possible availability score. This may also be
modified by
the TFMP to allow for lowest cost score, based on the per-call and per-minute
cost for
particular carrier. The call score may be updated during low activity periods
with a
date/time stamp associated with it. This may allow real-time, or near real
time,
detection of a path's status. Upon completion of a call down a particular
path, the
TFMP may also update the call path score and the data used for the purposes of
tagging. Further, real time status changes in a telecommunications network,
the
performance of a given call route, or some other status change, may be used as
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additional tagging data. In an example, a toll-free number that may experience
a
season high-demand may begin to operate less efficiently, this metadata 3412
may be
tagged to the toll-free number for use in, for example, predictive analytics
provided
by the TFMP regarding temporal changes in call activities and the optimization
of
certain call routes. Toll-free numbers tagged as having significant seasonal
variation
in call volume, or some other criterion, may have additional enhanced routing
trees
created for the purpose of handling peak seasonal call demands. A plurality of
tagged
numbers may be further associated with a TSPID so that a common entity
associated
with the toll-free numbers may be identified.
[00397] In embodiments, number trend optimization 3410 may be provided by the
TFMP in order to provide recommendations to target the right audience for a
number.
Recommendations may include marketing a number on a certain media within a
certain
geography to promote calls to the right customer. Call origination data (in
partnership with
the call originators and service control points (SCPs)) will be sources to
provide effectiveness
metrics to users based on, for example, originating numbers and derived call
success rates
(based on average call duration) and call completion. The toll-free tagging
service may
alternatively or additionally be utilized with predictive analytic services
that allow a user,
through the customizable user interface, or "dashboard," to access third party
data services,
sponsored data and information derived from toll-free telecommunications
networks,
including but not limited to telecommunications carriers, service control
points, call centers,
or other parties affiliated with a toll-free telecommunication network. As
elsewhere
described, origination data may be combined with social media and other public
domain third
party data, and near real-time, apply a valuation model to display a trend and
prices on an
interactive map via the TFMP.
[00398] The following are illustrative clauses demonstrating non-limiting
embodiments of the disclosure described herein:
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[00399] A method comprising:
receiving data relating to at least one of a dip rate or dip volume that is
associated with a toll-free number;
receiving social media data relating to usage of the toll-free number;
analyzing the combined data and social media data to create a
valuation metadata tag that is associated with the toll-free
number, wherein the valuation metadata is a quantitative
summary of the demand associated with the toll-free number;
and
distributing a communication to an entity regarding the current
valuation of the toll-free number.
[00400] A method comprising:
analyzing data relating to a toll-free number and social media data to
create a valuation metadata tag that is associated with the toll-
free number, wherein the valuation metadata is a quantitative
summary of the inferred economic activity associated with the
toll-free number;
inferring a rating of a second toll-free number based at least in part on
the valuation metadata, wherein the toll-free number and the
second toll-free number share an attribute; and
storing the inferred rating of the second toll-free number.
[00401] A method comprising:
receiving data relating to at least one of a dip rate or dip volume that is
associated with a toll-free number;
receiving social media data relating to usage of the toll-free number;
analyzing the combined data and social media data to create a
valuation metadata tag that is associated with the toll-free
number, wherein the valuation metadata is a quantitative
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summary of the demand associated with the toll-free number;
and
initiating a toll-free number reservation based on the current valuation
of the toll-free number.
[00402] With reference to Figure 35, routing information in NS records 3500
may
be downloaded to originating service provider (SP) ENUM or similar directory
for call
control. PSTN Call originations can continue existing PSTN 8xx call flow.
[00403] IP call originations can use an intelligent ENUM-like and SIP enabled
intelligent Service Control Point (iSCP). In embodiments, many geographically
redundant,
highly available iSCP servers can reside in the originating service providers
or provided by
independent third parties. iSCPs can operate in mixed mode (SIP and PSTN) or
be
exclusively SIP. iSCPs provide ENUM like functionality enhanced with
intelligent routing
capabilities required for toll-free routing.
[00404] For IP call originations, the originating service provider queries
its local
naming (ENUM-like capability) server for call routing. The SP ENUM or similar
service
delegates the 8xx number queries to the iSCPs (similar to level 2 DNS). iSCPs
execute
intelligent call routing logic, and return a SIP Redirect with a URI for the
SIP gateway of the
toll-free service provider. The originating service provider can then route
the SIP INVITE to
the terminating toll-free subscriber's service provider.
[00405] For IP calls terminating to the PSTN network, the originating service
provider queries its ENUM server similar to IP termination as described above,
with the iSCP
returning the URI for a PSTN gateway.
[00406] Toll-free numbers follow the NANP 10-digit format (NPA-NXX-XXXX)
used for all telephone numbers in North America. A toll-free NPA designated by
the FCC,
such as 800 or 888, identifies a number as a toll-free number. Toll-free
numbering may
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follow the E.164 format for identifying telephone numbers. The disclosed
embodiment
maintains status and associated information for the complete pool of toll-free
numbers.
[00407] The Number Administration function provides the ability for a user to
perform any of the following capabilities:
qqc1- Number Query: the ability to find out information
such
as availability, toll-free provider ownership, and status about a
specific toll-free number.
rrr. Number Search: the ability to look for one or many toll-free
numbers.
sss.Number Reserve: the ability to reserve one or many toll-free
numbers for his/her toll-free provider based upon the results of
a search.
ttt. Number Search & Reserve: the ability to search for one or
many toll-free numbers and reserve them in the same single
user action.
[00408] Except when noted otherwise, all number reservations may be taken and
processed on a first come/first served basis. In embodiments, this may be due
to a tariff
requirement and true regardless of the source of the request.
[00409] A status is associated with each toll-free number that changes based
on
user actions to search for and reserve numbers and to provision and delete
Customer Records
for a number. Other status changes may be made automatically by embodiments of
the
system based on rules specified by a tariff.
[00410] The business rules around status change in the may include:
uuu. Spare ¨ Number is available to be reserved. No toll-
free service provider entity has control of the number.
vvv. Reserved __ Toll-free service provider entity has
taken
control of the number, but a Customer Record has not yet been
provisioned.
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www. Assigned ¨ Customer Record has been provisioned in
the disclosed embodiment, but has not been sent to SCPs.
xxx. Working _______________________________ Customer
Record has been sent to SCPs
and accepted by at least one SCP.
YYY. Disconnect ¨ Toll-free service has ended and
intercept
treatment, such as an announcement, is provided; a Customer
Record may be needed to specify routing for intercept
treatment.
zzz. Transitional __________________________ Toll-free
service and intercept service,
if provided, have ended; there is no longer routing information
in SCPs for the number and therefore no active Customer
Record reflecting current information in an SCP associated
with the number
aaaa. Unavailable ¨ Number cannot be reserved by a toll-
free service provider.
bbbb. Suspend ¨ Number has been disconnected but has a
Customer Record to restore service, or number is the subject of
a billing dispute.
[00411] For all statuses except usually SPARE and UNAVAILABLE, a toll-free
service provider entity may be associated with the number. This association
begins when the
toll-free service provider entity takes control of the number by completing a
reservation.
Except when noted otherwise, all number reservations may be taken on a first
come/first
served basis.
[00412] With reference to Figure 36, in another embodiment for one click
activation 118, a widget 3602 may be embedded within a webpage 3604 to
facilitate
reservation of a toll-free number via a user interface 1806. The term widget
as used herein
may refer to a client side, browser based application which displays data
coming from
different sources. In an embodiment, the widget 3602 may also be used on a
mobile device
as a mobile app. The embedded widget 3602 may communicate with a server 3608
using an
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API 3608 such as secure Restful API.
1004131 The widget 3602 may be embedded within a webpage 3604 with HTML
tags. The complexity and logic may thus be hidden in the Javascript that
resides on the
server 3608. Loading the widget 3602 on to the hosting webpage 3604 may be
performed
through a bootstrap script that, for example, may be written as a Javascript
file, or in some
other language, that resides in the server 3608. A script tag can then be used
to invoke
loading this, thereby loading the bootstrap.
1004141 Generally, there are two ways to embed the content on the hosting
webpage 3604, using IFrame, or using DOM in Javascript, and placing it within
the host site
or a combination thereof The host page may be a client website within which
the widget
3602 is embedded.
1004151 Communication technology may include HTML5, JavaScript, CSS, JSON
and Restful API and services. The client may utilize HTML5, Javascript, or CSS
whereas the
server may provide the Restful API and services. In order for the widget to
communicate
with the host page or if the widget needs to send data to the server, based on
what is being
used, it can be performed using Normal Post, AJAX (asynchronously), or some
other process.
In order for cross domain communication between the host page, embedded code
or IFrame,
HTML 5's API called postMessage may be used. JSON is a file format that is
understood by
both client and server and hence may be also be readily used for data
representation and
transfer.
1004161 With reference to Figure 37, various methods may be utilized to secure
this communication. The widget 3602 may include a login feature 3902 in order
to use the
services. After initial credential validation with username and password,
tokens may be
provided to users. This may be used in the subsequent communication back to
the server. In
the alternative, API keys may be used. On authentication and authorization,
various search
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3904, reserve 3906, activation 3910, and confirmation 3912 elements may be
provided.
1004171 With reference to Figure 38, one disclosed non-limiting embodiment of
a
method 3800 may be initiated by loading the webpage 3604 (step 3802) then lazy
loading the
widget 3608 (step 3804). That is, the lazy loading may be utilized to minimize
any effect
upon the loading speed of the webpage 3604. Once the widget 3608 is loaded
(step 3804) the
login and search features (step 3808) are provided such that
reservation/activation may be
initiated.
1004181 The widget 3602 may be particularly beneficial to a business owner
and/or
Resp Org /Toll Free Service Provider. The business owner who visits a web page
may view
the widget 3602 that includes a statement such as, for example, "Reserve your
Toll Free
Number or "Do you have your Toll Free Number?" with a ready presented text
field to search
for a desired Toll Free Number or to enter their business name. A list of
appropriate or
related toll free numbers and an option to reserve and activate is thereby
provided in a one-
click or relatively one-click manner.
[00419] For a Resp Org /Toll Free Service Provider, the widget 3602 can be
embedded in their portal. The widget 3602 provides a login page such that the
widget 3602
provides a text field to reserve toll-free numbers along with a drop down list
of numbers that
expire in the next month and a popup link to extend. A popup link may also
provide historical
information such as their last 10 actions. The widget 3602 may also display a
popup link to
display status of the toll-free numbers in which a user previously indicated
interest.
1004201 In the toll-free industry, it currently is a multi-step process
to obtain a toll-
free number and submit a request to active that number. It requires the user
to first search
and reserve a number and then in a separate transaction, often on a separate
user screen, input
the information to create a toll-free number routing record that is sent to
the service control
points (SCPs), thus activating the number for use. According to embodiments of
the present
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disclosure, users may complete such a request related to activation of a toll-
free number in a
single user interaction with the system, providing minimal information. This
process may
provide a one-click-type functionality, hereinafter referred to as one-click
activate, to activate
the number, and will, in the same single-step user activation search for the
toll-free number
based upon user criteria. Initiation of the one-click activation may be
facilitated by the use of
a widget, as described herein, such as a widget operating on a client device.
In embodiments,
a one-click activate request may be a request from a user to 1) search for a
number, or
multiple numbers, that fit a provided search criteria, 2) reserve the
number(s) matching the
criteria, and 3) activate the number(s) using a selected customer record
template, as described
herein, and producing a pointer record. The final result of this request will
be a toll-free
number assigned to the user's Resp Org that has a customer pointer record
assigned to it.
[00421] In embodiments, a user may utilize a new user interface screen,
including
but not limited to a customizable dashboard, as described herein, that may be
accessed from a
landing page of the user interface that is associated with the TFMP. The new
screen may be
referred to as the "Search ¨ Reserve ¨ Active," also referred to herein as the
S-R-A, from the
landing page. A user may be required to have the correct permissions to be
able to perform
these actions, such as:
= The user must have Update in NUS_PERMISSIONS
= The user must have Update in PAD_PERMISSIONS
[00422] The S-R-A may also provide for predictive analytic services that may
be
provided to a user, through the customizable user interface, or dashboard, to
access third
party data services, sponsored data and information derived from toll-free
telecommunications networks, including but not limited to telecommunications
carriers,
service control points, call centers, or other parties affiliated with a toll-
free
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telecommunication network. As elsewhere described, origination data may be
combined with
social media and other public domain third party data, and near real-time,
apply a valuation
model to display a trends and prices on an interactive map via the TFMP.
[00423] In embodiments, the S-R-A screen may be a clone of a number search
screen that is associated with the TFMP, and have, but not be limited to, the
following screen
design elements:
= Present an action button called "Activate New Number"
= Provide an action for the user to select a template record to be used for
activation from a drop down list of template records
= Provide an action for the user to specify information necessary to be
supplied in order to active a number, including but not limited to the
following:
o Effective date & time ¨ A future date and time or "now." Now
may indicate that the record should go directly to an activated
state.
o Service order number
o Number of lines to validate
[00424] With reference to Figure 39, a sample UI design 3900 is provided. The
Ul
may alternatively or additionally be embodied in a distributed computing
environment, such
as a cloud based computing network. In another embodiment, the UI may be
hybrid
networks, including usage of a cellular telephone network (and associated
mobile
communication devices, such as smart phones), a distributed, cloud network and
an enterprise
network associated with a carrier or other business organization (and any
combination or sub-
combination of such networks).
[00425] In embodiments, when a user selects the S-R-A function of the landing
page, the system may retrieve a list of customer template records that have
been defined for a
Rcsp Org. If this Resp Org does not have any customer template records
defined, the user
may receive a message notifying the user of a lack of required definition,
such as "E205:
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Search, Reserve, & Activate functionality requires the users Resp Org to have
at least one
customer template record defined. Your Resp Org does not." The user may then
be returned
to the Landing page. If the Resp Org does have customer template records
defined, the
customer template record names may be displayed in a scrolling list on the
screen. The user
may then select one of the customer template records for use in the request.
[00426] In embodiments, a user may select a number search criterion that
provides
the ability to specify a specific number, a number with wildcard selection, or
the NPA, NXX,
and line number selections. The user may elect to have a set of default
information (template,
effective date, and service order number and so forth) associated with their
Resp Org and/or
user ID. Rather than select these items, the user may elect to use default
values that are
provided, thus expediting the process even further. The user may also elect
not to use the
default values, and may then supply the values. The search process may also
include
utilizing predictive analytics of the TFMP, as described herein, in order to
learn more about
the history and metadata that is associated with a number. Toll-free numbers,
including those
that are reserved and/or activated using the one-click activation may be
tagged, using the
methods and systems described herein, according to criteria of interest to a
user. In an
example, a user may search for toll-free numbers based on a predictive
analytic result of toll-
free numbers the TFMP has determined are active in the New England area.
Predictive
analytic results may also relate to specific populations of interest to a user
(e.g., New York
residents), behavioral data, or some other data parameter.
[00427] In embodiments, a number may then be reserved and/or activated and
tagged by the user as a number that is relevant to the New England
marketplace. Prior to
reserving or activating a number, a user may also check a TFMP registry to
determine if there
is a history of reports of abuse associated with the number, for example
frequent fraudulent
calls (i.e., "spoofing"). The user may tag toll-free numbers in order to note
this history of
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abuse, or other factor of interest, for future searches, and reserved or
activated numbers may
be associated with a toll-free service provider identifier (TSPID). The TSPID
may be an
existing TSPID that the user has, or as part of the one-click to activate
method and system, a
new TSPID may be created for the user. The user may select a customer template
record
from a list to be used when creating a pointer record used to active toll free
number(s). The
user may select only one customer template record to be used and that template
record may
be used with every number requested in this particular request. The user may
select an
effective date and time for the request. The user may further specify a future
date and time or
select "now" for immediate processing. Formatting and validation criteria may
also be
provided. The user may complete additional fields as necessary for a pointer
record to be
created:
= Service Order number
= Number of Lines
[00428] In embodiments, once all the required fields are populated, the user
may
select the "Activate New Number" button to start the process. The process may
include the
search of, and reservation for, the toll-free number(s), and the submission of
a request to
create a pointer record for the number(s). Errors encountered along the way
may result in an
error being reported back to the user for that numbcr. In an example, requests
of more than
ten numbers may be processed in the background, from the perspective of the
user. The
user's request may be validated and the user provided a request ID. Control of
the one-click
activate function may be given back to the user with a notice that they will
be informed when
the request completes. In another example, requests for ten or fewer numbers
may be
processed in real time and the results are returned to the user when the
request completes.
[00429] In embodiments, the one-click activate function may perform a search
and
reserve function for all the requested numbers in blocks of up to ten numbers,
depending
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upon how many numbers are requested. The activation function of the process
may require a
separate system request for each number being activated. The one-click
activate function
may control the processing of the individual requests so that, from a user
standpoint, it
appears as a single user interaction with the system, and a response does not
go back to the
user until the process has been completed. Once the request has completed
processing, the
one-click activate function may display back to the user in the search results
area of the
screen (e.g., ten or fewer numbers) the list of numbers and infolination about
them similar to
how it is done with the search and reserve functionality, as described herein.
For more than,
for example, ten numbers, the results may be made available in the
communication area off
the landing page.
1004301 In embodiments, a parking lot functionality may allow a user to go
through
a similar one-click activate process, but instead of establishing specific
routing for a number
via a customer record template, the user may define the routing for this
number as "parked."
Parked in this context means that the number may have a default routing to a
pre-defined
customer announcement so the number can be activated without a final
determination of the
routing and when called, the user may be presented with this announcement
stating the
service this number provides is not currently available.
[00431] The following are illustrative clauses demonstrating non-limiting
embodiments of the disclosure described herein:
A method comprising:
receiving a one-click activate request from a user, wherein the request
includes
at least a customer record template reference and an indication of when to
active a
toll-free number associated with the request;
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searching a responsible organization record to determine the presence of a
defined customer template record relating to the user request, wherein the
responsible
organization is associated with toll-free telecommunications;
retrieving at least one customer template record, wherein the customer
template record is a defined customer template record for the responsible
organization; and
activating the user request, wherein the activation includes at least one of
activating or reserving the toll-free number.
A user interface, comprising:
a webpage; and
a widget operable to reserve a toll free number embedded within the webpage.
A method to secure user interface, comprising:
lazy loading a widget operable to reserve a toll free number embedded
within a webpage.
[00432] A representative flow operation showing the current system common
number status transitions for activation of a toll-free service, starting with
a number in
SPARE status 4002, is shown in Figure 40. Transitions that may not be part of
the typical
flow may not be illustrated in Figure 40, including transition from WORKING
4004 to
ASSIGNED 4008 and ASSIGNED 4008 to RESERVED 4010, as well as transitions to
and
from UNAVAILABLE status. SUSPEND 4012, DISCONNECT 4014 and TRANSITIONAL
4016 features may be provided. This flow is shown to facilitate understanding
of system
status transitions as may be understood by the customers.
[00433] A description of possible number status transitions is provided in the
below table. This flow is shown to facilitate understanding of system status
transitions as is
understood by the customers and is not a dictate of limitations thereto.
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Transition Transition
Trigger
From To
Initial Spare System administrator opens a toll-free NPA-NXX.
Creation
Spare Reserved Successful reservation by toll-free service provider
entity user or system administrator user.
Spare Unavailable System administrator user action.
Reserved Assigned CR provisioned against the number.
! Reserved Spare Time since transition from SPARE to RESERVED
has reached specified limit (Reserved Duration Limit,
currently specified by FCC as 45 days) or user action.
Reserved Unavailable System administrator user action.
; Assigned Working CR has been sent to SCPs and accepted by at least
. one.
Assigned Reserved CR provisioned against the number, but deleted by
toll-free service provider entity user, and Reserved
Duration Limit timer has not been reached.
Assigned Spare CR provisioned against the number, but deleted by the
toll-free service provider entity user, and Reserved
Duration Limit timer has expired. Or Assigned
Duration Limit, currently specified by the FCC as 6
months, expires.
Working Disconnect CR disconnect has been accepted by all SCPs and
intercept routing is being provided.
Working Transitional ; CR has been deleted from all SCPs (no intercept
: routing provisioned).
Disconnect Transitional End Intercept date has been reached and SCPs have
deleted CR.
Disconnect Spare Time since transition from WORKING has reached
! specified limit (currently specified by FCC as 4
; calendar months) or toll-free service provider entity
user or system administrator user action.
;
; Transitional Spare Time since transition from WORKING has reached
specified limit (currently specified by FCC as 4
! calendar months) or toll-free service provider entity
; user or system administrator user action.
Transitional Reserved System administrator user action.
Transitional Unavailable System administrator user action.
= Disconnect Suspend "New Connect" CR entered while number is
in
DISCONNECT status.
Suspend Working .! CR to restore service has been sent to SCPs and
; accepted by at least one.
Suspend Assigned Intercept period ends and "New Connect" CR is
pending.
.. ,
Suspend Spare Time since transition into SUSPEND has reached
specified limit (currently specified as 8 calendar
; months) with no connect CR or CR deleted by the toll-
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free service provider entity user or system
administrator user.
Unavailable Spare '1 System administrator action.
Number Administration: Query, Search, Reserve, and Search & Reserve
Requirements- Minimal Feature Set
Current
= IVIES # Function Description
, state or New
= MFS 1 Current state Search Available Find
available numbers. Control
Numbers search by configurable
parameters.
MFS la New Locking numbers Do not lock numbers during a
after search straight search. Numbers may be
only locked on a reserve.
MFS 2 Current state Reserve Avail ROs reserve available numbers.
Numbers Reservation limits apply by resp.
org & overall number
administrator rationing and
FIFO.
MFS 3 Current state Search & Reserve Combination of MFS 1 & 2 in
Available one user action.
Numbers
MFS 4 Current state Query a Number Return relevant attributes
regarding a number.
MFS 4a Current state Number In embodiments, the system may
Reservation maintain limits for the quantity
Limits of numbers an individual toll-
free service provider entity is
allowed to have in RESERVED
status. The current limit
specified by the FCC tariff is the
greater of 7.5% of the toll-free
service provider's working
numbers or 2000 numbers, not
= to exceed 3% of the total
quantity of SPARE numbers. A
system administrator may
specify different limits. Defining
a limit should be configurable.
= MFS 4b Current state Number In embodiments,
the system may
Allocation Limits impose weekly limits for how
many numbers a toll-free service
provider entity can reserve. The
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available pool of numbers in
SPARE status is divided into a
portion that is allocated to each
toll-free service provider entity
based on market share and a
portion that is allocated equally
among all toll-free service
provider Entities. This function
should be configurable.
Functional Descriptions _____________________________________
Function Function Criteria Response Criteria
Query a Query for a specific number Return information about the
Number number including status of the
number, Date/time of transition
to current status, toll-free
service provider, Reserved
Until Date, Disconnect Until
Date, Last Active Date
depending upon permissions.
Search for Search for completely random Return a number or list of
a Number number(s) numbers meeting the search
criteria (1 ¨ configurable max
number) with status. The
number is not locked until a
reserve is executed.
Search for multiple consecutive
numbers with any criteria as specified
herein
Search for numbers in a specific NPA
800,877, etc.)
Search using wildcards to represent
= any number
(i.e., 800-***-CARS)
Search for numbers with duplicated
numbers in them (i.e., 855-345-
&&&& where & means a duplicate
numbers like 2222 or 5555)
= Search for numbers containing a
specific string of numbers at any
point in the number (i.e.***-777-
0000)
Search for numbers starting with a
specific string
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(i.e., 855-234-****)
Search for numbers ending with a
specific string
(i.e., 855-***-5555
Search for numbers using alpha
characters as well as numbers (i.e.,
888-234-CARS)
Reserve a Reserve a single number selected Return updated number status
Number from a search result of Reserved and updated toll-
free service provider assigned if
= number still available; else
return notification of number
= no longer available.
Reserve multiple numbers selected Return updated number status
from a search result (1 ¨ of Reserved and updated toll-
configurable max number) free service provider assigned
for all numbers that may be still
available; else return
notification of number no
longer available for those that
may be not available.
= Search & Search & Reserve completely
Return a number or list of
Reserve a random number(s) numbers meeting the search
Number criteria with updated number
status of Reserved and updated
toll-free service provider
= assigned.
Search for numbers in a specific NPA
(i.e., 800, 888, 877, etc.)
Search using wildcards to represent
any number
(i.e., 800-***-CARS)
Search & Reserve numbers with
duplicated numbers in them (i.e.,
855-345-&&&& where & means a
duplicate numbers like 2222 or 5555)
Search & Reserve numbers
containing a specific string of
numbers at any point in the number
(i.e.***-777-0000)
......., .......,.
Search & Reserve numbers starting
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with a specific string
(i.e., 855-234-****)
Search & Reserve numbers ending
with a specific string
(i.e., 855-***-5555
Search & Reserve numbers using
alpha characters as well as numbers
(i.e., 888-234-CARS)
[00434] The below delineated example use cases may be generic in showing the
flow for multiple specific cases as defined in the particular example use
case.
Use Case ID NA-UC-1
Use Case Name Search for a number
Use Case Search for a toll-free number or multiple numbers with
status
Description of SPARE
MFS Reference MFS 1; MFS 1A;
Actor(s) User (toll-free service provider or disclosed
embodiment
administrator)
- System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional Category NA ¨Number Administration
Pre-Conditions The user has logged into the system
- In embodiments, the system has verified identity and
permissions of the specific user and of the toll-free service
provider as a whole
Post-Conditions User has found Spare numbers meeting criteria
No change for the searched number status
Assumptions None identified
Interface None identified
Considerations
Primary Flow Step 1 The user initiates a Search. The user may specify
none, one, or more of the following Search criteria:
= One or more than one number returned
= Specific starting NPA
= Various combinations of alpha & numbers
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included in the number
= Specify numbers using wildcards and duplicate
value indicators
= Request consecutive numbers
Step 2 In embodiments, the system returns a number or list
of numbers with SPARE status
Alternate Flows El: At Step 2, if no values with SPARE status may be found,
embodiments of the system indicates this to the user
E2: At Step 2, if multiple numbers may be requested and there
may be not enough SPARE numbers to match the quantity
requested by the user, embodiments of the system returns the
quantity that is available
E3: At Step 2, if the maximum allowed quantity of
RESERVED numbers for the toll-free service provider entity
has been exceeded, embodiments of the system indicates this
to the user when the SPARE number is returned
Use Case ID NA-UC-2
Use Case Name Reserve a number with spare status
Use Case Reserve a number or multiple numbers with spare status
based
Description upon the results of a previously executed Search
MFS Reference MFS 2
Actor(s) User (toll-free service provider or disclosed embodiment
administrator)
= System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional Category NA ¨ Number Administration
Pre-Conditions The user has logged into the system.
- In embodiments, the system has verified identity and
permissions of the specific user and of the toll-free service
provider as a whole
= The user has executed a Search that has returned a toll-free
number or list of toll-free numbers in Spare status
Post-Conditions Numbers in RESERVED status.
Assumptions None identified
Interface None identified
Considerations
Primary Flow Step 1 The user requests Reservation of one or more of the
numbers returned by the system.
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Step 2 For each number requested to be reserved, system
verifies that the number is still available (in Spare
status) for reservation.
Step 3 For each number requested to be reserved, system
verifies that the toll-free service provider entity has
not reached the maximum allowed number of
RESERVED numbers.
Step 4 For each number for which is still available and the
maximum allowed quantity of RESERVED numbers
has not been reached, embodiments of the system
places the requested numbers in RESERVED status,
and updates the count of RESERVED numbers for the
toll-free service provider entity.
Step 5 In embodiments, the system indicates the numbers
that have been reserved for the user.
Alternate Flows El: At Step 2, If a number requested to be reserved is no
longer available, embodiments of the system can return to the
user a notification that this number is no longer available and
continue with the list of numbers to be reserved.
E2: At Step 3 and 4, if the toll-free service provider entity has
reached the maximum allowed number of RESERVED
numbers, the Reservation attempt fails for that number: an
indication of this error is provided to the user. This applies for
each number for which reservation was requested. At Step 7,
embodiments of the system indicate the numbers that may be
reserved and that the maximum allowed quantity of
RESERVED numbers has been reached.
Use Case ID NA-UC-3
Use Case Name Search And Reserve a number or multiple numbers
Use Case Search for a number or multiple random in SPARE status
Description using any of the available search criteria and reserve the
numbers in one operation
MFS Reference MFS 3
Actor(s) User (toll-free service provider or disclosed embodiment
administrator)
- System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional Category NA ¨ Number Administration
Pre-Conditions The user has logged into the system
- In embodiments, the system has verified identity and
................... permissions of the specific user and of the toll-free
service
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provider as a whole
Post-Conditions Numbers may be in RESERVED status
Assumptions None identified
Interface None identified
Considerations
Primary Flow Step 1 The user initiates a Search. The user may specify
none, one, or more of the following Search criteria:
= One or more than one numbers returned
= Specific starting NPA
Various combinations of alpha & numbers
included in the number
= Specify numbers using wildcards and duplicate
value indicators
- Request consecutive numbers
Step 2 In embodiments, the system verifies the quantity
requested, the current count of numbers reserved for
the toll-free service provider entity, and the maximum
allowed quantity of RESERVED numbers.
Step 3 In embodiments, the system places a quantity of
numbers in RESERVED status, up to the limit
allowed for the toll-free service provider entity, and
updates the count of RESERVED numbers for the
toll-free service provider entity.
Step 4 In embodiments, the system indicates the numbers
that have been reserved for the user.
Alternate Flows El: At Step 2, if no SPARE values may be found,
embodiments of the system may indicate this to the user and
no further action is taken.
E2: At Step 2, if the maximum allowed quantity of
RESERVED numbers has been exceeded before reserving any
numbers, embodiments of the system indicates this to the user
and no further action is taken.
E3: At Step 4, if the quantity of numbers reserved in Step 3 is
less than the quantity requested (because the maximum
allowed quantity of RESERVED numbers is reached),
embodiments of the system indicates the numbers that may be
reserved and that the maximum allowed quantity of
RESERVED numbers has been reached.
Use Case ID NA-UC-4
Use Case Name ____ Query for Information about a number
Use Case The user queries embodiments of the system for information
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Description related to a specific number
MFS Reference MFS 4
Actor(s) User (toll-free service provider or disclosed embodiment
administrator)
System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional Category NA __ Number Administration
Pre-Conditions - The user has logged into the system
'= In embodiments, the system has verified identity and
peimissions of the specific user and of the toll-free service
provider as a whole
Post-Conditions No change for the queried numbers
Assumptions None identified
Interface None identified
Considerations
Primary Flow Step 1 The user requests information about a number.
Step 2 In embodiments, the system returns status and other
information about the number. Information returned
depends on the permissions of the user and the
toll-
free service provider entity controlling the number.
Alternate Flows El: At Step 2, embodiments of the system provide an
indication to the user information cannot be returned for the
number.
[00435] Examples: Number Search Using Starting Point
Starting Point [Example Starting Point Possible Search Result
NXX NXX=321 NPA-321-XXXX to NPA-999-XXXX,
where NPA is any valid toll-free NPA and
XXXX is 0000 ¨ 9999
XXXX XXXX=1234 NPA-NXX-1234 to NPA-NXX-9999,
where NPA is any valid toll-free NPA and
NXX is any valid NXX in the NPA
NXX and NXX=321 and NPA-321-1234 to NPA-999-9999,
XXXX XXXX=1234 excluding XXXX = 0000-1233,
where NPA is any valid toll-free NPA
Note: NPA-322-0000 is not a valid
.............................. response for this search
NXX-XXXX NXX-XXXX=321- NPA-321-1234 to NPA-999-9999,
1234 where NPA is any valid toll-free NPA
Note: NPA-322-0000 is a valid response
for this search
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Example Masks
and Search
Valid Quantity Quantity of Example
Results for a Example Valid
of Consecutive Numbers Invalid Search
Consecutive- Search Results
Numbers Requested Results
Number
SearchMask
888-234-567* 2-9 4 888-234-5673 888-234-5678
888-234-5674 888-234-5679
888-234-5675 888-234-5680
888-234-5676 888-234-5681
888-234-56** 2-99 4 888-234-5678 888-234-5698
888-234-5679 888-234-5699
888-234-5680 888-234-5700
888-234-5681 888-234-5701
888-234-5&&* 2-9 4 888-234-5111 888-234-5888
888-234-5112 888-234-5889
888-234-5113 888-234-5890
888-234-5114 888-234-5891
Or
888-234-5885
888-234-5886
888-234-5887
888-234-5888
[00436] Example Number Search with Mask Characters
Example Mask Possible Search
Mask Character Usage
Results
.. .. .
Wildcard- * Number returned in 888-456-78** 888-456-7800 to
search results can 888-456-7899
include any digit in the
indicated position
Repeat Number returned in 800-456-&23& 800-456-0230
Wildcard- & search results includes 800-456-1231
the same digit in each of 800-456-2232
the positions indicated 800-456-3233
800-456-4234
800-456-5235
800-456-6236
800-456-7237
800-456-8238
800-456-9239
Number ¨ 0-9 Number returned in ***-87*-**** NPA-870-0000 to
search results includes NPA-879-9999
the specified digit in the Where NPA is a
position(s) indicated valid toll-free
NPA
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Alpha ¨ A¨Z Number returned in 866-***-TEAM 866-NXX-8326
search results includes a where NXX is a
digit that maps to the valid NXX
letter specified in the
position(s) indicated,
based on the mapping
provided by a standard
telephone keypad
[00437] In addition to the existing number search and reserve functionality
noted
above, embodiments of the disclosed architecture may support search and
reserve features.
Description of at least some of these is provided at a relatively high level
describing the
business functionality required as follows:
[00438] Search & Reserve Requirements- New Feature Set
NFS # = Function Description
NFS 1 Suggested When a toll-free provider searches for a
specific
Number number and that number is not available, the
Response system should provide the ability to return
suggested alternative numbers to the user. The
alternative numbers would be determined via an
algorithm based upon the number requested.
This same functionality should be able to be
expanded to return suggested alternative when a
partial number search is performed, but there are
no numbers matching the mask entered by the
user. The user should have the ability to turn off
this feature if they do not want suggestions.
Example: The user searches for 888-222-1234
and it is not available, but 888-777-1234 is, the
system can return this as an alternative.
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NFS 2 Predictive By performing an analysis of the toll-free
Number Search providers current number allocation, provide a
8z Reserve list of available numbers that that similar
characteristics to the current allocation. The user
should then have one click reservation ability for
this number
Example: The toll-free provider has allocated the
numbers 877-234-3000 thru 877-234-3015 and
the number 877-234-3016 is available, provide
this as an informatory suggestion when going to
the Search function.
NFS 3 User Saved Allow the toll-free provider to create searches
Searches with and save them for future use. These saved
one click searches could then be executed with a single
initiation click or could also be setup to be run every time
the user logs into the system.
NFS 4 Bulk Load Bulk import/export TFN (toll-free numbers) for
Numbers for search and reservation requests performed online
Search or thru an API. This would allow a user to
maintain list of TFNs they wish to search on a
regular basis.
NFS 4A Bulk Number The user will be able to search & reserve more
Search & than 10 numbers in one request (10 numbers is
Reserve the current system limit). The new limit should
be configurable. Depending upon the size of the
request and time it takes to process, the control of
the system can be returned to the user and a
notification of the completion of the request will
be sent to the user upon request completion.
NFS 5 Scheduled Allow toll-free providers to schedule a specific
Searches search to be performed on a regular basis at a
date/time desired by the user without the user
being logged in. Allow the user to either be
notified via email or text if a number becomes
available or alternatively to set a reserve option
on the search and reserve the number
automatically.
NFS 5A One Click Allow a toll-free provider to search for a number,
Activate reserve that number and activate that number by
assigning it a default customer record with a
single user transaction.
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Number Administration: Additional User Functions
Requirements- Minimal Feature Set
MFS # Function Description
MFS 5 Update user Update contact information for end user of number
information or comments.
MFS 5a Update number Update any of the information associated with the
information number that is reserved.
MFS 5b Find toll-free Have their ability for a toll-free service provider
to
service provider determine their numbers and status information
numbers & status utilizing a "toll-free Service provider dashboard of
information numbers"
MFS 6 Toll-free service Toll-free service provider releases numbers,
return
provider release to spare.
= =
numbers =
MFS 7 Toll-free service Transferring a number or multiple numbers from
provider number one toll-free service provider to another.
transfer
Functional Descriptions
=-z
Function Function Criteria Response Criteria
Update Update Information Acknowledge changes were made and
Numbers such as dates, contact display updated information.
info, etc. for number(s)
MFS 5 & 5a associated with a toll-
free service provider.
Toll-free Toll-free service Acknowledge changes were made and
service provider releases display updated information.
provider numbers, returning
release them to spare status
numbers
MFS 6
Toll-free Transferring a number Acknowledge changes were made and
service or multiple numbers display updated information.
provider from one toll-free
number service provider to
transfer another.
MFS 7
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Find toll-free Have their ability for a Provide a toll-free service
provider a
service toll-free service method of displaying current up to date
provider provider to display their information about the numbers they
numbers & numbers and status control. The information should be
status information utilizing a current with minimal latency.
information "toll-free service
provider dashboard of
MFS 5b numbers"
[00439] As an example use case, to update Information such as dates, contact
info,
etc. for number(s) associated with a toll-free service provider may be
provided as follows:
Use Case ID NA-UC-4
Use Case Name Change Reserve-Until Date/Disconnect Until Date for a
Number
Use Case User requests that embodiments of the system change the
date
Description associated with an expected change of status of a number.
MFS Reference MFS 5a
Actor(s) User (toll-free service provider or disclosed
embodiment
administrator)
System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional Category NA ¨ Number Administration
Pre-Conditions The user has logged into the system
In embodiments, the system has verified identity and
permissions of the specific user and of the toll-free service
provider as a whole
Post-Conditions The specified date is changed
Assumptions None identified
Interface None identified
Considerations
Primary Flow Step 1 The user requests one of the following date
changes:
1. Reserve-Until Date (for a RESERVED number)
2. Disconnect Until Date (for a Disconnected
number)
Step 2 In embodiments, the system verifies the identity and
peimissions of the user and that the specified number
has the expected status.
Step 3 In embodiments, the system verifies that the specified
date is earlier than the existing date.
Step 4 In embodiments, the system changes the date when
the number can change to its next status (in the
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absence of other user activity).
Alternate Flows El: At Step 2, embodiments of the system notify the user if
the user does not have permission for the change or if the
number is not in the expected status.
E2: At Step 3, if the specified date is beyond the current value,
an indication is provided to the user.
Use Case ID NA-UC-6
Use Case Name Change the Status of One or More Numbers
Use Case The user requests that embodiments of the system change the
Description status of one or more numbers to another allowed status
MFS Reference MFS 5a; MFS 6
Actor(s) User (toll-free service provider or disclosed embodiment
administrator)
- System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional Category NA ¨ Number Administration
Pre-Conditions The user has logged into the system
- In embodiments, the system has verified identity and
permissions of the specific user and of the toll-free service
provider as a whole
Post-Conditions The specified numbers may be SPARE and may be reserved
by any toll-free service provider.
Assumptions None identified
Interface None identified
Considerations
Primary Flow Step 1 The user requests that the status of one or more
numbers currently at one status be changed to another
allowed status.
Step 2 In embodiments, the system verifies the identity and
permissions of the user
Step 3 In embodiments, the system changes the status of the
numbers to the status.
Alternate Flows El: At Step 2, embodiments of the system notify the user if
any of the specified numbers cannot change from the current
status to a status.
[00440] Change the toll-free service provider information for one or more
numbers
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Use Case ID NA-UC-7
Use Case Name Change the toll-free service provider information for one or
more numbers
Use Case User requests that embodiments of the system change the toll-
Description free service provider Unit associated with a number or
numbers in RESERVED, WORKING, DISCONNECTED, or
TRANSITIONAL status
MFS Reference MFS 7
Actor(s) User (toll-free service provider or disclosed embodiment
administrator)
- System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional Category NA ¨ Number Administration
Pre-Conditions The user has logged into the system
In embodiments, the system has verified identity and
pettnissions of the specific user and of the toll-free service
provider as a whole
Post-Conditions The specified toll-free service provider unit is changed
for all
information associated with the number(s).
Assumptions .... None identified
Interface None identified
Considerations
Primary Flow Step 1 The user requests that the toll-free service provider
Unit associated with a number or list of numbers that
is currently controlled by a particular toll-free service
provider Unit be changed to a value.
Step 2 In embodiments, the system verifies the identity and
permissions of the user.
Step 3 In embodiments, the system changes the toll-free
service provider Unit associated with the number(s).
Alternate Flows El: At Step 2, embodiments of the system notifies the user
if
any specified numbers may be not associated with the
specified toll-free service provider unit.
E2: At Step 2, embodiments of the system notifies the user if
the specified toll-free service provider unit is not valid.
E3: At Step 2, embodiments of the system notifies the user if
not permitted to request this change.
[00441] Number Administration: Additional User New Features
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[00442] Additional features in the embodiments of the disclosed architecture
may
be supported such as:
Additional User New Features Requirements- New Feature Set
....................................,... ........ ,................ . .. õ
...... .....................,.............,... ........
............,.....................,..
ATS # Function Description
NFS 6 Spare Number This feature would allow for a toll-free Provider
Availability to submit requests to be notified if a specific
Notification toll-free number became available to be
reserved. The notification could be via an email
notification, pop-up when they log in, or text
notification.
This could be a value added service with an
additional charge, which would have tariff
implications or just a service provided to all
users.
[00443] There may be a number of tasks where a system administrator enters
values for configuration parameters that control an aspect of system
functionality. A pre-
condition is that the user is a system administrator with permissions to
perform the specific
administrative task.
1004441 For each administrative use case, the following sequence of steps
applies:
cccc. Step 1: The user enters values
dddd. Step 2: In embodiments, the system verifies the user
input
eeee. Step 3: In embodiments, the system accepts the
parameter values and notifies the user of success
[00445] If the user input is not valid or some other condition prevents
successful completion of the use case, embodiments of the system can inform
the user of an
error.
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Requirements- Minimal Feature Set ___________________________
Current
MFS # Function Description
state or New
MFS 9 Current state NPA & Open & Close NPA's and NPANXXs
NPANXX (SMS Admin only). The pool of toll-
Mgmt. free numbers is controlled by opening
and closing toll-free NPAs and NPA-
NXXs as directed by the FCC. An NPA
becomes Open when the numbers in the
first NXX within the NPA become
= available. An NPA becomes Closed
when all the NXXs within the NPA
= may be Closed.
MFS Current Reservation and Set mandated Reservation and
State Allocation limits Allocation limits, in embodiments, the
system can impose weekly limits for
how many numbers a toll-free service
provider entity can reserve. The
available pool of numbers in SPARE
status is divided into a portion that is
allocated to each toll-free service
provider entity based on market share
and a portion that is allocated equally
among all toll-free service provider
entities.
(SMS Admin may be only allowed to
set limits) ..................................................
Functional Descriptions
Function
Function Response Criteria
Criteria
NPA/NNX Open & Close Return information about the number
Management NPA's and including status of the number, date/time of
MFS9 NPANXXs transition to current status, toll-free service
provider, Reserved Until Date, Disconnect
Until Date, Last Active Date depending upon
permissions.
Reservation Set Tariff Return a number or list of numbers meeting
and Allocation mandated the search criteria (1 ¨ configurable max
limits Reservation and number) with status.
MFS 10 Allocation limits
1004461 An example use case to open a Toll-Free NPA and NXXs is as follows:
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Use Case ID NA-UC-8
Use Case Name Open a Toll-Free NPA and NXXs
Use Case Administrator opens a toll-free NPA and schedules opening
Description of one or more of the included NXXs.
MFS Reference MFS 9
=-t
Actor(s) = User (disclosed embodiment administrator)
System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional Category NA ¨ Number Administration
Pre-Conditions - The user has logged into the system
In embodiments, the system has verified identity and
permissions of the specific user
Post-Conditions A toll-free NPA is added to the system. Numbers within the
NXXs may be added with an initial status of SPARE.
Assumptions None identified
Interface None identified
Considerations
Primary Flow Step 1 The user enters the three digit toll-free NPA to be
opened.
Step 2 In embodiments, the system verifies that the NPA is a
valid format and is not currently open.
Step 3 In embodiments, the system facilitates the user to
enter a date and time to schedule availability for each
of the NXXs within the NPA that may be to be
available for Search/Reserve. (Allocation controls can
be specified for an NPA).
Step 4 At the indicated date and time, embodiments of the
system add the numbers in the NXXs within the NPA
with an initial status of SPARE and, for the first NXX
that is made available in the NPA, marks the NPA as
Open.
Alternate Flows El: At Step 2, embodiments of the system notify the user if
the operation cannot complete due to system conditions or
invalid inputs.
E2: At Step 2, embodiments of the system notify the user if
the user does not have permission to execute the operation.
E3: At Step 3, prior to reaching the specified date and time for
opening of an NPA-NXX, the user can revise the date and
time.
[00447] An example use case to Specify Number Reservation Limits is as
follows:
Use Case ID NA-UC-9
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Use Case Name Specify Number Reservation Limits
Use Case In embodiments, the system administrator enters values to
Description specify limits for percent of numbers in working status,
count
of numbers in RESERVED status, and percent of quantity of
SPARE numbers that a toll-free service provider entity is
allowed to have in RESERVED status.
MFS Reference MFS 10
Actor(s) , User (disclosed embodiment administrator)
- System (disclosed embodiment)
=-t
Functional Category NA ¨ Number Administration
Pre-Conditions , The user has logged into the system
In embodiments, the system has verified identity and
permissions of the specific user
Post-Conditions The limits for percent of working numbers, count of
working
numbers, and percent of quantity of SPARE numbers that a
toll-free service provider entity is allowed to have in
RESERVED status may be set.
Assumptions None identified
Interface None identified
Considerations
Primary Flow Step 1 In embodiments, the system administrator enters
values for the limits for percent of working numbers,
count of reserved numbers, and percent of quantity of
SPARE numbers that a toll-free service provider is
allowed to have in RESERVED status.
Step 2 In embodiments, the system verifies that the user
input and sets reservation limits.
Step 3 In embodiments, the system notifies the user that the
operation has completed.
Alternate Flows El: At Step 2, embodiments of the system notify the user
if
the operation cannot complete due to system conditions or
invalid inputs.
[00448] There may be additional features the embodiments of the disclosed
architecture may include those that follow:
Additional User New Features Requirements- New Feature Set
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A'FS # Function Description
NFS 7 Enhanced Allow administrators to configure most of the
Number settings within the system without development
Administration changes. For example, the system may have a
Configurability limit of 10 TFNs returned from a search, which
can be raised, but be configurable.
[00449] The Customer Record Administration (CRA) functions may be those
concerned with the input, validation, processing, and management of the toll-
free Customer
Records (CRs). These may also include the processes by which embodiments of
the system
can upload relevant customer record data to the SCP toll-free databases in the
public network,
to enable their processing of SS7 toll-free database queries. Multi-number and
mass change
capabilities impacting CRs may also be included in CRA functionality.
[00450] The system's CRA functions support interactions with external users or
systems at the toll-free service provider to create and update the customer
records. Additional
interactions may be supported with telecommunications carriers, to approve
and/or be
notified of CR updates that impact toll-free calling traffic in their
respective networks, i.e.,
Carrier Notification and Approval (CNA) functions. Further interactions may be
supported
with respect to the Local-Exchange Carriers (LECs), including Incumbent Local-
Exchange
Carriers (ILECs), Competing Local-Exchange Carriers (CLECs), other IntraLATA
carriers,
and CCS network operators whose networks may be involved in terminating the
toll-free
calls to the toll-free subscriber lines, and whose reference data, and others
can be used to
validate certain call routing instructions in the CRs. These latter
capabilities may be referred
to as IntraLATA Carrier Management (ICM) functions.
1004511 After a toll-free number (TFN) is reserved by a toll-free service
provider's
toll-free service provider, it should be assigned to a customer, and Customer
Records (CRs)
for that TFN may be created in the disclosed embodiment, ultimately resulting
in their
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downloading to Service Control Points (SCPs) and the activation of service for
the toll-free
subscriber (the customer) in the public network.
[00452] A CR contains both customer administrative data and call routing
information for a customer's toll-free service. In particular, it defines
important aspects of the
service, including the originating Area of Service (AOS) - the geographic area
from which
calls to the toll-free number can be allowed, and the rules for translation of
the toll-free
number to call routing instructions. The call routing instructions may include
Destination
Telephone Number(s) to which the toll-free calls may be routed, the Carrier
Identification
Code (CICs) of telecommunications carriers whose networks may be used for
IntraLATA
and InterLATA calls, and call announcement treatment instructions for those
cases in which
the toll-free calls should not be routed further.
[00453] Each TFN may have several CRs associated with it, each containing the
toll-free service information to take effect at a given date and time (i.e.,
the Effective Date
and Time of the CR). Once established, service for a customer may be modified
or
disconnected via subsequent future-dated CRs. Future pending CRs then replace
the active
CR when their effective dates and times may be reached.
[00454] At the effective date and time, a subset of the active CR's data
applicable
to toll-free database query processing is then downloaded to the applicable
SCPs in the public
network, replacing (overwriting) any previous SCP customer record in effect
for that TFN.
Only one CR may be the active CR in embodiments of the system reflecting the
current toll-
free service for a given TFN.
[00455] Customer Records can be considered either one of two types:
fIff. Regular Customer Records: Define the call routing for
a
toll-free number and define the final toll-free-to-TN destination
number translations and what carrier can carry the call. These
may be simple or complex.
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gggg. Turnaround Records: The originating toll-free calls
may
be routed only via the TFNs and CICs. The routing is deferred
to the interexchange carrier networks, which may be
responsible for the final toll-free-to-TN destination number
translations. The term "turnaround routing" refers to the CR's
instruction to the SCP to "turn around" the TFN received in the
SS7 query message as the routing number (Destination
Telephone Number) in the SCP response, and the call is then
routed onward to a carrier network based on the TFN and
obtained CIC. It is then the responsibility of the carrier network
to provide the final translation to the POTS Destination
Telephone Number for final call routing. A TR can therefore
contain only the TFN as a DTN or intercept treatment in its call
routing instructions, and always without final routing to POTS
destination numbers.
[00456] The disclosed embodiment administers 3 types of CRs:
hhhh. Customer Records: each pertaining to a single TFN and
containing all of its service parameters;
iiii. Pointer Records: each pertaining to a single TFN but pointing
to a "reusable" "template record," for much of its more
complex service data, which it may share with other TFNs, and
jjjj. Template records: a record with service information that can be
referenced (shared) by multiple Customer Records and
referenced via Pointer Records (TFNs). Template records are
valuable as a single complex record can be created and then
referenced by multiple Pointer records. This saves space in the
SCPs
[00457] Each type of CR may have a required common administrative data
portion,
and more complex, optionally populated Call Processing Record (CPR) data
portions for
more complex routing scenarios. The CPR portion facilitates a tree structure
for the
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specification of variable (branching) call routing logic based on various
decision criteria
(decision nodes) and the resulting translations to destination numbers and
carriers or
announcement treatments (action nodes). CPRs may be used within Regular CRs
and
Template Records.
[00458] Creation/Updating of Customer Records to Reflect Call Routing
Requirements- Minimal Feature Set ______________________________
Current
MPS # Function Description
state or New
MFS Current state Customer Record There may be a number of Call
11 ¨ Routing Routing options in the current system.
options These can be needed and possibly
options moving forward.
MFS Current state CRUD (Create Includes user input, modification,
12 Read Update query, view, disconnect, copy, transfer,
Delete) Customer list, and status retrieval, includes
Records scheduling in future.
MFS Current state Validate CRs Validate Customer Records against
13 reference data, syntax, and routing
correctness
MFS Current state CR Templates CRUD (Create Read Update Delete).
14
MFS Current state Customer Record View all associated CRs with a TFN.
15 View Drill down into details for CRs
MFS Current state Pointer Records CRUD (Create Read Update Delete).
16 Pointer Records may be tied to TFNs.
MFS New Copy Create an easy way for toll-free service
17 CRiTemplate providers to create records based on
(clone & modify) , existing records
[00459] In embodiments, the platform may include a customer record template
builder. The process and tools currently available for building a complex
customer record
may be single threaded and cumbersome. In addition, a tool may be required
that works
intelligently with the user to interpret natural language input to produce a
complex customer
record while using existing user records and usage data to prepopulate
information for the
user. This tool may be intuitive such that a first time user could build a
complex record
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without hours of training.
1004601 The Customer Record Template Builder (CRTB) can allow toll-free
providers to easily build a complex customer record template using a simple UI
that can then
let that record be designated at the default customer record. A toll-free
provider can build
multiple complex customer record templates for their use and to define a
record as the default
customer record, allowing the user to select the default with a single click,
thus significantly
reducing their work effort.
[00461] The CRTB can lead the user thru both the initial customer data
population
(known as the CAD portion) but also the call routing logic (known as the CPR
portion)
utilizing a simple UI using a decision tree logic structure with defined data
nodes. Based
upon the decisions at those nodes the UI can drive down a branch to a new
decision node
ultimately driving the customer record decision logic to the lowest level.
[00462] A decision tree can represent a series of decision points. Each
decision
point is called a node and off each node is one of more branches. The point at
which there
may be no more decisions to be made is called a leaf and is used as 'the "end
point" of a
branching structure. See Figure 3 for a generic visualization of this
structure.
[00463] The CAD portion of the CRTB can logically lead the user to populate
the
example following pieces of information:
kkkk. Administrative data about the toll-free customer
1111. Toll-free number
mmmm. Effective date and time
Control toll-free provider identifier
0000. End customer name
PPPP. End customer address
cicIclq= Area Of Service (AOS),
rrrr. List of destination telephone number(s)
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[00464] Carrier Identification Codes (CICs) for IntraLATA and InterLATA
traffic
1004651 The complex customer record (CPR) decision nodes supported by the may
be as follows:
ssss. Originating State
tttt. Originating NPA
uuuu. Originating LATA
vvvv. Originating POTS NXX
wwww. Originating POTS NPANXX
xxxx. Originating POTS number
YYYY. Specific date
zzzz. Day(s) of the week
aaaaa. Time-of-day range
bbbbb. Percent load share, which may be used to
automatically
direct different percentages of processed queries (calls) to
different branches below the node.
[00466] The "leaves" supported by the data model at the ends of a given branch
may include:
ccccc. Destination Telephone Number;
ddddd. Carrier; and
eeeee. Announcement Treatment.
[00467] A simple example of Customer Record routing would be as in Figure 4.
[00468] In this relatively simple example, starting from the left-most
branched
path, the 3 decision paths corresponding to the decision trees branched paths
can be
represented as:
fifff. Area Code = 732, NXX=I699,494I, Caffier=ATX-
0288, Tel#=800-234-5678
ggggg. Area Code = 732, NXX=Other, Carrier=MCI-0222,
Tel#=800-234-5678
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hhhhh. Area Code = Other, NXX=<null>, Carrier=MCI-0222,
Tel#=800-234-5678.
[00469] The CRTB toll can be built in such a manner to allow a customer works
his/her way down the decision tree and anticipate / pre-populate information
based upon the
information already provided in this build or also infoimation provided in
previous customer
record entries. Once a default customer record template is built, the system
can build the
capability to invoke this template when creating a customer record for a new
number, thus
reducing the time and effort for a customer record to be built.
[00470] The CPR portion of the CR may provide a mechanism for users to specify
branching call routing and call treatment logic involving multiple destination
numbers and
multiple carriers based on one or more decision criteria. The decision
criteria include aspects
of the toll-free call, such as its originating geographic area (the
originating state, CCS
network, NPA, LATA, NPANXX etc.) to be mapped by the SCP, based on the calling
party
number and other attributes of the query), and the date, time-of-day and day-
of week of the
query, among other variables.
[00471] The CPR is linked to the CAD portion of a regular customer record by
the
referenced TFN and the Effective Date and Time. The CPR portion is also used
in Template
Records. When used in a Template record, the CPR portion is linked to the
Template Record
by the referenced Template Name and Effective Date and Time in the equivalent
TAD
portion of the Template Record.
[00472] The logical branch points of the CPR decision tree may be specified
within
one or more "decision nodes" along each traversable branched path. The
resulting call
processing actions, including the translation of the toll-free number to
specific destination
numbers, call routing via specific carriers, or the announcement treatment for
non-routed
calls may be specified in "action nodes" at the ends of each path. Each path
logically begins
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at the dialed toll-free number being translated, progresses through one or
more decision
nodes that define the call criteria, and ends at one or more action nodes.
Each possible path
through the decision tree from root to the end of each branched path may be
conceived of as a
"row" in a logical data table or matrix. Each row may contain numerous
decision nodes
defining the set of criteria to be matched by the call attributes for a call
routing case (path)
and may end with one or two action nodes.
[00473] The CPR decision nodes supported by the data model according to one
embodiment can include one or more of the following:
mil. Originating State (STATE)
JJJJJ = Originating NPA (AREA CODE)
kkkkk. Originating LATA (LATA)
11111. Originating POTS NXX (NXX)
mmmmm. Originating POTS NPANXX (6-DIGIT#)
nnnnn. Originating POTS number (10-DIGIT#)
00000. Specific date (DATE)
ppppp. Day(s) of the week (DAY)
qqqqq. Time-of-day range (TIMES)
rrrrr. Binary Switch (SWITCH) - an on-or-off binary switch,
which may be used to manually redirect call processing onto an
alternate branched path.
sssss. Percent load share (PERCENT), which may be used to
automatically direct different percentages of processed queries
(calls) to different branches of the node.
1004741 The action nodes supported by the data model according to one
embodiment at the ends of a given branch can include:
ttttt. Destination Telephone Number (TEL#)
uuuuu. Carrier (CARRIER)
vvvvv. Announcement Treatment (ANNOUNCE)
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vavwww. Go-To (GOTO) a pointer to another decision tree (CPR
subsection) within the CPR, which defines further (refining)
decision criteria.
[00475] Logically, decision nodes can have more than one argument for their
included decision criteria (e.g., a list of more than one originating NPA, or
more than 1 day
of the week), and there may be multiple decision nodes used in combination to
define each
branched path (row). Each action node may have, at most, one outcome in the
call routing
logic. Null (empty) values for a decision node within a row convey its
decision criteria is not
to be part of the matched criteria defining the decision case for that row
(i.e., that any value
for that call parameter can suffice). A conceptual view of a CPR routing tree
example is
illustrated in Figure 3.
1004761 Sample of Main Flow Customer Record Use Cases
[00477] This section has a sample of some of the many use cases that may be
covered in this functionality. It does not represent every possible use case
and should be a
base for determining CRA functionality.
[00478] An example use case for Create a New CR for a Reserved toll-free
number
(New Service Connect) is as follows:
Use Case ID CR-UC-1 1
Use Case Name Create a New CR for a Reserved toll-free number (New
Service Connect)
Use Case The user creates a regular or pointer customer record in
Description embodiments of the system to activate service for a given
RESERVED toll-free number, either immediately, or at a
future effective date and time. The user may create a regular
customer record or a pointer record referencing an existing
template record.
MFS Reference MFS 11; MFS 12
A cto r(s) User (toll-free service provider or administrator)
- System (disclosed embodiment)
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Functional Category CR ¨ Customer Record Administration
Assumptions and In embodiments, the system has verified the identity and
Pre-Conditions permissions of the User or has established the necessary
API interface connectivity.
- The toll-free number is in the RESERVED state and is
reserved by the requesting toll-free service provider unit.
No CRs for the TFN yet exist.
= If a pointer record is being defined, it may point to an
existing active template record.
Post-Conditions A CR for the toll-free number with a future or current
effective
date and time is created and stored in embodiments of the
system with PENDING status for future or immediate
activation in the network. (Its subsequent state in embodiments
of the system can depend upon whether its final validation and
carrier approval processing has completed successfully.) The
number status is changed to "ASSIGNED" when the first valid
CR for the TFN is successfully created.
Interface - Human User Interface
Considerations
= API interface (REQ/RSP-CRA or REQ/RSP-CRC)
Primary Flow 1. The user enters the toll-free number, a requested future
effective date and time (or NOW for an immediate
activation), all mandatory parameters, and any optional
parameters for the CR's CAD portion (Regular CR) or
PAD portion (Pointer Record).
2. For regular CRs, the user may also populate a LAD portion
of the CR specifying TFN-specific labels for use in CPR
decision and action nodes.
3. For regular CRs, the user optionally populates a CPR
portion to specify any complex call routing logic, including
any LAD labels defined in the LAD portion for decision
and action nodes.
4. The user submits the completed CR, including all of its
applicable component data portions to embodiments of the
system for validation and processing.
5. in embodiments, the system validates the CR is correct
and complete, per CR data requirements and per CR
validations, and posts the validated CR to the TFMP
database with an initial status of PENDING.
Alternate Flows El: In Step 1, the TFN was not valid or reserved by the
user's
toll-free service provider, creation of the CR is not allowed,
and an error indication is returned to the user.
E2: In Step 1, a CR with the TFN and same effective date and
time already exists, so creation of a CR with the same key
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data is not allowed, and an error indication is returned to the
user.
E3: In Step 4, the CR data in the CAD (or PAD), LAD, or CPR
portions may be invalid, missing, inconsistent, or incomplete,
embodiments of the system rejects the CR as invalid. The CR
enters the INVALID state and is stored in the database. It may
be corrected (modified) and resubmitted in a separate update
request.
In all cases, further processing is stopped.
[00479] An example use case for Query/Retrieve/View an Existing CR is as
follows:
Use Case ID CR-UC-2
Use Case Name Query/Retrieve/View an Existing CR
Use Case The user retrieves an existing CR (regular CR or pointer
Description record) for a given TFN and Effective Date and Time for
the
purpose of viewing/reading its content.
MFS Reference ______ MFS 15
Actor(s) User (toll-free service provider, Customer, Agent,
Carrier,
or administrator)
= System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional CR ¨ Customer Record Administration
Category
Assumptions and >, In embodiments, the system has verified the identity
and
Pre-Conditions permissions of the user or has established the
necessary
API interface connectivity.
= The CR may exist in the database.
- The user may be from the CR's Control toll-free service
provider entity, TFMP administration, or an involved
routing carrier on the CR, or the CR's customer (or their
agent) with online access.
Post-Conditions The retrieved CR is unchanged. Its contents may be
displayed
or returned to the user or external user system, subject to CR
access restrictions, with only the authorized information
provided or displayed.
Interface Human User Interface
Considerations
= API interface (REQ/RSP-CRV)
Primary Flow 1. The user specifies or selects the toll-free number,
and the
specific Effective Date and Time of the CR to be retrieved.
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2. In embodiments, the system retrieves the indicated
customer record, facilitates the user to view appropriate
data (HUI case), or sends the appropriate data to the
requesting external user system (API case).
(The Control toll-free service provider, customer, agent,
and TFMP administration can retrieve/view all fields.
Involved carriers and their associated toll-free service
providers may view only those portions of the record
relevant to their role, including their own CICs and the
Destination Telephone Numbers to which the TFN routes
via their CICs. Non-involved toll-free service providers can
view only the TFN, Effective Date/Time, Control toll-free
service provider, CR Status, and Approval Status.) Refer to
functional requirements concerning returned information
and restrictions for this use case.
Alternate Flows El: In Step 1, no CR with the TFN and effective date and
time
exists, so the record cannot be retrieved. A record not found
indication or error is returned to the user.
E2: In Step 2, a requesting user is not from one of the specified
types of entities that may be allowed to access CRs for the
TFN, and therefore is denied access to the record. An error
notification to this effect should be returned.
In either case, further processing is stopped.
[00480] An example use case to Create a New CR (Update Active or Pending toll-
free service) is as follows:
Use Case ID CR-UC-3
Use Case Name Create a New CR (Update Active or Pending Toll-Free
Service)
Use Case The user creates a CR for a TFN (regular CR or PR) for
which
Description an ACTIVE record and/or other future PENDING records for
that TFN already exist in the database. The CR can replace or
become the active record at the future effective date and time.
Relative to any earlier-effective record or the active record for
the TFN, the differences in the CR' s parameters may include,
in Regular CRs, for example (but may be not limited to):
1. The addition of Destination Numbers and their related
destination parameters.
2. Expanding or changing the Area of Service (AOS)
3. Changing other administrative parameters on the CR.
4. Adding a LAD portion, or adding or removing labels and
argument lists from/to the LAD.
5. Adding or removing a CPR portion or a CPR section.
6. Changing the call routing (decision nodes, DNs, carriers, or
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announcement treatments in any of the CPR table rows
defining the CPR tree).
MFS Reference MFS 11; MFS 12
Actor(s) User (toll-free service provider or administrator)
- System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional Category CR __ Customer Record Administration
Assumptions and In embodiments, the system verifies the identity and
Pre-Conditions permissions of the user or has established the necessary
API interface connectivity.
= An ACTIVE CR or one or more PENDING CRs already
exist in the database for the TFN.
- No other PENDING CRs exist for that TFN with the same
effective date and time.
- The user may be from the TFN's Control toll-free service
provider entity or the administration, or may otherwise
have update permission for the control toll-free service
provider's CRs.
Post-Conditions A CR for the TFN and with the effective date and time and
with the updated CR data attributes can be created with an
initial status of PENDING. (Its subsequent state in
embodiments of the system and in the network can depend
upon whether its validation and carrier approval processing has
proceeded.)
Interface - Human User Interface
Considerations
- API interface (REQ/RSP-CRA or REQ/RSP-CRC)
Primary Flow 1. The user specifies the TFN, the requested effective date
and time (NOW for immediate updates and a future
effective date and time for future updates), all mandatory
parameters, and any optional parameters for the CR' s CAD
or PAD portion.
2. For a regular CR, the user optionally populates a LAD
portion of the CR specifying TFN-specific labels for use in
CPR decision nodes.
3. For regular CRs, the user optionally populates a CPR
portion to specify any complex call routing logic, including
any LAD labels for decision and action nodes.
4. The user submits the completed CR, including all of its
component portions to embodiments of the system for
validation and processing.
5. In embodiments, the system validates the CR is correct and
complete, per CR data requirements and per CR
validations, and posts the validated CR to the database with
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an initial status of PENDING (future) or SENDING
(immediate).
Alternate Flows El: In Step 1, the user does not have update permission for
the
TFN. Creation of the CR is not allowed, and an error indication
returned to the user.
E2: In Step 1, a CR with the TFN and same effective date and
time already exists, so creation of a CR with the same key data
is not allowed, and an error indication is returned to the user.
E3: in Step 5, the CR data in the CAD (or PAD), LAD, or CPR
portions may be invalid, missing, inconsistent or incomplete,
and in embodiments, the system rejects the CR as invalid and
returns an error response to the user. The CR enters the
INVALID state and may be corrected (modified) and
resubmitted as a subsequent update.
In all cases, further processing is stropped.
[00481] An example use case to Delete an Existing (Future) CR is as follows:
Use Case ID CR-UC-4
Use Case Name Delete an Existing (Future) CR
Use Case The user deletes an existing CR (Regular CR or PR) with a
Description given TFN and future Effective Date and Time.
MFS Reference MES 12
Actor(s) - User (toll-free service provider or administrator)
= System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional Category CR ¨ Customer Record Administration
Assumptions and In embodiments, the system verifies the identity and
Pre-Conditions permissions of the user or has established the necessary
API interface connectivity.
- The CR may exist in the database.
= The CR's current status may be one of PENDING,
INVALID, MY CHECK, or HOLD so that its effective
date and time is in the future. (The ACTIVE record may
not be deleted.).
- The user may be from the TFN's Control toll-free service
provider entity or the administration, or may otherwise
have update permission for the control toll-free service
provider's CRs.
Post-Conditions The existing record is deleted from the database.
Interface - Human User Interface
Considerations
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API interface (REQ/RSP-CRA or REQ/RSP-CRC)
Primary Flow 1. The user specifies or selects the toll-free number,
and the
specific effective date and time of the CR to be deleted.
2. In embodiments, the system deletes the future CR and
returns a confirmation of the action to the user.
......,. ......,..
Alternate Flows El: In Step 1, no CR with the TFN and Effective Date and
Time exists, so the record cannot be deleted. A record not
found indication or error is returned to the user.
E2: In Step 1, if the user specifies a CR with a past effective
date and time (ACTIVE, FAILED, OLD, SENDING, or
HOLD), the deletion action may not be permitted and an error
indication may be returned. Only the system's database purge
process may be permitted to delete CRs with past EDTs.
E3: In Step 1, the requesting user is not from the Control toll-
free service provider entity or Administration, or does not
otherwise have update permission for the CR, so the user is not
authorized to delete the record.
In all error cases, an appropriate error indication is returned on
the requesting interface and further processing is stopped.
[00482] An example use case for Query/View the List of CRs for a given TFN is
as
follows:
Use Case ID CR-UC-5
Use Case Name Query/View the List of CRs for a Given TFN
Use Case The user selects or specifies a TFN and retrieves a list
of all
Description CRs (regular or PRs) that exist in the database for that
TFN
(aka CR Status Query).
MFS Reference MFS 15
Actor(s) User (toll-free service provider or administrator)
'= System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional CR ¨ Customer Record Administration
Category
Assumptions and In embodiments, the system verifies the identity and
Pre-Conditions permissions of the user or has established the necessary
API
interface connectivity.
Post-Conditions A list of CRs for the specified TFN is returned to the
user, with
their effective dates and times and CR status values. No
information is changed in the system.
Interface Human User Interface
Considerations
- API Interface (REQ/RSP-CRQ)
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Primary Flow 1. The user specifics or selects the toll-free number for
the CR
list to be retrieved and submits the request to the system.
2. In embodiments, the system retrieves the infoimation,
generates the CR list, and presents it to the user. The
response may include:
- the retrieved TFN
- the Control toll-free service provider for the TFN
- the CR list
Within the CR list, individual CRs may be sorted in
ascending order by effective date, i.e., with the oldest
record at the top and later effective-dated/timed records.
The list may include for each CR:
a. The Effective Date and Time
b. The CR Order Type
c. The CR Status
d. The CR Carrier-Approval Status
e. Indicators conveying the presence of CR component
data portions (CAD or PAD, CPR, and LAD)
f. A link or other mechanism by which the user may
select the individual CR for retrieval and/or
subsequent actions. (HUT case only)
Additional requirements concerning the CR list response
may be specified in the functional requirements.
Alternate Flows El: At Step 1, no CRs exist in the database for the
specified
TFN.
E2: At Step 1, embodiments of the system determine the user is
not authorized to access the CR list for the TFN.
In either case an appropriate not-found or error indication is
returned on the user interface and processing is stopped.
1004831 An example use case for Disconnect Toll-Free Service is as follows:
Use Case ID CR-UC-6
Use Case Name Disconnect Toll-Free Service
Use Case The user establishes a future or immediate disconnect date
for
Description a currently working TFN by populating the following
Disconnect-related parameters in a PENDING disconnect CR
with a future effective date and time:
- Disconnect Referral Option
End-Intercept Date
This may be regarded as a special case of CR-UC-3. Create a
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New (Future) CR (Update Toll-Free Service), in which a CR
for a working or assigned number can be created to populate
the disconnect-related parameters and becomes a "Disconnect
record.")
MFS Reference MFS 11; MFS 12
Actor(s) - User (toll-free service provider or administrator)
= System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional Category CR ¨ Customer Record Administration
Assumptions and - In embodiments, the system has verified the identity and
Pre-Conditions permissions of the user or has established the necessary
API interface connectivity.
- The current Number Status is WORKING or ASSIGNED,
and there is either an ACTIVE CR or one or more future
PENDING CRs for the TFN in the database.
- The user may be from the TFN' s Control toll-free service
provider entity or the administration, or may otherwise
have update permission for the control toll-free service
provider's CRs.
- In the ACTIVE CR or latest future CR, none of the
disconnect-related parameters may be yet populated.
Post-Conditions A CR for the TFN, and with the effective date and time and
with populated disconnect-related CR parameters can be
created in embodiments of the system with an initial status of
PENDING. (At the effective date and time, the CR status can
become DISCONNECT. At the End Intercept Date it can be
deleted from the SCPs and transition to CR status OLD in the
system.)
Interface - Human User Interface
Considerations
= API interface (REQ/RSP-CRA or REQ/RSP-CRC)
Primary Flow 1. The user specifies or selects the TFN to be disconnected
and the latest effective dated CR.
2. In embodiments, the system retrieves the CR and presents
the CR view to the user. (HUI case only)
3. The user populates the effective date and time (either
"now" or in the future) and the following disconnect-
related parameters in the CR (assumed to be previously null
or blank per pre-condition):
Disconnect Referral Option is changed from blank
(null/empty) to "Yes (with referral)" or "No (without
referral)"
The End-Intercept Date is populated and is greater than
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or equal to the effective date and time (when the End-
Intercept Date is equal to the Effective Date the CR can
be treated as an immediate disconnect without an
intercept period.)
4. The user submits the CR update as a "disconnect request"
with a future effective date and time or "now" for an
immediate disconnect.
5. In embodiments, the system validates the TFN, user's toll-
free service provider, and above Disconnect parameters,
per procedures described in Section 4.5.2.1.8, and posts the
validated CR to the database with an initial status of
"PENDING.
Subsequent to this interaction:
if the record is deemed valid at the intended effective date
and time it goes active in the network with DISCONNECT
status and applies the specified disconnect referral option,
until the end-intercept date is reached.
- At the end intercept date, the CR is deleted from the
SCPs.
(If the End-Intercept Date is the same as the Effective Date
and Time on the CR, the CR is deleted immediately from
the SCP when the Effective Date and time is reached.)
Alternate Flows El: At Step 1, the user's toll-free service provider does
not
match the Control toll-free service provider entity for the TFN,
or does not otherwise have update permission, such that access
of the target CR is not allowed to issue the disconnect request.
E2: At step 1, no active CR or future CRs with the effective
date and time exist in the database for the TFN.
E3: At Step 5, the specified End-Intercept Date is earlier than
the current date or more than <m> months later than the
effective date, and is considered invalid. (The limit m is
administrator-configurable with a default of 4 months.)
In these cases an appropriate error indication can be returned to
the user interface and further processing stops.
[00484] An example use case to Create a New Template Record is as follows:
Use Case ID CR-UC-7
=
Use Case Name Create a New Template Record (TR)
Use Case The user creates a template record (TR) in embodiments of
the
Description system to establish or update a routing template that may
then
be referenced by multiple PRs, either immediately, or at a
future effective date and time.
MFS Reference MFS 14
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Actor(s) - User (toll-free service provider or administrator)
= System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional Category CR ¨ Customer Record Administration
Assumptions and In embodiments, the system has verified the identity and
Pre-Conditions permissions of the user or has established the necessary
API interface connectivity.
- No TR with the requested Template Name and Effective
Date and Time yet exist.
Post-Conditions A TR with the given Template Name and with the current or
future Effective Date and Time is created and stored in
embodiments of the system with PENDING status for future
activation or SENDING status for immediate activation in the
network. (Its subsequent state in embodiments of the system
can depend upon whether its validation processing has
completed successfully.)
Interface - Human User Interface
Considerations
= API interface (REQ/RSP-TRC)
Primary Flow 1. The user enters the existing Template Name, a requested
future Effective Date and Time (or NOW for an immediate
activation), all mandatory parameters, and any optional
parameters for the TR's TAD portion.
2. The user may also populate a LAD portion of the TR
specifying record-specific labels for use in CPR decision
and action nodes.
3. The user optionally populates a CPR portion to specify any
complex call routing logic, including any LAD labels
defined in the LAD portion for decision and action nodes.
Note that all DTNs in the CPR may be either the TFN or
the special argument "#DIAL" representing the TFN, i.e.,
the TR may specify turnaround routing per SCP limitations
on the TR 13/Ns.
4. The user submits the completed TR, including all of its
applicable component data portions to embodiments of the
system for validation and processing.
5. In embodiments, the system validates that the CR is
correct and complete, per TR Data Requirements specified
in Sections 4.3.2.9 through 4.3.2.12, and per TR validations
specified within Section 4.5.2.2. It generated a numeric
Template ID and posts the validated TR to the database
with an initial status of PENDING.
Alternate Flows El: In Step 1, the user does not have permission to create
a TR,
and the request is rejected with an error indication returned to
the user.
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E2: In Step 1, a CR with the same Template Name and
Effective Date and time already exists, so creation of a TR
with the same key data is not allowed, and an error indication
is returned to the user.
E3: In Step 5, the TR data in its TAD LAD, or CPR portions
may be invalid, missing, inconsistent, or incomplete,
embodiments of the system rejects the TR as invalid. The TR
enters the INVALID state and is stored in the database. It may
be corrected (modified) and resubmitted in a separate update
request.
In all cases, further processing is stopped.
[00485] An example use case to Convert a Regular Customer Record to a Pointer
Record is as follows:
Use Case ID CR-UC-8
Use Case Name Convert a Regular Customer Record to a Pointer Record
Use Case The user converts a regular CR to a Pointer Record
Description
MFS Reference NHS 16
Actor(s) User (toll-free service provider or administrator)
- System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional Category CR ¨ Customer Record Administration
Assumptions and In embodiments, the system has verified the identity
and
Pre-Conditions permissions of the user.
- The selected (source) regular CR already exists in the
database. If it's Effective Date and Time (EDT) is not
being changed for the PR being created (it is to be
converted "in place"), then its EDT may be in the future
and so it may not be an OLD, ACTIVE, SENDING, or
DISCONNECT record. If the selected source regular CR
has different Effective Date.
= A corresponding Template Record to be referenced by the
PR already exists and is ACTIVE in the network and has
the same toll-free service provider entity as the control toll-
free service provider of the source regular CR.
= The user's toll-free service provider may be part of the
Control toll-free service provider entity of the TFN for both
the converted CR and the Template Record to be
referenced in the PAD, or administration, or the user may
otherwise have update permission for the control toll-free
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service provider's CRs.
Post-Conditions The PR is created in PENDING status and contains the subset
of CAD parameter values applicable to a PAD data portion of
the PR. The prior regular CR is either replaced by the CR (if it
has the same future EDT), or is retained in the database
unaffected.
Interface - Human User Interface
Considerations
API Interface (REQ-CRC)
Primary Flow 1. The user specifies or selects the TFN and Effective Date
and Time of the existing regular CR to be converted to a
PR, the Template Name of the Template Record to be
referenced by the PR, and (optionally) a future Effective
Date and Time for the PR. (If not specified, embodiments
of the system may retain the future date and time of the
source regular CR.)
2. The user submits the request for the conversion action.
3. In embodiments, the system initially validates that the
requesting user is from the Control toll-free service
provider of the TFN for the record being converted, or the
user otherwise has update permission, that the regular CR
exists in the database and that the referenced Template
Record (TR) exists in the ACTIVE state in the database
and its Control toll-free service provider entity code
matches that of the CR being converted. If the source
regular CR' s EDT is in the past it ensures a user-entered
EDT is specified and is in the future.
4. In embodiments, the system performs the conversion
action. It copies applicable parameters from the source
CR's CAD to the CR' s PAD, referencing the indicated
Template ID, and removes any CPR or LAD data portions.
In embodiments, the system facilitates only the TFN or the
special argument #DIAL on the Destination Telephone
Number List on the CAD to be copied to the PAD, or if
neither may be on the CAD, it can substitute the TFN for
the DTNs on the Destination List.
5. In embodiments, the system validates the PR in
combination with its referenced Template Record is correct
and complete as of the Effective Date and Time, per CR
Data Requirements
and per CR Validation Requirements.
6. In embodiments, the system posts the PR to the database
with an initial status of PENDING. The original regular CR
if previously PENDING, no longer exists in the database.
Subsequent to this interaction, the newly created PENDING
PR is activated at the new Effective Date and Time, replacing
the prior ACTIVE CR, which transitions to OLD status.
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Alternate Flows El: In Step 1, the source CR does not exist, so the
record
cannot be retrieved and converted. A record not found
indication or error is returned to the user and processing stops.
E2: In Step 3, the initial validation conditions may be not met,
the conversion action is rejected, an error response is returned
to the user, and processing stops.
E3: In Step 5, if the resulting PR/TR is found to be invalid, an
error indication is returned to the user.
In exception cases E2 and E3 above, the original regular CR
remains in the database and is not removed/replaced by a valid
PR.
[00486] There may be additional features the embodiments of the disclosed
architecture may support such as the examples that follow.
Customer.Record..Creation/U.pdating New..Features..Requirements.-
New.FeaturerSet.
NFS # Function Description
NFS 8 Change call With the expected movement from a PSTN
routing based telephone routing to an IP based standard
anchoring from sometime in the future, it is important to build
PSTN to E64 the ability to utilize an E64 URI routing
platform
URI standard using SIP protocol into disclosed embodiments
while still supporting the current PSTN routing
approach.
NFS 9 Dynamic Create a decision tree to assist the toll-free
decision tree provider in creating a complex record by leading
logic for building the user to routing decisions based upon
complex information already provided.
customer
records.
NFS 10 Default Allow the toll-free Provider the ability to
create
Customer Record a default customer record that can be activated
against newly reserved numbers. This
functionality should provide the user more
capabilities than they currently have with the
Template functionality.
NFS 11 Enhanced Route Provide the toll-free provider additional
decision
Management points for routing decisions. Currently complex
routing decisions can be made on the following
data points:
Originating State (STATE)
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= Originating NPA (AREA CODE)
- Originating LATA (LATA)
= Originating POTS NXX (NXX)
= Originating POTS NPANXX (6-DIGIT#)
Originating POTS number (10-DIGIT#)
= Specific date (DATE)
= Day(s) of the week (DAY)
- Time-of-day range (TIMES)
There is a lot of additional metadata available to
provide routing instructions on, especially given
the future with IP routing. These metadata points
can be defined at design.
NFS 12 Automated The system may enable the transfer of call
Template Data routing information in the same action as the
Transfer TFN transfer if that information is documented
via a Template when a toll-free provider is
transferring a number to a different toll-free
provider. Today, this is a multi-step process.
NFS12A Template Record The user will have a simplified approach to the
Wizard creation of complex Template records using a
Wizard like approach with "Suggestive"
intelligence from template repository.
[00487] Customer Record Administration: Record Processing/SCP Downloads
Requirements - Minimal Feature Set __________________________
Current
MFS # Function Description
state or New
MFS Current state Customer In embodiments, the system may
18 Record maintain internal business logic for
Processing tracking CR status. See the CRA Status
and flow in the Overview section.
= MFS Current state Download Activation at EDT
(Effective Date &
19 Records to SCPs Time). A subset of the active CR' s
data (defined in the TM-798 format)
applicable to toll-free database query
processing is then downloaded to the
= applicable SCPs in the public network,
replacing (overwriting) any previous
SCP customer record in effect for that
TFN. Only one CR may be the active
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CR in embodiments of the system
reflecting the current toll-free service
for a given TFN.
MFS Current state Initial DB load When a SCP is added to the CCS
20 to SCP network, the CRs may be loaded in bulk
as an "initial load."
MFS Current state Customer A user may initiate the resend of a CR
21 Record Resend to all or some pertinent SCPs in the
CR's AOS (area of service). CR resends
can be initiated by the CR's Control
toll-free service provider, the SCP
0/0's for any CRs at their SCPs, and
administration, subject to user security
settings.
[00488] The Customer Record (CR) Status indicates the status of the Customer
Record with respect to its validation in embodiments of the system and its
activation status at
the SCPs. The CR Status is automatically generated by the current system.
Because these
states, as used by the legacy system, may be well known to the user community
and may be
regarded as fundamental to CR processing, they may be preserved as much as
possible in the
next generation system.
. . . .
Customer Record Status Definitions
Status Definition
Saved The record is stored in embodiments of the system but is not
yet
validated, because it has not yet been submitted for validation and
posting by the user after it was created or modified. This state applies
to CRs that may not be completely built or previously SAVED or
PENDING CRs that have been copied and/or modified from another
CR but not submitted.
Pending The record has passed all validations and has a future
Effective Date
and Time. A PENDING record can be accessed and modified.
Records specified for immediate activation (with an Effective Date
and Time of "now" may also pass through the PENDING state before
they may be subject to activation processing and enter the SENDING
state.
Sending The record is being sent to all pertinent SCPs, but not all of
those
SCPs have responded with an OK status, meaning the CR may be
activated in none or some, but less than all SCPs. Sending records
cannot be modified. (Any changes to the customer's service for the
toll-free number may be made by creating a future customer record, or
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"copying forward" the latest of the SENDING or ACTIVE customer
records to a future effective date and time and then modifying it.)
(When all the SCPs subsequently respond with an OK acceptance
indication, the status can then transition to ACTIVE or
___________ DISCONNECT.)
Active The one record for the TFN that is currently working in all
pertinent
SCPs. Only one active record can exist for a TFN at a given time. An
active record cannot be modified. (Any changes to the customer's
service for the toll-free number may be made by creating a customer
record, or "copying forward" the latest of the SENDING or ACTIVE
customer records to a future effective date and time and then
modifying it.)
Old A record whose status was previously ACTIVE, DISCONNECT, or
SENDING, but which has since been replaced by another ACTIVE,
DISCONNECT, or SENDING record with a later effective date and
time, or has since been deleted at the SCPs due to service
disconnection. Previously DISCONNECT records transition to OLD
after their Disconnect End Intercept Date has been reached and they
may be deleted from the SCPs. Previous ACTIVE records also
transition to OLD if they may be immediately disconnected without
intercept and may be deleted from the SCPs. OLD records cannot be
modified. They may be temporarily maintained in the TFMP database
for reference or copying for service rollback or recovery, and may be
periodically purged from the TFMP database.
Invalid The record did not pass validations after being submitted by the
user
and its effective date and time has not yet been reached. It remains in
the database but cannot be sent to the SCPs if/when its effective date
and time may be reached. Invalid records may be modified and
resubmitted.
Disconnect Normal service for the TFN has been discontinued and all callers
may
be receiving disconnected number or referral number announcements.
This state is reached when a PENDING record with a populated
Disconnect Intercept Indicator reaches its Effective Date and Time
and is then successfully activated at all pertinent SCPs (The record in
this state has a specified Disconnect Intercept End Date later than the
Effective Date and Time.) Only one record for a given TFN can be in
the DISCONNECT state.
Much Check A previously validated and pending record may be revalidated as its
data may no longer be appropriate since other pending CRs for the
TFN with earlier or later effective dates and times have been defined
(inserted) in the activation sequence.
Failed The record has reached its Effective Date and Time, but has not
been
successfully activated at any SCP because it remained SAVED,
INVALID, MAY CHECK, or PENDING without required carrier
approval at that time, or was in the SENDING state and has been
___________ rejected by all SCPs to which it was sent.
Hold The record has been placed on hold by request of the customer or
the
Control toll-free service provider, as indicated by the Hold Indicator
in its CAD or PAD portion set to "Yes." A CR in the HOLD state is
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retained in the disclosed embodiment, but is not released (sent) to the
SCPs at its Effective Date and Time, even if it is otherwise valid and
approved. The HOLD status applies to regular CRs and Pointer
Records, but not to Template Records. HOLD status facilitates users
to indefinitely delay activation of a CR if there is some problem with
other coordinated aspects of the toll-free subscriber service, such as
the terminating lines or call centers not being ready to accommodate
the service. CR database clean-up procedures described in Section
4.14.2.4 can remove HOLD records from embodiments of the system
after a suitable administrator-defined interval (from 1-30 days) has
passed beyond their Effective Dates and Times. Refer to that section
for details. (State transitions from database clean-up procedures may
be not reflected in the mainline status transition diagrams.)
[00489] With reference to Figures 41 and 42, customer record state diagrams
for
activation and output 4100, 4200, refer to the processes by which CRs can be
translated and
transmitted to the appropriate SCPs after they may be validated and receive
any necessary
carrier approvals through various nodes such as invalid, saved, hold, pending,
and must
check. This can occur when their Effective Dates and Times may be reached, or
immediately
in the case of CRs for which and Effective Date and Time of "now" has been
specified by the
user at input, and no carrier approvals may be required. Note that the
standard processing of
CR output (download) to SCPs is done via TM-798 data links.
[00490] In embodiments, the system may translate the information in the
Customer
record (either a CR, a TR (template record), or a PR (Pointer Record)) to the
TM-798 format
for transmission to the SCPs.
[00491] The CR SCP Resend function may be used to resend a single CR to
specific SCPs and use the SCP's CR update confirmation responses to update the
CR's
activation status. At the end of the CR resend process for a CR, embodiments
of the system
may update the CR's activation status and time as maintained for each SCP on
the CR' s
Active SCP list. An example use case is as follows:
Use Case ID CR-UC-9
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Use Case Name Resend CR to SCP(s)
Use Case A user requests that embodiments of the system resend a
Description Customer Record (Regular CR, PR, or TR) to Service Control
Points (SCPs). The request may be applied to specific SCPs or
all SCPs in the CR's Area of Service (AOS). This capability is
often used to clear CR's "stuck" in SENDING status due to
problems at one or more SCPs in the CR's AOS.
MFS Reference MFS 21
Actor(s) User (toll-free service provider, SCP network
administrator,
network manager, or administrator)
= System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional Category CR ¨ Customer Record Administration
Assumptions and .= In embodiments, the system has verified the identity and
Pre-Conditions permissions of the user or has established the necessary
API interface connectivity.
= The target CR exists in the database with status of
SENDING, ACTIVE, DISCONNECT, or FAILED.
Post-Conditions - A resend report is made available to the user regarding
the
results of the resend (update) action with respect to the
requested SCP(s).
Log entries of the resend results at each SCP may be
recorded.
= The CR status may be updated for the SCP IDs on the
CR's Active SCP List.
Interface Human User Interface
Considerations
= API interface (REQ/RSP-SCP)
Primary Flow 1. The user specifies or selects the TFN or Template Name
of the CR for the resend request.
2. In embodiments, the system validates that the CR exists in
the database in the ACTIVE, SENDING, DISCONNECT,
or FAILED states, and that the user is generally authorized
to perform the CR resend action.
3. In embodiments, the system retrieves the CR from the
database, and determines the Control toll-free service
provider and the SCPs in the CR AOS that may receive the
resend. In embodiments, the system presents the list of
SCPs defined in embodiments of the system to the user,
with those SCPs from the CR's Active SCP list (for its
Area of Service) identified, and with the CR's last known
activation status at each SCP.
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4. The user specifies or selects:
a. SCP List - the list of 1 or more SCP IDs for the resend,
or all SCPs in the CR's AOS
b. Critical Indicator - Whether or not the request is to be
processed by any SCPs in overload (deemed a "critical
resend").
5. In embodiments, the system validates that the user is
authorized to request the re-send for the CR at the
indicated SCPs (the Control toll-free service provider, an
SCP administrator or network manager at the SCP 0/0, or
from administration sources). If a Template Record is
being re-sent, embodiments of the system validates that
the specified SCPs support template records.
6. In embodiments, the system confirms to the user that the
resend request has been accepted and is being processed.
7. In embodiments, the system interacts with the SCPs via
the TM-798 UPD-CPR and RSP-RCU messages to resend
the CR to each SCP and logs the results.
8. In embodiments, the system updates the CR's activation
status at each SCP and logs each SCP's resend result for
the CR. It compiles the results for the TFN or Template
Name across all target SCPs.
9. The results of the resend at each SCP may be presented
or
made available to the user.
Alternate Flows El: At step 1, embodiments of the system determines that
no
CR corresponding to the TFN or Template Name exists in the
database in the SENDING, ACTIVE, DISCONNECT or
FAILED states, or that one exists but the user is not
authorized to initiate resends for it. An appropriate not-found
or error indication is returned, and processing stops.
E2: At Step 5, embodiments of the system determines the user
is not authorized to perform the resend to one or more of the
specified SCPs. An error indication is returned with the SCP
IDs indicated, and processing stops.
E3: At Step 5 embodiments of the system determines the user
has requested to resend a Template Record to an SCP that
does not support Template Records, and an error indication is
returned with the SCP IDs indicated, and processing stops.
Al. In Step 7, one or more SCPs either fail to respond to the
CR update command, and embodiments of the system times
out and stops waiting for the responses, logs the non-
responses, and completes Steps 8 and 9 with the information
available.
[00492] There may be a number of tasks where a system administrator enters
values for configuration parameters that control an aspect of system
functionality. A pre-
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condition is that the user is a system administrator with permissions to
perfolin the specific
administrative task.
[00493] For each administrative use case, the following sequence of steps
applies:
xxxxx. Step 1: The user enters values;
yyyyy. Step 2: The system verifies the user input; and
zzzzz. Step 3: The system accepts the parameter values and
notifies the user of success.
[00494] If the user input is not valid or some other condition prevents
successful
completion of the use case, embodiments of the system inform the user of an
error.
Requirements-Minimal Feature Set
Current
MPS # Function Description
state or New
MFS Current state Annual Annual audit between system and SCP
22 Customer using 798. Record Key audit only.
Record Audit Compare keys. Resend CR gaps.
MFS Current state SCP-SMS A separate SCP-SMS Reverse Audit
23 Reverse Audit process may input batch files of CRs
= process extracted from the individual
SCPs,
compare them to those in the CR
database and note any discrepancies in
terms of the presence and Effective
Dates/Times of the CRs, and (as a user
= option) verify the control toll-free
service provider.
MFS Current state Carrier As a carrier, I need to get paid every
25 Notification and time you dip against me. This relates
to
Approval inter-carrier compensation charges for
providing call routing services through
an SCP. The SCP provides a call
processing record for every call that
terminates to a toll-free number.
Usually, carriers through their LECs
handle all toll free call routing by
"dipping" an SCP. When a RespOrg
decides to route their calls through a
= carrier, it is required that they (the
RespOrg) have a commercial
agreement with that carrier. This
administrative function allows a carrier
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to allow or disallow RespOrgs to use
their network to deliver calls.
MFS Current state CRA Logging In embodiments, the system can be
26 required to provide logging of detailed
CRA activity.
[00495] IntraLata (CIC 0110) Routing Support
Requirements - Minimal Feature Set
Current state
MFS # Sub Function Description
or New
........ .
MFS Current state CIC 0110 IntraLATA routing support
27 Support
[00496] With reference to Figure 43, the CIC 0110 validations 4300 from the
perspectives of each of the involved service providers, including the
Incumbent LEC
(ILEC)/CCS Network Provider that operates the SSP, the terminating CCS network
(the
"Network Provider"), the ILEC or CLEC that has been assigned the NPA-NXX code
and
offers service to the terminating subscriber lines (the "Carrier"), and their
relationship to the
CR's toll-free service provider Control toll-free service provider, which may
all be the same
or different entities.
[00497] With reference to Figure 44, the series of reference data lookups that
may
be performed to validate the use of CIC code OTC-0110 with specified POTS
destination
telephone numbers in the CPR may be depicted. Functional requirements for the
specifics of
validation processing then follow.
Use Case ID CR-UC-10
Use Case Name Notify Affected Carrier of CIC Routing or Toll-Free
Service
Provider Change
Use Case In embodiments, the system autonomously notifies a
carrier's
Description external system that another toll-free service provider's
CR
using its CICs has been pended in the database with a change
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Use Case In
embodiments, the system autonomously notifies a carrier's
Description external
system that another toll-free service provider's CR
using its CICs has been pended in the database with a change
requiring the carrier's approval, or has been activated in the
network with a change requiring the carrier be notified. (The
notification action also applies to cancellations of prior
requests when subsequent CR changes or deletions result in a
prior reported change no longer being applicable.) .............
=
MFS Reference MFS 25
Actor(s) User (Carrier)
= System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional Category CR ¨ Customer Record Administration
. ..............................................................
Assumptions and In
embodiments, the system has verified the identity and
Pre-Conditions permissions of the user or has established the necessary
API interface connectivity.
= The Carrier has established Carrier Notification and
Approval (CNA) controls for the CIC in question.
Post-Conditions The
notification is delivered to the carrier's external system or
user mailbox.
Interface Human User Interface
Considerations
= API interface (UNS-SNA)
Primary Flow 1. A CR with
the carrier's CIC and presenting a change in
service of the type requiring approval by the carrier is
pended to the database, OR
A CR with the carrier's CIC and presenting a change of
the type requiring carrier notification is activated in the
system.
2. An autonomous notification is generated and sent to the
Carrier system to notify the Carrier user about the service
change reflected in the CR update and when applicable,
requesting their review and approval of the change.
[00498] The Carrier notification function facilitates authorized carrier users
to
receive and review notifications about CR changes affecting their CICs. The
Carrier
Notification and Approval (CNA) functions allow telecom carriers to define
business
agreements with toll-free service providers, set up permissions for the use of
their Carrier
Identification Codes (CICs) in toll-free service CRs, receive notifications of
when their CICs
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may be used or modified on CRs, and approve when their codes may be used on
specific
CR's controlled by other service providers.
[00499] In embodiments, the system can validate the CICs used in CRs to
specify
call routing, based on carrier permissions and restrictions specified in
carrier and CNA
reference data, generate notifications to the carriers, and correlate those
against carrier
approvals before the CRs containing the carrier's CICs may be activated.
[00500] The toll-free service providers' View of Carrier Approval Status
facilitates
toll-free service providers to query carrier approval status information for
their CRs at both a
summary level and a detailed level (per-carrier), when multiple carriers may
be involved.
[00501] An example use case to notify an affected carrier of CIC routing or
toll-
free service provider change is as follows
Use Case ID CR-UC-11
Use Case Name Carrier Reviews Notifications
Use Case A
carrier selects, retrieves, and views a list of outstanding
Description CNA notifications and approval requests for their CICs
resulting from other service provider's CRs being pended or
activated in the system, and selects one for viewing and
follow-on activity.
MFS Reference MFS 25
Actor(s) - User (Carrier or administrator)
System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional Category CR ¨ Customer Record Administration
Assumptions and ' In
embodiments, the system has verified the identity and
Pre-Conditions permissions of the user.
The Carrier has established Carrier Notification and
Approval (CNA) controls for their CICs.
Post-Conditions A summary list of outstanding CNA notifications and
approval requests meeting the user's request criteria is
returned/displayed, from which one may be selected. No
change is made to the notification data.
Interface - Human User Interface
Considerations
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Primary Flow 1. A carrier user enters or selects a C1C, an Effective
Date
range, and Toll-Free NPA filter for the desired list of CIC
Routing or toll-free service provider Change notifications.
2. The user submits the request to the system.
3. In embodiments, the system validates that the user is from
the carrier entity that controls the CIC, or is from SMS
administration, and is authorized to access the notification
list.
4. In embodiments, the system retrieves and displays the
notification list, including for each notification:
- CR' s TFN or Template Name
^ CR' s Effective Date and Time
= The Notification Reason (the CR' s change condition)
- The CR' s Carrier Approval Status
= An indication of whether the carrier's approval is
requested/required
= A link or other mechanism by which the notifications
may be selected for subsequent action.
5. The user then selects an individual notification to view
and retrieves the notification details.
Additional information requirements regarding the detailed
notifications may be discussed in the functional requirements
of Section 4.6.2.4.
Subsequent to this interaction the user may conduct other
follow-on activity concerning the notification such as viewing
relevant portions of the CR, submitting an approval response,
or deleting the notification.
Alternate Flows El: In Step 3, embodiments of the system determine the user
is not authorized to access notifications for the selected C1C.
An error response is returned and processing stops.
E2: In Step 3, no notifications meeting the filter criteria may
be found in the system, and a not-found indication is returned
to the requesting user.
[00502] Carrier Submits Approval or Denial of CR Update
Use Case ID CR-UC-12
Use Case Name Carrier Submits Approval or Denial of CR Update
Use Case A carrier selects a CR approval request concerning their
Description CIC(s) and submits the carrier's approval or denial for the
CR.
MFS Reference MFS 25
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Actor(s) User (Carrier or administrator)
- System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional Category CR ¨ Customer Record Administration
Assumptions and In embodiments,
the system has verified the identity and
Pre-Conditions permissions of the user or has established API interface
connectivity.
= The Carrier has established Carrier Notification and
Approval (CNA) controls for their CICs.
= CR approval requests for one or more of their CICs exist
in the database.
Post-Conditions A status of
"granted" or "denied" is assigned to the approval
request with respect to the carrier, and can be correlated to the
corresponding PENDING CR in the database.
Interface - Human User Interface
Considerations
= API Interface (REPT/RSP-APR)
Primary Flow 1. A carrier
user (or TFMP Administration user) searches
(HUI case only) for one or more CR approval requests,
based on one or more of the following search criteria:
CIC
^ TFN (or TF NPA, or TFN range), or Template Name
= Effective Date and Time (EDT) or EDT range
= Control toll-free service provider
Notification Time stamp
- Current Request Approval Status (granted, denied,
undetermined)
2. In embodiments, the system responds with one or more
Approval Requests meeting the search criteria. (HUI case
only)
3. The user specifies or selects a specific approval request
(about a PENDING CR) to address.
4. In embodiments, the system validates that the user is from
the carrier entity that controls the CIC, or is from TFMP
administration, and is authorized to specify approvals for
the CIC.
5. The user specifies or selects the desired approval status for
the request (granted, denied), and if denied, the reason for
the denial (a 2 character alphabetic, carrier-specific code
for the reason).
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6. The user submits the request to update the approval status.
7. In embodiments, the system responds, confirming the
specified status value for the approval request, and logs the
approval response action.
Alternate Flows El: In step 1, no requests match the search criteria, so a
not-
found indication is returned to the user and processing stops.
E2: In step 4, an embodiment of the system determines the
user is not authorized to access/respond to the approval
requests for the selected CIC. An error response is returned to
the user.
Use Case ID CR-UC-13
Use Case Name Notify Control toll-free service provider of Carrier
Approval
or Denial
Use Case In
embodiments, the system autonomously notifies a Control
Description toll-free service provider user or external system that all
carriers requiring approval have granted approval requests for
a pending CR, or that one carrier has denied the request, so
that the CR has transitioned from the AWAIT carrier approval
status to the GRANTED or DENIED approval status
(respectively).
NIES Reference MFS 25
Actor(s) User (toll-free service provider)
= System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional Category CR ¨ Customer Record Administration
Assumptions and ' In
embodiments, the system has verified the identity and
Pre-Conditions permissions of
the user or has established the necessary
API interface connectivity.
- The approval request(s) was/were previously generated by
embodiments of the system as a result of CR creation or
updates, combined with one or more carriers' CNA
policies with respect to the toll-free service provider.
Post-Conditions The notification is delivered to the toll-free service
provider's
external system or user mailbox.
Interface - Human User Interface
Considerations
= API interface (UNS-ACT)
Primary Flow 1. The system, which tracks carrier responses to the
approval
requests, determines that either the last outstanding
approval request for a given CIC on the CR has been
granted, OR one of one of more carriers requiring approval
has denied approval.
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2. In
embodiments, the system updates the CR' s Carrier
Approval Status from AWAIT to GRANTED or DENIED,
respectively, and generates a notification of the event to
the CR's TOLL-FREE SERVICE PROVIDER. The
notification contains the following information about the
CR:
The Control toll-free service provider
= TFN or Template Name
^ Effective Date and Time
= Date and time of receipt (denial or last grant)
- Approval Indication (granted all carriers, denied by a
carrier)
= Denial information (if denied by a carrier):
o CIC
o Reason code (2-character carrier-specific reason
code).
Alternate Flows None identified.
[00503] In embodiments, the system can be required to provide various logs of
detailed CRA activity in order to support a number of key reports. In
embodiments, the
system can also provide a variety of measurements of CRA activity and
associated resource
usage, both in aggregate for the system, and where attributable to the
respective toll-free
service providers whose CRs may be being processed.
[00504] There may be certain items that may be validated in embodiments of the
system as a result of outside carriers or partner's rules. One such rule is:
Requirements - Minimal Feature Set
Current
Sub Function Description
state or New
MFS Current
state Carrier business AT&T accepts only turn-around
32 rules records/validations.
[00505] A Mass Change is an event that requires embodiments of the system to
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perform a large volume of changes in a short period of time. Depending on the
Mass Change
event, it may be necessary to update system reference data and a large number
of impacted
AoS labels and customer records. In embodiments, the system thus provides
functionality for
management and administration of Mass Changes.
[00506] The setup of Mass Changes may, for example, be performed online and
the execution of the job processing the Mass change is done in the background.
LCustomer Record Mass Changes MFS
= Current
= MPS # state or Sub Function Description
........... New
MFS 28 Current Owning toll-free Convert all or subset of numbers
state service provider give and CRs from old toll-free service
away all numbers to provider to new toll-free service
another Provider Provider
(Mass toll-free
service provider
Change)
MFS 29 Current POTS NPA Changes Updates CRs due to overlays. While
state (not TF) NPA Splits may be unlikely to
happen, support is provided to CR
= updates based on Overlays.
MFS 30 Current 1. CR updates from Industry data changes such as
state Industry Network Overlays or Splits can cause CRs to
data changes. be updated. Other industry data
changes (reference data changes)
can also cause CRs to require
2. Toll-free service
automatic updates. (POTS NPA
provider driven
Changes) and (CR updates due to
CR updates
industry data changes).
Mass toll-free service provider
Changes, Mass Carrier Change,
= Mass Disconnect & Spare.
= MFS 31 Current SCP Area of Service A CCS Network
consists of SCPs
state Definition/Expansion that provide routing information
for
toll-free calls originated from a
= defined area of the POTS network,
referred to as the SCP Area of
Service. When a CCS Network is
added or due to changes in the
operations of CCS Networks, such
, as a merger or expansion, it is
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necessary to define or add to an SCP
, Area of Service
[00507] This section has a sample of some of the many use cases that may be
covered in this functionality. It does not represent every possible use case
and should be but
an example base for determining CRA functionality.
[00508] Example Set Criteria for a NPA Code Opening/Overlay Mass Change is as
follows:
Use Case ID CR-UC-14
Use Case Name NPA Code Opening/Overlay Mass Change Setup
Use Case Administrator prepares for and executes an upcoming NPA
Description Code Opening/Overlay
MFS Reference MFS 29
Actor(s) - User (disclosed embodiment administrator)
- System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional Category CRA Mass Changes
Pre-Conditions and The user has logged into the system.
Assumptions
- In embodiments, the system has verified identity and
peimissions of the specific user.
Post-Conditions Criteria for an NPA Code Opening/Overlay Mass Change may
be set.
Interface Human User Interface
Considerations
Primary Flow Step 1 The user indicates the mass change is an NPA Code
Opening/Overlay and enters the following
information:
= New NPA Code
- New NPA State
= Existing NPAs to be overlaid
= CCS Networks for New NPA
= LATAs for New NPA
Step 2 The user enters the date the NPA code can be
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operational (Open date) and the number of days in
advance for the beginning of Mass Change processing
(used to calculate Open-X date).
Step 3 In embodiments, the system verifies that the data
entered is valid and provides a response that the Mass
Change criteria have been accepted.
Step 4 An identifier for the mass change operation is
established and status is set to PENDING for the
Mass Change.
Alternate Flows El: At Step 1, embodiments of the system may notify the
user
if any of the data entered is invalid, such as an incorrect state
or existing NPAs, CCS networks, or LATAs that may be not
operational in the indicated state.
E2: At Step 2, embodiments of the system may notifies the
user if the date infounation is not valid. The Open date and
Open-X date may occur after the current date.
1005091 Example Set Criteria for a mass carrier change is as follows:
Use Case ID CR-UC-15
Use Case Name Set Criteria for a Mass Carrier Change
Use Case Administrator sets up the criteria for a mass carrier
change
Description
MFS Reference MFS 28; MFS 29;
Actor(s) User (disclosed embodiment administrator)
= System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional Category CRA Mass Changes
Pre-Conditions and s* The user has logged into the system.
Assumptions
- In embodiments, the system has verified identity and
permissions of the specific user
= All reference data required to define a carrier has been
entered for the Change-to Carrier.
Post-Conditions Criteria for a mass carrier change may be set.
Interface Human User Interface
Considerations
Primary Flow Step 1 The User indicates the mass change is a mass carrier
change and enters the following information:
One or more change-from carriers
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= One change-to carrier for each change-from
carrier
- One or more toll-free service provider entities or
toll-free service provider units per change
from/change-to carrier (optional)
= One or more LATAs per change from/change-to
carrier (optional)
Step 2 The user enters the date the carrier change can be
completed (carrier date) and a number of days prior
for when carrier changes can begin (carrier-X date).
Step 3 In embodiments, the system verifies that the data
entered is valid and provides a response that the mass
change criteria have been accepted.
Step 4 An identifier for the mass change operation is
established and status is set to PENDING for the
Mass Change.
Alternate Flows El: At Step 1, embodiments of the system notifies the user
if
any of the data entered is invalid, such as an invalid Carrier
code. Toll-free service provider entity or Unit, or LATA.
E2: At Step 2, embodiments of the system notifies the user if
the date information is not valid. The Carrier and Carricr-X
date may occur after the current date.
Use Case ID CR-UC-16
Use Case Name Set Criteria for a Mass Toll-Free Service Provider Change
Use Case Administrator sets up the criteria for a mass toll-free
service
Description provider change
MFS Reference MFS 28
Actor(s) User (disclosed embodiment administrator
= System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional Category CRA Mass Changes
Pre-Conditions and The user has logged into the system.
Assumptions
= In embodiments, the system has verified identity and
permissions of the specific user.
Post-Conditions Criteria for a mass toll-free service provider change may
be
set.
Interface Human User Interface
Considerations
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Primary Flow Step 1 The user indicates the mass change is a mass toll-
free
service provider Change and enters the Change-from
toll-free service provider entity or toll-free service
provider Unit and corresponding Change-to toll-free
service provider entity or toll-free service provider
Unit
Step 2 The user enters the date the toll-free service provider
Change can be completed (toll-free service provider
date) and a number of days prior for when carrier
changes can begin (toll-free service provider-X date).
Step 3 In embodiments, the system verifies that the data
entered is valid and provides a response that the Mass
Change criteria have been accepted.
Step 4 An identifier for the mass change operation is
established and status is set to PENDING for the
Mass Change.
Alternate Flows El: At Step 1, embodiments of the system notify the user
if
any of the toll-free service provider entity or toll-free service
provider Units entered may be invalid.
E2: At Step 2, embodiments of the system notify the user if
the date information is not valid. The toll-free service provider
date and toll-free service provider-X date may occur after the
current date.
[00510] In embodiments, the system may identify records impacted by a mass
change. Using the mass change criteria, embodiments of the system can search
for records
that may be impacted by the mass change and determine if the record can be
updated for the
mass change information or if manual intervention is required. The
identification process can
be repeated after verification of the results and manual action has been taken
for those
records that cannot be updated automatically.
[00511] In embodiments, the system can identify and update records that are
impacted by a mass change. Updated records may be assigned an appropriate
effective date
and time.
[00512] An example use case that updates customer records impacted by a mass
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change is as follows:
Use Case ID CR-UC-17
Use Case Name Update Customer Records Impacted by a Mass Change
Use Case Administrator executes a system process to update the
Description customer records that may be impacted by a mass change
Actor(s) User (disclosed embodiment administrator)
- System (disclosed embodiment)
=-t
Functional Category CRA mass changes
Pre-Conditions and ' The user has logged into the system.
Assumptions
In embodiments, the system has verified identity and
permissions of the specific user.
Customer records impacted by the mass change have been
identified.
Post-Conditions Customer records that may be impacted by a mass change
may be updated and assigned an effective date and time.
Interface Human User Interface
Considerations
Primary Flow Step 1 The user indicates the mass change for the
customer
record update process, the date to begin download of
updated customer records and the number of customer
records to download each quarter hour. For an SCP
Area of Service Expansion, the user indicates if
updated customer records may be to be sent over the
links to SCPs (online update) or extracted to a file
(offline update).
Step 2 The user specifies a start date and time for the process
to begin (default is immediate).
Step 3 In embodiments, the system creates a version of
Active, Sending, and Disconnect impacted customer
records with the an effective date and a time
calculated based on the indicated download start date,
number of records and the indicated quarter hour
quantity. Pending and Hold impacted customer
records may be updated with no change to the
effective date and time.
Step 4 In embodiments, the system provides an indication
that processing is completed and that the results
(customer records updated, customer records failed
update) may be available for review.
Alternate Flows El: At Step 1 and 2, embodiments of the system notify the
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user if the mass change or the start date and time may be
invalid.
E2: At Step 4, embodiments of the system notify the user if
processing cannot begin or ends before completion.
[00513] SCP administration and network management may be two important
functions defined under SCP management. SCP administration functions in
embodiments
allow users to establish and modify SCP-related reference data in embodiments
of the system
and send messages to the SCP nodes and their Call Management Services Database
(CMSDB) subsystems to manage data tables that reside there.
[00514] Network management functions for the toll-free Service involve the
management of various parameters for automatic capabilities intended to
monitor and control
toll-free query traffic and calling volumes at the Service Control Points
(SCPs), Service
Switching Points (SSPs), terminating switches and terminating subscriber
lines. When
various call volume thresholds may be exceeded, the SCPs trigger Automatic
Call Gapping
(ACG) code controls at the originating SSPs.
[00515] The disclosed embodiment of the Network Management functions allow
network managers to configure and adjust the relevant control parameters on
SCP. Data
collection at the SCPs can be configured through the disclosed embodiment to
provide
network managers with relevant surveillance information useful to monitor
traffic and
analyze problems, such as the detection of SCP overloads and excessive calling
or excessive
ineffective attempts to dialed codes.
[00516] The SCP Management (SCP-M) functions may be used by SCP
administrators at the SCP Owner/Operator (SCP 0/0) companies and by network
managers
for the 557/CCS networks, which may be typically operated by the same SCP 0/0
entities or
otherwise affiliated with them. SCP-M functions may interact directly with the
SCPs via the
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SCP Interface as defined in TM-798. An example of these interactions is
illustrated in Figure
45.
Requirements - Minimal Feature Sct
Current
MPS # state or Sub Function Description
New
MFS 33 Current SCP The definition and configuration of
........... state Administration SCPs and related SCP information
MFS 34 Current Master Number In embodiments, the system may
state List maintain for each managed SCP a list
of toll-free NPAs, and for each NPA -
an effective dated list of their
contained NXXs for which toll-free
Customer Records (CRs) may be
loaded and for which toll-free database
queries may be received.
MFS 35 Current SCP Mated Pairs SCP's may be generally defined in
state mated pairs. In embodiments, the
system can need to keep track of this
relationship.
MFS 36 Current 798 Protocol TM-798 interface messaging, and
state others can be used for communicating
and exchanging the messages between
the disclosed embodiment and the
SCP.
MFS 37 Current Network Network management is done by the
state Management SCP implementing overload controls
whenever call volume thresholds may
be exceeded. The disclosed
embodiment defines the controls and
sets thresholds. Data collection at the
SCPs can be requested through
disclosed embodiment to provide
network managers with information to
analyze problems.
[00517] There may be additional features supported by the disclosed
architecture
such as the examples which follow:
................................................................ =
SCP Management -New Feature Set
NFS # Function Desert tion
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NFS 13 Provide to the Today, all information sent to an SCP is sent
via
SCPs the ability a push. In some cases the SCP requests this
to pull call information, but they may wait till the
request is
routing details processed before receiving the information. In
rather than only embodiments, the system should allow an SCP to
allowing a push pull information directly from the system.
Controls may be built into embodiments of the
system to only allow records that may be
released by the toll-free provider to be pulled.
[00518] SCP administration functions of the disclosed embodiment allow users
to
establish and modify SCP-related reference data in embodiments of the system
and send
messages to the SCP nodes.
[00519] The principal users of SCP-M functionality may be assumed to be SCP
administrators at the SCP Owner Operator (SCP 0/0) companies and network
managers at
Network Management Centers (NMCs) or Network Operations Center (NOCs) at the
telecom
network providers who operate the SS7/Common Channel Signaling (CCS) networks.
Secondary users may be administrators, who have global privileges to access
the data and
facilitate administrative and control actions of the SCP administrators and
network managers.
[00520] The current system SCP Administration supports the management of SCP
data tables or similar data structures. Functionality provided by a current
system may be
supported in embodiments of a new system. Design of disclosed embodiments may
vary.
These may include the following:
Table Description/Purpose
.
SCP ID Table The SCP ID table defines SCPs managed by the disclosed
embodiment and key parameters associated with each
SCP Mated Pair The SCP Mated Pair Table is used to define active/active highly
Table available relationships between individual SCPs within the
same
Active/Active CCS network.
Configuration)
SSP Lists For each CCS network, embodiments of the system can
maintain a list of SSPs that may route Toll-Free Database
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queries to an SCP. This information is used to validate SSPs
specified for SSP based special studies.
Toll-Free NPA- The SCP
Toll-Free NPA-NXX List contains the toll-free NPAs
NXX Lists and their
NXXs belonging to the SCP in the user's CCS
network. This list specifies the domain of dialed codes whose
customer records may be loaded at that SCP and whose toll-free
database queries may be to be handled by that SCP. This is
sometimes referred to as the SCP's Master Number List.
[00521] A common practice among SCP owner-operators is the running of periodic
(typically annual) batch audits of extracted files of SCP customer records
against the database
in order to detect outdated or missing SCP CRs. The process is known as a
reverse audit,
because it uses the extracted SCP records as a basis for the audit comparison
instead of the
database. The typical practice for each SCP 0/0 has been to periodically audit
each toll-free
NPA's range of CRs by extracting a SCP-generated CR audit file for that NPA.
[00522] The audit file is not a complete view of the CRs, but is rather an
extracted
listing of each loaded CR's Customer Record Number (CRN), i.e., the TFN or
numeric
Template ID in NPA-NXX-XXXX format, Effective Date and Time, and toll-free
service
provider ID. The audit file is then loaded to the TFMP administration. The
reverse audit
process then compares the records to the corresponding CRs. The discrepancies
may then
trigger CR resends to the target SCP via the TM-798 interface, or may be
written to file for a
subsequent batch resend.
[00523] The SCP Administration function supports actions performed by SCP
administrators and disclosed embodiment administrators. The following may be
sample use
cases addressing SCPs, SCP mates, SSP lists and SCP-NPA NXX lists, among other
administrative controls and limits for SCP Operations. These do not cover
every possible
action.
[00524] An example use case to define a SCP ID in the disclosed embodiment is
as
follows:
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Use Case ID SM-UC-1
Use Case Name Define a SCP ID and its attributes within the disclosed
embodiment.
Use Case Description The administrator enters the information required to
create
an SCP into the disclosed embodiment.
MFS Reference MFS 33
Actor(s) User (administrator system)
System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional Category SM ¨ SCP Management.
Pre- User has logged on to embodiments of the system and
Conditions/Assumptions has permissions to perform the requested action.
The SCP ID has not been defined in the system.
&. The CCS Network Id has already been defined in the
system.
Post-Conditions A SCP ID is defined in the system's database.
Interface Considerations The user should be connected via a HUT (Human User
Interface) to access the system.
Primary Fl ow 1. The user enters the CCS Network ID, the parent object
for which the SCP ID is being defined.
2. The user enters the information related to data elements
to define a SCP ID:
, Node Id
Template Record Indicator
3. The user submits all SCP information to the system.
4. In embodiments, the system validates the data elements
per data requirements and that the SCP ID has not
already been defined in the system.
5. In embodiments, the system validates the information
provided and interacts with the SCP
6. In embodiments, the system returns a confirmation
message to the user confirming creation of the SCP
ID in embodiments of the system
Alternate Flows El: At Step l, if the CCS Network Id is not found,
embodiments of the system cannot allow the user to create
the SCP.
E2: At Step 4, if system validation fails, then embodiments
of the system cannot allow the user to create the SCP.
E4: At Step 5, if the SCP fails to interact with
embodiments of the system or does not accept the
information, then embodiments of the system cannot allow
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the user to create the SCP.
In all cases, an error indication is returned to the user and
further processing stops.
[00525] An example use case to Update the SCP ID data is as follows:
Use Case ID SM-UC-3
Use Case Name Update the SCP ID data in the disclosed embodiment.
Use Case Description The TFMP administrator can update the SCP ID data in
the
disclosed embodiment.
MFS Reference MFS 33; MFS 34
Actor(s) - User (disclosed embodiment administrator)
System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional Category SM ¨ SCP Management.
Pre- User has logged on to embodiments of the system and
Conditions/Assumptions has permissions to perform the requested action
= The SCP ID, for which the update is being made, has
been defined in the system.
=, The CCS Network ID has already been defined in the
system.
^ The user can only update the queue status (from Queue
to Not Queue) and Template Supported indicator in the
SCP.
Post-Conditions A SCP ID data is updated in the system
Interface Considerations The user should be connected via a HUT (Human User
Interface) to access the system.
Primary Flow 1. The user enters the SCP Id to retrieve the SCP ID data
from the system's database.
2. In embodiments, the system verifies if the user has
permission to manage the above SCP Id.
3. User modifies the SCP ID data and submits the SCP ID
information (Template Supported and Queue status) for
validation and processing.
4. System validates the data elements per data
requirements section and according to FR section.
5. In embodiments, the system returns a confirmation
message to the user confirming modifications of the
SCP ID data in the system.
Alternate Flows El: At Step 1, if the SCP ID does not match the system's
database, then embodiments of the system cannot allow the
user to retrieve/update the SCP ID data.
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E2: At Step 2, if the SCP ID does not belong to the user's
CCS network, then embodiments of the system cannot
allow the user to retrieve the SCP ID data.
E3: At Step 3, if validation fails, then embodiments of the
system cannot allow the user to modify the SCP ID data.
In all the above cases, an error indication is returned to the
user and further processing is stopped.
1005261 Establish or Update SCP mated pair inside the disclosed embodiment is
as
follows:
Use Case ID SM-UC-5
Use Case Name Establish or Update SCP mated pair inside the
disclosed
embodiment.
Use Case Description The TFMP administrator or SCP administrator enters the
SCP Ms to establish a relationship between two SCPs as
SCP mates in the system.
MFS Reference MFS 35
Actor(s) User (SCP administrator or disclosed embodiment
administrator)
- System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional Category SM ¨ SCP Management.
Pre- The SCPs to be defined as a mated pair should belong
Conditions/Assumptions to the user's CCS network.
^ The SCP IDs that may be mated should have been
defined in the SCP ID table.
= The SCPs should not be a mated with any other SCPs.
- User has logged on to embodiments of the system and
has permissions to perform the requested action.
Post-Conditions The SCP Mate relationship is now established in the
system
Interface Considerations The user should be connected via a HUI (Human User
Interface) to access the system.
Primary Flow 1. User enters or selects an SCP ID and a second
(different) SCP ID for the SCP mate.
2. In embodiments, the system verifies that both SCP IDs
may be managed by the same user of a CCS Network.
3. The user requests the two SCPs be defined as mated
pair.
4. In embodiments, the system validates the mated pairs.
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5. The system updates the table identifying these two
SCPs as a mated pair.
6. The system returns a confirmation message to the user
noting the establishment the SCP mated pair in the
system.
Alternate Flows El: At step 1, if the entered SCP ID is not found in
the
table and an error or not-found indication is returned.
E2: At Step 2, if the SCP ID does not belong to the user's
CCS network, then embodiments of the system cannot
allow the user to mate the pair.
E3: At Step 4, If either SCP ID is already mated to another
SCP ID or any other validations fail, then an error message
is returned to the user indicating the SCPID is already
mated.
In all the above cases, an error indication is returned to the
user and further processing is stopped.
[00527] The disclosed embodiment may interface with all the SCPs using the TM-
798 standard interface protocol. The embodiments of the disclosed architecture
can maintain
that interface standard as have each SCP change the interface may not be a
viable approach.
[00528] The SCP interface is a dedicated Wide-Area Network (WAN) link
supporting the establishment of TCP/1P socket connections between embodiments
of the
system and each SCP. In embodiments, the system may maintain a set of data
related to the
interface for each SCP, such as an IP address and TCP port number, as
described by SR-
4959, SCP-TFMP TCP/IP Interface Specification.
[00529] The embodiments of the disclosed architecture may need to translate
the
necessary information from its internal data stores into a standard interface
for transmission
to the SCPs.
[00530] Network management is performed automatically by the SCP
implementing overload controls whenever call volume thresholds may be
exceeded. The
disclosed embodiment defines the controls and sets thresholds. Data collection
at the SCPs
can be requested through disclosed embodiment to provide network managers with
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infoiniation to analyze problems.
1005311 Mass Calling Thresholds may be used to provide the SCPs with
surveillance and control thresholds for each of 15 destination threshold level
classes defined
by the disclosed embodiment. Each of these thresholds is expressed in terms of
the number of
call attempts during, for example, a 2.5-minute period.
[00532] The disclosed embodiment automatically assigns a threshold level class
to
a particular destination telephone number of a toll-free-number, based on the
number of lines
associated with it, as specified on the Customer Record (CR).
[00533] The SCP detects focused overloads by counting call attempts for each
destination number and comparing the accumulated count to the surveillance and
control
thresholds for the threshold level class assigned to the destination number.
[00534] If the call attempts during an example 2.5-minute measurement period
exceed the surveillance threshold for a destination telephone number, then the
number is
placed on a surveillance list.
[00535] A destination telephone number remains on the surveillance list until
it
either does not exceed its surveillance threshold during a full 2.5-minute
measurement period
or it exceeds its control threshold when it's moved to the control list.
[00536] An example use case to Change the Mass Calling Threshold Data is as
follows:
Use Case ID SM-UC-6
Use Case Name Change the Mass Calling Threshold Data
Use Case Description The administrator changes the default values of Mass
Calling Threshold Data like Surveillance Threshold,
Control Threshold and Initial Gap Interval in the CCS
network of its SCPs.
MFS Reference MFS 37
Actor(s) - User (disclosed embodiment administrator)
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= System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional Category SM ¨ SCP Management.
Pre- The CCS Network ID has already been defined in the
Conditions/Assumptions system.
= User can update the threshold values even when the
SCPs may be overloaded.
,z User has logged on to embodiments of the system and
has permissions to perform the requested action.
Post-Conditions The Mass Calling Threshold values may be updated.
Interface Considerations The user should be connected via a HUT (Human User
Interface) to access the system.
Primary Flow 1. The user enters the CCS network ID, for which the
thresholds need to be defined.
2. In embodiments, the system verifies if the user has
permission to manage the above CCS network ID.
3. The user initiates to modify the Surveillance threshold
data of a CCS network.
4. In embodiments, the system checks if the surveillance
threshold values changed by the user for threshold
levels 1 through 14 increases or remain the same with
each threshold level increase and may be greater than
their associated surveillance thresholds. Threshold
level 15, which is used for study purposes and tele
voting, is excluded from these cross field validations
5. The user now modifies the default Control threshold
data.
6. In embodiments, the system checks if the control
threshold values changed by the user for threshold
levels 1 through 14 increases or remain the same with
each threshold level increase and may be less than their
associated control thresholds. Threshold level 15,
which is used for study purposes, is excluded from
these cross-field validations.
7. The user may also enter a value as initial gap interval.
8. The user submits all these changes to the system.
9. in embodiments, the system validates the information
provided and interacts with all the SCPs.
10. In embodiments, the system sends these changes to all
the SCPs in the CCS network and returns a
confirniation message of the updated values.
Alternate Flows El: At Step 1, if the CCS Network ID is not found,
embodiments of the system cannot allow the user to
modify the threshold values.
E2: At Step 4, if system validation fails, then embodiments
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of the system cannot allow the user to modify the threshold
values.
E3: At Step 6, if system validation fails, then embodiments
of the system cannot allow the user to modify the threshold
values.
E4: At Step 9, if system validation fails, then embodiments
of the system cannot allow the user to modify the threshold
values.
E5: At Step 10, if the SCP(s) fails to interact with
embodiments of the system or does not accept the
information, then embodiments of the system cannot allow
the user to modify the threshold values.
In all cases, an error indication is returned to the user and
further processing stops.
[00537] The Excessive Calling Controls may be used to set and change the
calling
thresholds for 6-digit and 10-digit vacant toll-free and out of area numbers.
These excessive
calling thresholds may be expressed in terms of the number of call attempts in
a defined time
interval (for e.g., 5 minute period). When the thresholds may be met, the
numbers may be
added to the control list and the calling rate is automatically limited by the
SCP. In addition, a
threshold is defined to automatically take these numbers off of the control
list, when the
calling rate decreases sufficiently.
[00538] The disclosed embodiment does not enforce the ACG (Automatic Call
Gapping). A set of control parameter thresholds may be used to invoke the ACG.
Once the
thresholds may be reached, the ACG is triggered at the SCP-SSP level.
Use Case ID SM-UC-7
Use Case Name Changing Excessive Calling Controls
----t
Use Case Description The administrator or a network manager change the
control
and decontrol threshold values for a 6-digit and 10-digit
vacant toll-free numbers.
Actor(s) User (disclosed embodiment administrator/network
manager)
System (disclosed embodiment)
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Functional Category SM ¨ SCP management.
Pre- The SCP to be defined should belong to the user's CCS
Conditions/Assumptions network.
, User has logged on to embodiments of the system and
has permissions to perform the requested action.
User can override the threshold class assignments even
when the SCP is overloaded.
Post-Conditions The desired controls of calling threshold for the vacant
toll-free number may be changed.
Interface Considerations The user should be connected via a HUT (Human User
Interface) to access the system.
Primary Flow 1. The user enters the CCS network ID, for which the
thresholds need to be defined.
2. In embodiments, the system verifies if the user has
permission to manage the above CCS network.
3. The user enters the SCP ID to set the Excessive Calling
Thresholds.
4. User enters the control and decontrol threshold values.
5. The user updates the entered values.
6. In embodiments, the system validates the information
provided and interacts with all the SCPs.
7. In embodiments, the system sends the updated
threshold values to the desired SCP and returns a
confirmation message of the updated control
thresholds.
Alternate Flows El: At Step 1, if the CCS Network ID is not found,
embodiments of the system cannot allow the user to
modify the threshold values for vacant toll-free numbers.
E2: At Step 2, if system validation fails, then embodiments
of the system cannot allow the user to modify the threshold
values for vacant toll-free numbers.
E3: At Step 3, if the SCP ID entered incorrect or does not
belongs to the CCS network, then embodiments of the
system cannot allow the user to modify the threshold
values for vacant toll-free numbers.
E4: At Step 6, if system validation fails, then embodiments
of the system cannot allow the user to modify the threshold
values for vacant toll-free numbers.
In all cases, an error indication is returned to the user and
further processing stops.
1005391 The Special Studies Request is done when a potential problem is
suspected
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in the network and is done by sampling traffic to a specific number, Telecom
Owner
Operator Network or an SSP (Service Switching Point). A toll-free service
provider,
administrator, or a network manager can request an SCP owner operator for a
special study
into their SCP and they can either accept or reject the request to enable the
study.
[00540] The study is conducted to allow a maximum of 100 calls in a maximum
duration of 168 hours (7 days), which ever limit is reached first i.e., the
collection of data can
end when the specified number of call attempts have been monitored, or when
the specified
time limit is reached first.
[00541] The special study can be requested for a toll-free number, Destination
Telephone Number, carrier, or for an SSP. A toll-free number or a Destination
Telephone
Number of either 6-digit (NPA-NXX) or a full 10-digit number (NPA-NXX-XXXX)
can be
requested for the study.
[00542] An example use case to Create a Special Study Request is as follows:
Use Case ID SM-UC-8
Use Case Name Create a Special Study Request
Use Case Description The disclosed embodiment administrators or network
managers create a Special Study Request for one or more
SCPs
Actor(s) User (disclosed embodiment administrator/network
manager)
System (disclosed embodiment)
Functional Category SM ¨ SCP management.
Pre- =, The network manager creating the special study
should
Conditions/Assumptions belong to the same CCS Network as the SCPs at which
the study is requested.
User has logged on to embodiments of the system and
has permissions to perform the requested action.
=, The study is conducted to allow a maximum of 100
calls in a maximum duration of 168 hours (7 days),
which ever limit is reached first i.e., the collection of
data can end when the specified number of call
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attempts have been monitored, or when the specified
time limit is reached first.
Post-Conditions The Special Study Request is created in the desired
SCPs.
Interface Considerations The user should be connected via a HUT (Human User
Interface) to access the system.
Primary Flow 1. The user enters the CCS network ID, for which the
Special Study need to be defined.
2. In embodiments, the system verifies if the user has
permission to manage the above CCS network Id.
3. The user enters the SCP ID for the Special Study.
4. In embodiments, the system verifies if the user has
permission to manage the above SCP ID.
5. For one or more desired SCPs, the user requests a
special study for a certain 10-digit or 6-digit toll-free or
destination code, carrier, or SSP.
6. The user submits the request to the system.
7. In embodiments, the system validates the special study
and interacts with the SCP.
8. In embodiments, the system accepts the information,
activates the study at the SCPs, and returns a
confirmation message to the user.
9. At the end of the special study, embodiments of the
system sends the results of the special study to the user.
Alternate Flows El: At Step 1, if the CCS Network ID is not found,
embodiments of the system cannot allow the user to create
a special study.
E2: At Step 2, if system validation fails, then embodiments
of the system cannot allow the user to create a special
study.
E3: At Step 4, if the SCP ID entered incorrect or does not
belong to the CCS network, then embodiments of the
system cannot allow the user to create a special study.
E4: At Step 8, If the Special Study limit maximum allowed
quantity for an SCP has been exceeded, embodiments of
the system rejects the request and indicates this to the User.
E5: At Step 8, if system validation fails, then embodiments
of the system cannot allow the user to create a special
study.
In all cases, an error indication is returned to the user and
further processing stops.
[00543] In embodiments, the system is operable to generate a billing event
record
whenever an event occurs that results in a charge to toll-free service
provider entity in control
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of a toll-free number. Billing event records may be collected and transferred
to an external
billing system. Currently, not all billable events result in a billing event
record being
generated by embodiments of the system and a manual Billing event record may
be generated
external to the current system. It may be desirable to automate the creation
of as many of the
billing event records as possible.
[00544] In embodiments, the system generates a record when an event related to
a
billable function occurs. The event record can provide the information needed
to calculate a
bill for the charges incurred by each organization that makes use of the
embodiments of the
disclosed architecture according to embodiments. The event record can include
the
identification of the user, the action performed, and the date and time of the
occurrence.
Events Related to Billing Calculations per FCC Tariff
Event Supported Billing Calculation Notes
Non- Monthly
Recurring Charge*
Charge
Establishment Charge per Non-dedicated Billing event data currently
of a system Logon ID access charge provided by the TFMP Help
Logon ID Desk/Data Center, no record
generated by disclosed
embodiment
Suspension of None Non-dedicated Billing event data currently
System Access access charge provided by the TFMP Help
Desk/Data Center, no record
generated by disclosed
embodiment
Re- Service Non-dedicated Billing event data currently
establishment restoration access charge provided by the TFMP Help
of System charge Desk/Data Center, no record
Access generated by disclosed
embodiment
Deletion of a None Non-dedicated Billing event data currently
System Login access charge provided by the TFMP Help
ID Desk/Data Center, no record
generated by disclosed
embodiment
Assignment of Charge per Non-dedicated Billing event data currently
a Smart Card Smart Card access charge provided by the TFMP Help
for System Desk/Data Center, no record
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Access generated by disclosed
embodiment
Establishment None Dedicated Billing event data currently
of a Dedicated access charge provided by the TFMP Help
Interface Desk/Data Center, no record
generated by disclosed
embodiment
Deletion of a None Dedicated Billing event data currently
Dedicated access charge provided by the TFMP Help
Interface Desk/Data Center, no record
Generated by disclosed
embodiment
Reservation of None Customer Billing event record generated
a Number Record Admin by system
charge
Number Status None Customer Billing event record generated
Changed to Record Admin by system
Sparc charge
Report Request Charge per None Billing event data currently
report provided by the TFMP Help
Desk/Data Center, no record
generated by disclosed
embodiment
Change of Toll- Charge per Customer Billing event record generated
free Service Record Admin by system
Provider for a service charge*
Number provider
change per
number
Bulk Operation Non-recurring None Billing event data currently
Request charge per provided by the TFMP Help
bulk operation Desk/Data Center, no record
generated by disclosed
embodiment =-t
NOTE: A tariff may define dedication and non-dedicated access as follows:
"Access
to TFMP can be via non-dedicated or dedicated connections. Dedicated access
requires use of a dedicated port on the disclosed embodiment on a full-time
basis,
other forms of access share ports and other access resources."
[00545] The interface to the billing system should remain intact and require
minimal changes to the current billing system to support disclosed
embodiments. The current
Billing system Interface format of the file and the records it contains is
described in TM-
NWT-021766, and TFMP ¨ Bill/800 Interface Requirements.
[00546] A summary of the current Billing Event record data elements may be as
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follows:
Billing Event Record Data Elements
Billing Event Data Element Description and Usage
Toll-Free Number Date and time of event
Billing Event
Controlling toll-free Current toll-free service provider
service provider entity entity associated with toll-free
number
Toll-free service Current toll-free service provider
provider unit Unit associated with toll-free
number
Responsible user login Identifies user who initiated event.
ID indication of "system" for system
initiated events
Toll-free number Number involved in billing event
Toll-free number current Status of toll-free number involved
status in billing event
Toll-free number If event involves a status change
previous status
Previous toll-free service If event is toll-free service provider
provider entity entity change
Previous toll-free service If event is toll-free service provider
provider unit Unit change
System Access Date and time of event
Billing Event
Access type Indicates the type of access
involved in the billing event ¨
login ID, dedicated, Smart Card
Toll-free service Toll-free service provider entity
provider entity involved in access event
Access action Indicates action taken regarding the
access type - suspend, restore,
delete
Access identifier Identifier for the access involved in
the billing event (i.e., login ID),
value of "All", and others can be
used for suspend and restore
actions
Report or Bulk Date and time of event
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Operation Event Toll-free service Toll-free service provider entity
provider entity requesting report of bulk operation
Responsible user login Identifies user who requested report
ID or bulk operation
Report or operation Report or bulk operation requested
requested
[00547] Billing Event records illustrate changes to toll-free service
provider entity
control of toll-free numbers that may be used to calculate charges to toll-
free service provider
Entities. On a periodic basis and in response to an on-demand request,
embodiments of the
system can compile a list of toll-free numbers with the controlling toll-free
service provider
entity, current status, and date the number entered that status and transfer
the data to an
external billing system. Only numbers with a controlling toll-free service
provider entity may
be included.
[00548] In one example, a system administrator can specify when billing audit
data
is to be collected and transferred. It is also possible to make an on-demand
request for data to
be collected and transferred as in the example use case as follows.
Use Case ID BR-UC-1
Use Case Name Schedule Periodic Billing Audit Data Collection and
Transfer
Use Case Administrator specifies the frequency for the collection
of
Description _______ billing audit data and the timing for the data to be
transferred.
Actor(s) User (disclosed embodiment administrator)
System (disclosed embodiment)
Pre-Conditions and The User has logged into the system.
Assumptions
- In embodiments, the system has verified identity and
permissions of the specific user.
Post-Conditions Billing audit data collection frequency and transfer time
for
billing data may be set.
Interface None identified
Considerations
Primary Flow Step 1 The User enters the billing audit data collection
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frequency and the corresponding transfer. Possible
values are:
= None (audit data not collected)
. Weekly with day of week and time of day for
collection and transferl
= Monthly with date of them month and time of day
for collection and transfer
Step 2 In embodiments, the system verifies that the data
entered is valid and provides a response that the
collection frequency and transfer time is accepted.
Alternate Flows El: At Step 2, embodiments of the system notify the user
if
data entered is not correctly formatted.
[00549] Due to the localized nature of call routing prior to the introduction
of
centralized routing databases, the same toll-free number may need to be
controlled by a
different toll-free service provider and provide service to a different toll-
free subscriber in
different geographic regions. In some instances arrangements still exist where
the same
number supports different toll-free service in different U.S. states and
different service in the
U.S. and Canada and other jurisdictions. A number involved in this type of
arrangement is
referred to as a duplicate number. The terms toll-free number, toll-free
system, toll-free
telecommunications network, toll-free carrier, and related terms as used
herein are not limited
to the United States or North America, but have equivalents throughout the
world in other
political, geographic, and technological regions. The methods, systems and
functionalities,
as described herein, are applicable to and operable within such equivalent
jurisdictions.
[00550] On a periodic basis, embodiments of the system can compile a list of
duplicate numbers and transfer the data to an external billing system. The
data consists of the
toll-free number providing duplicate service, the toll-free service provider
entity for the
number, the current status of the number, and data related to the Customer
Record for the
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number. The CR data includes the status of the CR and the effective date and
time of the CR.
For the current system, this also includes indications if the CR includes Call
Processing
Record (CPR) and Label Definition (LAD) structures. Additional data is
included from
remarks entered in the CR that indicates the actual toll-free service provider
that controls the
number for each area where service is provided.
[00551] In embodiments of the disclosed architecture a subset of the series of
reports can be provided. The system will provide a warehouse of data for
reporting and
analytics. The warehouse will enable a user to pull either standard (aka
canned) reports or to
generate user specific reports. Listed below are a series of reports that the
current TFMP
system provides. As an example of what reporting may be required, is a high
level
description of the reporting of the disclosed embodiment provides the
following types of
reports:
...... .....................,..... .....
..,.....................,..................................,.........,.,.,...
...... ....... ...... ,....................,.........
Report Type Description
...... ........................... .....
...................................... ........ ...........................
...... ...... ..............................
On-demand Reports The disclosed embodiment generates on-demand report when a
"system user" requests the report. The on-demand reports may
be not stored in the disclosed embodiment since they may be
created on user's request. Results of the on-demand reports
may be not stored in the disclosed embodiment
Scheduled Reports The scheduled reports may be generated by the disclosed
embodiment operational personnel on scheduled basis (i.e.,
daily, weekly, monthly, etc.). A user can request a scheduled
report to get the most recently generated report by the
disclosed embodiment. Results of the scheduled reports may be
stored in the disclosed embodiment.
Exception Reports Reports that may be automatically generated by the
disclosed
embodiment when exclusive events occur either in the
disclosed embodiment or in an SCP. The exception reports
may be sent to the user's designated address information
provided by the "system user" to the disclosed embodiment.
Industry Reports Reports required by the Industry:
- Weekly Number Admin Report - Distributed to industry,
including FCC
- Auto Return to Sparc Report - Distributed to FCC
monthly,
identifies TFNs in reserved status that have exceeded the
45 day limit and may be automatically returned to the spare
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pool
Miscellaneous Reports may be requested by the user himself through
Reports accessing the database tables and extracting the
information
needed through querying data
100552] Most scheduled reports can also be accessed on-demand. The differences
are how the report is kicked off and where the results of the report are
sent/stored. The
reports below are required at a minimum, but the Provider is expected to
propose additional
reports, for example:
...... ......... ...... ,......................,....... ......
..,...........,..........,.......................................,..
Report type j Specific Reports
........... ...... ...... ...........
Network Management - Mass Calling Summary for Toll-Free Numbers Under
Reports Control report. This report is available on-demand.
- Summary for Out of Area Toll-Free Numbers Under
Control report. This report is available on-demand.
= Summary for Vacant Codes Under Control report. This
report is available on-demand.
== Manual Control List report. This report is available
on-
demand.
- Special Studies List report. This report is available on-
demand.
- Special Study Summary report. This report is available
on-demand.
- POTS Number to Toll-Free Number Inquiry report. This
report is available on-demand.
- SCP List report.
SSP List report.
SCP Administration '= Customer Record Execution Error Summary report.
Reports
- Low Sample Space Summary report.
= Misrouted Query Summary.
- SCP Values Audit report.
= SCP NPA-NXX List report.
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= SCP NPA-NXX List Audit report.
SCP Status report.
= SCP Status Audit report.
= TFMP SCP CR Confirmation.
Number - Approaching Due report.
Administration
Reports µ, Unavailable Numbers report.
- Reserved Numbers report.
= Assigned Numbers report.
- Transitional Numbers report.
= Number Administration Summary report.
- Daily Log Number Administration report.
= Daily Log Summary of Number Administration report.
= TFMP Number Administration Confirmation report.
Customer Record CAD Only report.
Reports
- CPR Only report.
- LAD Only Report.
µ, PAD Only Report.
- TAD Only Report.
= Whole Customer Record Report.
- Whole Template Record Report.
- Customer Record Audit Results report.
- Customer Record Activation reports.
,= Area of Service Label List reports.
- Deficient Customer Record report.
= Destination NPA-NXX Report.
- POTS to Toll-Free number Inquiry Report.
= Sending Customer Record Report.
- AOS Label to Toll-Free Number Inquiry (AIR).
- Template Records List Report.
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= Pointer Records List report.
- Daily Log of Customer Record report.
= Daily Log Summary of Customer Record.
- Validation Results report.
= Affected CR By NPA-NXX-LATA Activity.
- Failed CR By NPA-NXX-LATA Move report.
- Directory Assistance NPA Selection List.
- Carrier Information List.
CCS Network-State-NPA Report.
- CCS Network-LATA Report.
- Toll-free service provider List report.
. Logon ID List report.
- Telephone Company List report.
Carrier Notification Allowable CICs for CR Input & Approval report
and Approval Reports
Administration Scheduled Activities report is an on-demand report.
Reports
= NXX Percent Used report.
. SCP-SMS Audit Results report.
- Security User Data report.
Service Maintenance Past Due toll-free service provider Change Requests
Reports report.
- Denied toll-free service provider Change Requests report.
[00553] The Exception reports may be automatically generated by embodiments of
the system when exclusive events occur either in the disclosed embodiment or
in an SCP. For
example, the Misrouted Queries Exception Report is sent each time an SCP
receives a call
processing query for a toll-free number having NXX not in the SCP's database.
Report type Specific Reports
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Network SCP Status Change report.
Management
Exception Reports - Threshold Level Class Override report.
- Failed Requests report.
SCP Administration - Customer Record Execution Error report.
Exception Reports
= Low Sample Space Exception report.
= Misrouted Query Exception report.
Customer Record - Customer Record Activation Failure report.
Exception Reports
= CNA toll-free service provider Change Notification to
Involved Carriers report.
Security - Unsuccessful Logons.
Administration
= Unsuccessful Password Chamie
Exception Reports =
[00554] The user can query the database tables and extract information, as
mentioned in the following examples:
aaaaaa. In embodiments, the system logs specific number
administration events as history records e.g., status change and
ownership changes. The users can access this data to create
their own reports.
bbbbbb. In embodiments, the system logs specific customer
record events as history records e.g., status change and
ownership changes. The users can access this data to create
their own reports.
cccccc. In embodiments, the system logs logon ID locking
history that the administrator can access and query reports
from.
dddddd. In embodiments, the system logs specific template
record events as history records e.g., status change and
ownership changes. The users can access this data to create
their own reports.
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[00555] There may be additional features that the embodiments of the disclosed
architecture may support such as the examples which follow:
Reporting - New Feature Set
. . . .... .. .. ........ ....,..
A'FS # Function Description
NFS 14 Toll-free Currently,
toll-free provider reporting data is not
Provider available
for up to 24 hours. The embodiments
Dashboard of the
disclosed architecture should provide to its
users the ability to obtain status information
about is numbers, number statuses, recent
activity, and other relevant information in near
real time. This should be done via a feature
called the toll-free provider dashboard.
[00556] The system will provide a platform for Analytics of TFMP data and
usage.
The Analytics platform should be flexible in providing some canned analytics
as well as to
allow the user to define and produce analytics on an ad hoc basis. The
analytics should be
able to be reports on current day actions as well as historical actions.
Categories of analytic
reports are:
ceecce. Individual
toll-free Provider specific information on
usage, TFNs, activity
ffffff. All or
multiple selected toll-free providers information
on usage, TFNs, activity
gggggg. SCP activity
hhhhhh. System performance information
1005571 In embodiments, the system is architected, designed, and implemented
with security as a key attribute. The system shall ensure the confidentiality,
integrity, and
availability of information assets. Controls will be implemented that protect
IP and data
against unauthorized use, disclosure, transfer, modification, or destruction.
Measures will be
implemented such that legitimate users continue to have access to the system
for the expected
services levels. The security functionality will address two perspectives. One
is the potential
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security threats and types of attacks that may be targeted at the system or
service. The other is
a framework for a systematic analysis of the measures available to protect the
system or
service from attack. One is the potential security threats and types of
attacks that may be
targeted at embodiments of the system or service. The other is a framework for
a systematic
analysis of the measures available to protect embodiments of the system or
service from
attack.
[00558] All aspects of a system, including the physical plant and facilities,
operating system and application software, signaling interfaces and protocols,
operations
interfaces for configuration, surveillance, and administration, and data
storage and processing
functions, have security vulnerabilities that could potentially be exploited.
1005591 At a high-level, the security threats include: damage or destruction
of
information and/or other system or service resources, corruption or
modification of
information, illicit use, theft, or removal of information and/or other system
or service
resources, disclosure of information, and denial or interruption of services.
[00560] A security framework identifies the aspects of a system or service
that
require security and the methods available to address the security threats for
each. From a
security perspective, a system or service can be viewed as consisting of User,
Control and
Management planes. Each plane includes infrastructure, services, and
application layers.
[00561] Security services provide capabilities to prevent attacks. At
each plane and
layer, one or more of the following example security services may be
applicable:
Service Description
Authentication Authentication is used to validate the identity presented
or
asserted by an entity attempting to initiate communications with
a system or service or identified as the source of data presented
as input to a system or service. Peer entity authentication occurs
at the initiation, or potentially during, communication between
entities. Authentication can be one-way or mutual. Data origin
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authentication attempts to verify the source of data.
Access Control Access control is used to protect against unauthorized
access to
system resources, including functional components, stored
information, information flows, services, and applications.
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) is a mechanism to provide
different levels of authorization based on the entity attempting
to gain access and the function or information to be accessed.
RBAC is configured based upon the designated role or job
function of the entity accessing the system
Data Data
confidentiality prevents unauthorized disclosure of data.
Confidentiality Mechanisms for
data confidentiality apply for data stored by a
system and data as it is being transferred from or to a system.
Confidentiality can apply for selected fields of data as well as
protect information that can be derived from observation of
traffic flows
Integrity Data integrity focuses on modification, insertion, deletion,
and
replay of data. Like confidentiality, data integrity can apply for
stored data, data as it is transferred, and for selected data
elements or fields. Data integrity mechanisms may include
capabilities for data recovery.
Non-repudiation & Non-repudiation provides a means to verify the entity
involved
Logging in messages or data exchanges or responsible for activities
performed by the system. A receiver of data can be provided
with proof of origin of the message, while a sender can be
provided with proof of receipt. Audits and logs support non-
repudiation for access to embodiments of the system and actions
taken by users.
Communication Communication
security ensures that information is exchanged
Security only between
authorized endpoints and is not diverted or
intercepted
Availability Security measures associated with availability may be
intended
to ensure there is no denial of authorized access to system
functionality and stored information due to events impacting the
system
Privacy Sensitive information about a system and its users should be
protected. Privacy is concerned with protecting information so
that it cannot be gathered through network observation or other
means.
Requirements - Minimal Feature Set
/11FS # Sub Function Description
MFS Authentication & The system
shall require authenticated identity to
39 Access Controls allow access to the system.
The system shall use role-based permissions to
control access to system functions and data.
, The system shall support the modification of user
credentials via automated password reset as well
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MFS Non-repudiation & = The system will generate a log message for
actions
42 Logging taken by users that identify the user, the
interface, the
action taken and parameters provided by the user, and the
date and time.
= The system will log all potential, suspected or know
security incidents. The system must be able to integrate
with Incident management tools.
MFS Password policy
43 compliance = The system shall allow for configurable password
rules and will force users to change passwords
periodically and enforce minimum password strength
requirements.
MFS Role Based = The system shall encrypt all passwords,
44 Access Control Create, Manage, Assign roles to users including
RO's,
Carriers, SCP 0/0, Ops.
Permissions will be based upon Roles.
MFS Data = The system shall restrict the access and display
of
40 Confidentiality, stored data to maintain data confidentiality
based
Integrity and
on authenticated and authorized identity.
Availability
= The system shall use firewalls and virus protection
software to protect against corrupt or malicious
software.
= The system shall ensure information integrity,
accuracy and consistency is maintained over its life
cycle. Information cannot be modified in an
unauthorized or undetected manner.
= The system shall be available when it is needed.
This means the system with its data, security
controls and communication channels must be
functioning correctly at all times as specified by the
SLAs.
MFS Communication = The system shall provide for encryption for data
41 Security transferred across interfaces that cross trust
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MFS 57 Physical Security The system shall be housed in a secure facility
with
physical safeguards and access controls. Unauthorized
access to the facility housing the system will not be
permitted.
MFS 58 Vulnerability The system shall expect security patches
(application
Management and infrastructure software included) to be
applied on
a regular basis. And should be architected to minimize
downtime during these events.
Application code will be regularly scanned with at
least one static code analysis tool to ensure good
security practices are being followed.
All assets will be regularly scanned to ensure no
malware or trojans are present.
A proactive threat management solution (e.g.: SIEM)
shall be implemented to identify threats and manage
compliance
MFS 59 Backup and The system shall be architected to continue
Disaster Recovery functioning even in case of a disaster at
its primary
site.
The system and its data will be regularly stored at an
off-site location. Backup mechanism and procedures
should be developed, documented and implemented
as part of the solution.
[00562] There may be additional features the embodiments of the disclosed
architecture may support such as the examples that follow:
system Security - New Feature Set
NFS # Function Description
NFS 15 Single Sign-on In embodiments, the system may authenticate
the source for all attempts to access
embodiments of the system via multi-factor
authentication. Methods include, but may be not
limited to items such as a certificate provided by
a credentialing authority, a login ID and
password or other known approaches.
NFS 16 Self-Serve Provide the ability for self-service password
Password Reset resets and the ability to unlock logon IDs when
all issues with it have been resolved without
Help desk intervention.
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NFS 17 Additional User Allow a toll-free provider the ability to
identify
Management a "super user" ID for their organization and
allow the super user additional capabilities in
managing the users under this provider. These
capabilities could include, but may be not
limited to:
.= Deactivating user IDs
= Activating user IDs
- Resetting passwords
- Restricting access (i.e., can search, but not
reserve, cannot modify an existing record,
can only search and not create customer
records,
[00563] Some primary functions provided by the embodiments of the disclosed
architecture include the ability to search for and reserve toll-free numbers
and provision
customer records that may be uploaded to SCPs to enable toll-free service.
This can be done
via an online interface (HUI) as well as by a machine-to-machine (API)
interface. These
interfaces allow manual and mechanized access to embodiments of the system for
these
functions such as those that follow:
Requirements - Minimal Feature Set
MPS # Sub Function Description
MFS Number Online ability to provide all the user
47 Administration functionality described in the Number
Administration section of this document.
MFS Customer Record Online ability to provide all the user
48 functionality described in the Customer
Record Administration section of this
= document.
MFS System Online ability to provide all the user
49 Administration functionality needed to perform
= embodiments of the
system .==
administration functions of this system.
= MFS Reporting Online ability to provide all the user
50 functionality described in the Reporting :
section of this document.
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Requirements New Feature Set __________________________________
11/IFS # Sub Function Description
NFS 19 Single Sign-on Allow the ability for a user to login once and
have
access to any and all areas of the system that they
have permission to access without a separate login.
NFS 20 Ease Of Use The user and administrator interfaces should be
designed in such a way as to provide an easy and
intuitive interface for users. Considerations should
include, but are not limited to:
= Prompts for entries
= Intuitive defaults based upon user
characteristics.
= Suggestive entries based upon previous user
actions.
[00564] The embodiments of the disclosed architecture may include a Web
Services APT for functionality supported in the Human User Interface (HUT).
[00565] The Human User Interface (HUT) provides user interface functions to
the
human users to access the system. The HUT may be accessed by many types of
users. For
example, a user can be administrator, a toll-free service provider user, SCP
administrator, and
network manager. Access to the HUT functions by a user can depend on the
security
permissions that have been assigned for the user by the administrator.
[00566] The HUT provides the following logical groups of functions which can
be
accessed by a user: User Profile and Security Administration; Number
Administration
Customer Record Administration; SCP Management; Reports; and Administration
[00567] The administrator and/or others may use the user profile and security
administration functions provided by the HUI to protect embodiments of the
system data
from being viewed or updated/deleted by unauthorized users. The user profile
and security
administration grants permissions to different groups of users to access
embodiments of the
system to create, view, update and activate certain functions. The system can
implement a
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role-based access control mechanism.
1005681 The HUT provides functions to perform number search, reserve or cancel
reservation for one or more toll-free numbers, change parameters associated
with already
reserved numbers, and query numbers for determining the number status and
other number
administration parameters. The HUI interacts with the "Number
Administration
Requirements" functional area to perform the number administration functions.
[00569] The HUT interacts with the "Customer Record Administration" functional
area to perform the functions described in this section.
[00570] The CAD function is used to enter the date and time for the toll-free
number service, subscriber/customer information for the toll-free number, the
Areas of
Service (AOS) to be supported for the toll-free number, the carriers that, and
others can be
used to route calls to the toll-free number, and other associated service data
for the toll-free
number.
[00571] An example CAD can be associated with a Call Processing Record (CPR)
for complex call routing data and can be associated with a Labels Definition
(LAD) record
for additional complex call routing data that is entered on the CPR.
[00572] The HUT interacts with the "SCP Management Requirements" functional
area to perform the Service Control Point administration and network
management functions.
[00573] The administrator or other toll-free service provider's users can
request the
Scheduled and On-demand reports via the Report Request function of the HUT.
The HUT
interacts with the "Reporting Requirements" functional area to perform RRR
request.
[00574] The disclosed embodiment Administration functions of the HUT may be
used for Bulletin Board Messages, System Processing Options (SPO) and
Downtime/Default
Effective Time for CR (DDT). An Administrative Console may facilitate the
system
administrators and Help Desk personnel administrative functions for managing
the system.
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[00575] There may be additional features the embodiments of the disclosed
architecture may support such as the examples that follow:
Administration Features Requirements-New Feature Set
............................... ...... ........ ................,.......
...........................,.............,... ........
............,.....................,..
A'FS # Function Description
NFS 18 Click to Chat Enable end users to quickly contact a
support
representative through the user interface. This
feature can provide an immediate channel to a
support representative.
[00576] The API interface 4600 operates as a liaison between the service
provider client systems (CS) 4602 and the disclosed embodiment (disclosed
embodiments),
thereby providing a mechanism through which interactions between the client
systems 4604
and embodiments of the architecture can take place. The API interface 4612
may, for
example, be used by Customer Record Administration 4608 and Number
Administration
4610 components of the disclosed embodiment on one end, and the toll-free
service provider
client systems on the other end. This interaction is schematically illustrated
in Figure 46.
[00577] It is expected that disclosed embodiments can define a REST/SOAP API
for machine interfaces. There is a current Mechanized Generic Interface (MGI)
interface that
supports many of our customers today and the embodiments of the disclosed
architecture
according to embodiments. The MGT interface is being used across the network
by all client
systems and there has to be backward compatibility. The move from MGI to an
API interface
cannot be overnight and has to be phased accordingly. The MGI Interface
specification is
available in SR 4592 MGI Interface specification.
[00578] In embodiments, the system provided alerts for certain situations.
These
alerts can be in the form of emails or via a logon notification or a console
alert. Examples of
these alerts may include:
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Requirements - Minimal Feature Set
_WS # Sub Function Description
MFS 51 API notifications The system may support notifications back to
the user when background functionality is
completed.
MFS 52 SCP queuing If queue builds for a specific SCP toll-free
service providers cannot see the confirmation
of download and can tend to resend the CRs;
an alert is sent to notify the community that
the SCP is queuing. Not automated in cun-ent
system.
MFS 53 Report availability Notification to user that a report is available
MFS 54 System outage Inform users when embodiments of the
notifications system can be down for scheduled
maintenance.
MFS 55 New feature or Let the users know that functionality is
functionality available.
notification
1005791 This section provides a summary of characteristics of reference data.
This
need not define the absolute data needs, but can provide some insight into the
data stored and
used.
1005801 Reference Data may fall into the following categories:
min. Network
Administration reference data - primarily used
to construct and/or validate Customer Records
JJJJJJ- CCS Network
Information is used to identify the CCS
network served by the SCPs
kkkkkk. LATA to CCS Network Mapping is used to determine
which networks and their SCPs can receive customer records
for a specified LATA as the area-of-service
111111. NPA to CCS
Network Mapping is used to determine
yhich CCS networks and their SCPs can receive customer
records for a specified NPA as the area-of-service
mmmmmm. Network
Allowed Carriers is used to identify a
subset of CICs that may be supported by a CCS network
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nnnnnn. NPA-NXX to LATA Information is used as reference
data of NPA-Mas in LATAs and the association with an
Operating Company Number (OCN) code, Company Code
(CO), and Effective Date
[00581] General reference data about each telecommunications carrier that may
be
involved in carrying toll-free calls and might thus be an involved carrier
included in the CRs
of various toll-free service providers:
000000. Carrier Information
pppppp. Toll-free service providers and associated carriers
qqqqqq. Carrier Agreements with Entities For CR Input
111111. Entity Agreements with Carriers for CR Input
[00582] IntraLATA carrier management reference data Used to support Local-
Exchange Carriers (LECs) and other network service providers with the
capability to control
and/or manage the use of their networks for IntraLATA toll-free calls to a
destination POTS
number that terminates on their network include:
ssssss. Carrier Operating Company Numbers
tttttt. Network Provider-SCP Owner/Operator Company
Codes
uuuuuu. Network Provider-SCP Owner/Operator Carrier
Agreements
vvvvvv. Network Provider-SCP Owner/Operator IntraLATA
Agreements
iNwwwww. Network Provider-SCP Owner/Operator
IntraLATA Exceptions
xxxxxx. Carrier IntraLATA Agreements
yyyyyy. Carrier IntraLATA Exceptions
zzzzzz. Toll-free Service Providers Allowed Carriers
aaaaaaa. Toll-free Service Providers Disallowed Carriers
bbbbbbb. Non-Functional Requirements
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[00583] In order to run a system, there is a need to understand the
performance
requirements of embodiments of the system and the processing throughput. This
includes
embodiments of the system availability needs as well as the capacity and
performance
requirements. The performance of the system must meet or exceed the
performance of the
existing legacy system for all parameters described in this section.
[00584] This section addresses the expected availability of the disclosed
embodiment. The approach used for this section is based on industry standards
related to
availability.
[00585] This section establishes an understanding of terminology and establish
context in this area in order to provide clear requirements regarding the
reliability of the
disclosed embodiment. A defined time period is needed to support an
availability
measurement. A typical calculation involves setting an availability objective
or determining
the actual availability of a system or service over a year. It may be
necessary to identify
exclusions from the time period, such as planned periods when it is known that
embodiments
of the system or service cannot be available. It can also be specified that
unexpected
circumstances that would impact availability, such as excessive demand,
unusual operating
conditions, or unexpected or disastrous events (e.g., earthquake, fire etc.)
may be to be
excluded from availability calculations.
[00586] Discussion related to availability often involves a number of 9s,
i.e., "five
9s" availability. This refers to an availability objective or measurement of
99.999%. Applied
for a year, this means the availability subject can provide the expected
functionality across
the given domain for 525594.744 minutes and therefore not be available to
provide the
expected functionality across the given domain for 5.256 minutes during the
year.
.. ..
Availability: Definition
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Rating UnPlanned Planned
Very Good Fewer than 61.32 hours* Fewer than 200 hours
(99.3%)
Outstanding Fewer than 26.28 hours* Fewer than 50 hours
(99.7%)
Best in Class Fewer than 4.38 hours* Fewer than 12 hours
(99.95)
Continuous Availability Zero (100%) Zero (100%)
By definition, continuous availability is 100% IT service uptime
Based on 24/365 or 8,760 hours/year scheduled uptime
[00587] When considering availability requirements, it is necessary to
understand
the functions it provides and its overall role in supporting toll-free
service. Certain functions
of the system, namely Number Administration, Customer Record Administration,
and SCP
Management, may be essential for supporting toll-free service. More
specifically, the
expected functions of embodiments of the system when it is available may be
to:
cceccce. Receive and process number search/reserve requests
and customer record input and update requests;
ddddddd. Administer statuses for toll-free numbers and customer
records based on user actions, effective dates and process rules
applied by the system; and
ceeccee. Download customer record information to SCPs.
The disclosed embodiment may be considered an operations system. Unlike an
SCP, it is not involved in real-time routing of toll-free calls. If this were
not
functioning, callers would still be able to make toll-free calls and the calls
would be routed to the correct toll-free service subscriber. In embodiments,
the system does, however, provide "real-time" services (such as toll-free
number and customer record administration) to toll-free service providers. An
additional consideration is that access to toll-free numbers may be provided
to
all users equally so that one toll-free service provider entity does not gain
a
competitive advantage over others for reserving desirable numbers. This
underscores the importance of consistent availability across user interfaces.
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Category Service Requirement
Availability Unscheduled downtime for Best-in-class availability defined
core functions and interfaces. as 99.95% (fewer than 262.8
Core functions arc Number minutes down per year,
Administration, Customer measured monthly)
Record Administration, SCP
Management and any support
functions that these core
functions depend on (i.e.,
Authentication
Authorization)
Unscheduled downtime for all Very good availability defined as
non-core functions. Non-core 99.50% - (fewer than 2620.8
functions can be identified as minutes down per year,
any function not identified as a measured monthly)
core function (i.e., Reports,
Billing).
Scheduled downtime for all Not to exceed on average 4 hours
functions and interfaces per month
[00588] In embodiments, the system may also allow time and processing for the
loading of industry reference data during routine maintenance windows.
[00589] Business continuity encompasses the strategic and tactical capability
of the
organization to plan for and respond to incidents and business disruptions in
order to continue
business operations at an acceptable predefined level.
[00590] Disaster recovery capabilities include the strategies and plans for
recovering and restoring the organizations technological infrastructure and
capabilities after a
major system failure.
[00591] It may be necessary to establish objectives for unusual external
events like
earthquake or fire and non-routine activities like major infrastructure
upgrades or transitions
to new platforms. Overall solution design, including operations processes and
procedures,
may be needed to maintain business continuity during unusual circumstances and
recover
from disasters. Solution design considerations for business continuity and
disaster recovery
include geographic redundancy for solution components, deployment of backup
systems and
capabilities, and selection of the sites where equipment and operating
personnel may be
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located.
1005921 A pictorial view of a disaster recovery scenario is illustrated in
Figure 47
at 4700.
Category [ Service i Requirement
Resiliency System Recovery Time Less than two (2) hours
Objective (RTO) _______________ Restore
after a disaster or major
disruption
System Recovery Point 15 minutes
Objective (RPO) ¨ Maximum
tolerable period in which data
can be lost
Transaction error rate ¨ Less than 0.001%
percentage of transactions that
may be not successful for any
reason
[00593] In embodiments, the system can facilitate the required optimal use of
disaster recovery sites and expenses such that analytics or other non-critical
workloads can be
run out of a warm/hot DR site, thus avoiding "Cold DR." Redundant/disaster
recovery site
may be greater than 100 miles away (range listed in ISO 27001 as 30 to 100
miles)
[00594] Capacity planning involves a judgment regarding the anticipated usage
of
the functions of a system and a correlation to embodiments of the system
resources needed to
support the anticipated usage of a function. Based on the usage forecast, the
quantity of each
system resource needed to meet the demand is determined. Capacity is directly
related to
performance. If load or demand surpasses the level used to plan capacity,
system resources
can become overloaded and the ability of embodiments of the system to provide
its intended
function is likely to degrade. Once a system is operational, capacity
management is a
continuous operational process. Usage and performance may be monitored to
recognize
trends and capacity resource quantities may be adjusted accordingly. The
objective is to
maintain system performance and efficient use of resources as usage and demand
change.
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[00595] There may be a number of components that provide the resources needed
to support the functionality provided by a system. Depending on embodiments of
the system
resource, capacity is expressed as a fixed size or quantity, or in terms of
the demand, load, or
usage the resource is expected to support. Capacity related to system usage is
generally
planned based on the average period of largest usage of the system, taking
into account the
cost of system resources, the probability of excessive usage beyond the
average peak, and the
impact of degraded performance when the anticipated peak is exceeded. For
example, there
may be three main areas for which the capacity may be considered as indicated
in the
following table:
system Areas Description
Processing A system needs sufficient processing capacity to support
usage
of required functions. To quantify processing capacity
requirements, it is necessary to determine the tasks that may be
performed to support the functionality provided by
embodiments of the system and quantify the relative processing
capacity needed for each one. A complicated task can use more
processing resources as compared to a simple task. Using
forecasts of the volume and frequency of each task, a
determination can be made regarding how much processing
capacity is needed.
Memory There may be a number of uses for system memory. Memory is
needed to support real-time system processing, including
storage for embodiments of the system software. Additional
memory is needed for storage of data used by the system.
Types of data used by a system include:
= Configuration data that facilitates users to access
embodiments of the system and controls how
embodiments of the system operate.
= Functional data that is entered by users and manipulated
by the system.
= Reference data that provides information used to support
each system function.
- Historical data such as log files retained by the system.
Interfaces ystems include interfaces for users to access the
functionality i
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of embodiments of the system and for embodiments of the
system to exchange information with other systems. It is
important to understand the types and quantity of interfaces a
system is expected to support to determine embodiments of the
__________________ system hardware and software resources required.
[00596] In order to understand the system capacity requirements some current
metrics having to do with capacity and utilization are provided (Figures 48-
51).
[00597] Capacity related to system usage is generally planned based on the
average
period of largest usage, taking into account the probability of excessive
usage beyond the
average peak, as well as the impact of degraded performance when the
anticipated peak is
exceeded. The following assumptions were made when developing the capacity and
performance requirements. In embodiments, the performance of the system may
meet or
exceed the performance of the current system for parameters:
fffffff. The initial
processing capacity for the system can be
engineered to include capacity for growth of 20% YOY.
ggggggg. The system must be able to deliver burstable capacity.
hhhhhhh. Assuming 7,988,500 usable toll-free numbers per NPA
and 8 toll-free NPAs, the system must be engineered to
maintain data for roughly 64 million usable toll-free numbers.
num. During peak
usage periods, assume 25% of user logins
are logged in.
JJJJJJJ = It is
assumed the system will have the capacity to
support interfaces to 30 SCPs minimally.
Transaction Data ¨ April 2015
Transaction Type Hourly Peak Hour Peak Hour
Average Volume
Number Search 2,234,000 22 5,700,000***
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Number Reserve 13,900 23 51,000***
Number Spare 3,500 23 72,000 ***
Customer Record Updates 6,360 20 31,600
*** Because a large volume of toll-free numbers are spared in hour 23, many
toll-free
service providers execute automated scripts to search and reserve for numbers
that
have just been spared.
Category Service Current Capacity
Requirement
Capacity # Toll-Free Numbers 40 million 64 million
# Toll-Free Providers 450 600
SCP 22 30
Owner/Operator
Interfaces
# Customer Records 128 million 192 million
# Online User 16,250 users 24,360 users
# Concurrent Online 4,875 users 6,090 users
User Sessions
Toll-free Number Capacity - Minimal Feature Set
S # Function Description
MFS 60 Toll-free The volume of toll free numbers, currently at 40
Number million, arc growing by an average 180,000 per
Capacity month. This growth will continue as the system
must be scaled to be able to be able to handle
this growth as an expected activity.
Category Service Level Average Volume Peak Hour
Requirement Volume
Requirement
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Performance Search transactions 2.5 million per 6.0
million per
(all types) hour hour
Number 14,000 per hour 51,000 per
Reservation hour
transactions
Number Spare 3,500 per hour 72,000 per
transactions hour
Customer Record 6,500 per hour 31,500 per
Updates hour
# SCP Updated 20/second 30/second
Customer Record
downloads
Capacity & Performance - New Feature Set
MPS # Function Description
NFS 21 Extreme system In the event of an extreme system usage
situation
(i.e. NPA code opening) the system must be able
usage situation
to quickly scale up to handle up to four times
(4X) the normal peak usage period.
To illustrate extreme usage, in once case during
the opening of toll-free NPA 844, a peak of 77,
000 transactions per minute were received.
[00598] Usage measurement and monitoring is required to provide fair and equal
system access to all toll-free service providers. In order to do that, the
system may measure,
monitor, and alert the system usage for any instances where one provider's
utilization is at a
point where it is impacting the other provider's use of the system. The
measurements must be
on a toll-free service provider level.
Usage Measurement and Monitoring- Minimal Feature Set
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MF S # Function Description
MFS 38 Usage The system can must measure, monitor, and
Measurement & alert for any instances where one provider's
Monitoring utilization is at a point where it is impacting
the
other provider's use of the system. The
measurements must be on a on a toll-free
service provider level The alerting level should
be a configurable setting in the system.
[00599] Reference data may be required to represent routing and numbering in
the
POTS network and the service areas supported by SCP 0/0 networks. The
information
provides the relationships between SCP 0/0 CCS networks and the LATAs, NPAs
and NPA-
NXXs each network serves and is used to validate the information in customer
records.
There may be 8 CCS networks supported by the system.
[00600] There are 164 LATAs in the NANP, roughly 380 NPAs in use or planned
for use for POTS call routing, and roughly 160,000 NPA-NXXs assigned to
central offices
for call routing.
[00601] The system can provide memory capacity for the reference data needed
to
capture the relationships between States, LATAs, NPAs, and NPA-NXXs required
to
represent the POTS network.
[00602] The system can provide memory capacity for the reference data required
to
represent the network relationships supported by each SCP 0/0 CCS network.
[00603] The system must also allow time and processing for the loading of
industry reference data during routine maintenance windows.
1006041 In embodiments of the system, functional data is the data required by
each
function supported by the system. The system maintains functional data for
each NPA-NXX
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within a toll-free NPA and each toll-free number with each NPA-NXX. Currently,
the toll-
free NPAs 800, 888, 877, 866, 855, and 844 are open and NPA 833 is anticipated
to open in
2017, making a total of 7 toll-free NPAs. Note that 822 and 889 are also
reserved as a
potential future toll-free NPAs.
[00605] For each toll-free NPA, NXXs 000 ¨ 199, 911, and 555 are not used.
Additionally, in NXX 250, XXXX numbers 0000 ¨ 1499 are not used. This results
in
7,988,500 toll-free numbers per NPA. Assuming 8 toll-free NPA, the system will
need to
maintain data for roughly 64 million toll-free numbers.
[00606] In embodiments of the system, initial minimum memory capacity for the
data required to support 64 million toll-free numbers. Toll-free service is
enabled when a
toll-free number is reserved by a toll-free service provider, a customer
record is provisioned
against the number, and information from the record is downloaded to SCPs.
Numbers that
are not currently controlled by a toll-free service provider (i.e., numbers in
SPARE status)
and numbers not available for toll-free service (i.e., numbers in UNAVAILABLE
status) do
not have customer records. Customer records are provisioned in advance of an
effective date,
and the system maintains current and pending customer records, so it is
possible for multiple
customer records to be associated with a number.
[00607] A percentage of toll-free numbers will be in SPARE status and
therefore
not have an associated customer record. Additionally, many working numbers
have not had
changes to the provided toll-free service and therefore have a single active
customer record.
However, some numbers may have an active and pending customer record, and old
records
are stored by the system for a period of time. For the purposes of capacity
planning and to
account for the differences in size between simple and complex customer
records, it is
assumed that there is an average of 2 customer records per toll-free number.
Therefore, the
system will need to maintain 128 million customer records.
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[00608] The system can provide initial minimum memory capacity for the data
required to support 128 million customer records.
[00609] During peak usage periods, 25% of user logins are logged into the
system.
The system must provide capacity for 16,250 login IDs and anticipating 30%
peak concurrent
usage, capacity for 4,875 concurrent HUT sessions. Note that not all users who
are logged
into the system will be actively and continuously sending requests to the
system.
[00610] During a time of extreme usage, such as the opening of a new toll-free
NPA, there will a significant increase in the number of concurrent scssions.
In the event of an
extreme system usage situation the system should be able to quickly scale up
to handle up to
four times (4X) the normal peak usage period.
1006111 Instantaneous response time is the time for a response when performing
an
action regarding objects on the screen, such as using a mouse to select on an
on-screen object
or drag a scroll bar.
[00612] When a human user takes an action related to an object on a screen,
the
system can provide an initial acknowledgment response in 0.1 - 0.2 seconds.
[00613] When a human user takes action to request an operation or execute a
command requiring system process of the request, the system can provide a
response in 0.5
I second.
[00614] A feedback response provides information regarding the progress or
completion of a requested action.
[00615] For transactions that take longer than 5 seconds ¨ the system will
provide
the user feedback that the transaction has been accepted and that the response
will be
available at a later time.
1006161 In embodiments, the system can provide an API interface for machine-to-
machine transaction processing. The system can provide resources to support
having API
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connections from each toll-free Providers (number of expected providers
defined above).
1006171 The system can minimally have the capacity to support interfaces to 30
SCPs at launch with the ability to add more as the number of users grow.
[00618] The table below presents example minimum data rates for the SCP
interface as stated in Section 4.2.2 of TM-798. The performance of the system
may meet or
exceed the performance of the current system for all parameters described in
this section.
Minimum Non-Peak Data Rates for SCP Interface from TM-798
Transaction Size / Data Rate
Customer Record Updates 9.6 Kbytes/CR x 20 CR/sec
Or 192 Kbytes/sec
Or 1.536 megabits/sec
Other 88 Kbytes/hour
[00619] The system can provide the resources to support the data rate and
message
frequency for each SCP interface as specified.
SCP Data Rates- Minimal Feature Set
/V/FS # Function Description
MFS 46 SCP Data Rates The system must be able to process a minimum
of 1200 commands per minute and a minimum
of 20 customer record update (UPD-UCR)
commands per second. The typical, non-peak
message frequency is roughly 1 per second
[00620] There are four main areas of data integrity that may need to be
addressed
and monitored. They are:
kld(1(kkk. Latency: The time between when information is
expected and when it is readily available for use.
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1111111. Accuracy: Data
accuracy refers to the degree with
which data correctly represents the "real-life" objects they are
intended to represent.
mmmmmmm. Timeliness:
Refers to the time expectation for
accessibility and availability of information. Timeliness can be
measured as the time between when information is expected
and when it is readily available for use.
nnnnnnn. Consistency: Two data values drawn from separate
data sets must not conflict with each other, although
consistency does not necessarily imply correctness.
[00621] Acronyms & Glossary
Acronym Meaning
ACG Automatic Call Gapping
ACNA Access Customer Name Abbreviation
AIN Advanced Intelligent Network
AOS Area of Service (of customer record or CCS network)
ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange
ASLs Area-of-Service Labels
ATIS Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions
BOC Bell Operating Company
CAD Customer Administrative Data (portion of Customer Record)
CAG Carrier Agreements with Entities table
CAN Customer Notification and Approval
CAT Customer Acceptance Testing
CCP Cost Causer Pays
CCI (Mass) Carrier Change Information
CCS Common Channel Signaling (is a standards terminology)
CIC Carrier Identification Code (is an industry standard element)
CLLI Common Language Location Identifier (is an industry standard
element)
CLEC Competing Local Exchange Carrier
CMSDB Call Management Services Data Base
CNA Carrier Notification and Approval
CO Company Code (defined by the TPM industry data)
CO Central Office
CPR Call Processing Record
CR Customer Record
CRA Customer Record Administration
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CRA/CRR Customer Record Audit/Resend
CRA&O Customer Record Activation and Output
CRB Customer Record Benchmarks
CRN Customer Record Number
CRO Customer Record Output (process of CRA)
CS Client system
CSE Carrier Security Information
CSV Comma Separate Variable
CVER Conversion Error
d/b/a "Doing Business As" operating units of carriers
DDT Down & Default Time
DoS Denial of Service
DTN Destination Telephone Number
E2E End-to-end system Integration Testing
EAG Entity Agreements with Carriers (for CR Input)
EAP TFN Exceptions for Approvals (for CNA process)
ECC Excessive Calling Controls
EDR Event Data Record
EDT Effective Date and Time
EID End Intercept Date
ENA Entity Notification and Approval Set-up
ENO TFN Exceptions for Notifications (for CNA process)
ENO/EAP Exception Notification and Approval (by Toll-Free Numbers)
FA Final Acceptance
FCAPS Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance and Security
management
FCC Federal Communications Commission
FMO Future Mode of Operation
FTP File Transfer Protocol
GAN M2M (MGI) Activation Notice Control table
GNA Carrier General Notification and Approval Set-up
GUI Graphical User Interface
HH:MM:SS Hours, minutes, seconds
HPU High Priority (CR) Updates
HTML HyperText Markup Language
HUI Human User Interface
IC Inter-exchange Carrier
ICM IntraLATA Carrier Management (CIC 0110 validations)
ID Identification
ILEC Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier
INWATS Inward Wide Area Telephone Service
TOT Inter-Operability Testing
IP Internet Protocol
IPSec Internet Protocol Security
KPI Key Performance Indicators
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LAD Label Definitions
LAN Local Area Network
LATA Local Access and Transport Area
LECs Local Exchange Carriers
LERG Local Exchange Routing Guide
LSO Local Serving Office
LT Load Test
LUI Locked and Inactive User IDs
M2M Machine to Machine
MAS Mass Calling Thresholds
MCC Manual Control Request
MCP Multi-Number Customer-to-Pointer Record Conversion
MGI Mechanized Generic Interface
MHG Multi-Line Hunt Group
MNA Multi-Number Automation
MND Multi-Dial Number Disconnect
MNL Master Number List (supported TF NPANXX domain of an SCP)
MoP Methods of Procedures
M&P Methods and Procedures
MR0 Multi-Dial Number Resp Org Change
MRT Migration Regression Test
MTBF Mean Time Before Failure
MTTR Mean Time To Repair
NA Number Administration
NAC Network Allowed Carriers table
NANP North American Numbering Plan
NCA Network Provider-SCP Owner/Operator Carrier Agreements table
NCC Network Provider-SCP Owner/Operator Company Codes
NCN NPA to CCS Network Mapping table
NDA Non-Disclosure Agreement
NET CCS Network Information table
NFY Notify (CNA action indicator value)
NGN Next Generation Networks
NLA Network Provider-SCP Owner/Operator IntraLATA Agreements
table
NLE Network Provider-SCP Owner/Operator IntraLATA Exceptions
table
NMC Network Management Center or
NMC Network Management Class (a/k/a Threshold Level Class)
NOC Network Operation Center
NOF Carrier Notification
NON No notification (CNA action indicator value)
NPA Numbering Plan Area
NPANXX The leading 6-digits of a 10-digit NANP telephone number
NRC Network Management Report Control
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NRL Network Management Report Limits
NXL NPA-NXX to LATA Information table
NXX The 4th through 6th digits of a NANP Telephone number
OAM&P Operations, Administration, Maintenance and Provisioning
OCN Operating Company Numbers
OEI Other External Interfaces
ORC Resp Org Control
ORG Resp Org Info
OSI Open systems Interconnect
PAD Pointer Administrative Data
PM0 Present Mode of Operation
POTS Plain Old Telephone Service
PR Pointer Record
PRC SCP Report Control
PRL SCP Exception Report Control
PSTN Public Switched Telephone Network
RA Require approval (CNA action indicator value)
RAC Resp Org Allowed Carriers (reference data table)
RAO Revenue Accounting Office
RAT Revenue Assurance Test
RBAC Role Based Access Control
RDC Resp Org Disallowed Carriers (reference data table)
Resp Org
(RO) Responsible Organization
RM Removal of Invalid 6-Digits in AOS Labels
ROC Resp Org Associated Carriers for View (reference data table)
ROI (Mass) Resp Org Change Information (ROI)
ROP Resp Org Profile
RRR Report Request Reports
RSP-RCU Response to Customer Record Update message (SMS-SCP interface)
RSP-ROR Response to Update Resp Org message (SMS-SCP interface)
RSS Rich Site Summary
SAP/DAP Summary and Detail of Carrier Approval Status
SCCP Signaling Connection Control Part
SCP Service Control Point
SCP-M Service Control Point Management
SCP 0/0 Service Control Point Owner/Operator
SEC/SUD Security Control/Security User Data
SEP Security Parameters
SFG Simulated Facility Group
SID SCP ID Definition
SLA Service Level Agreement
SMS Short Message Service
SMS/800 Service Management system/800
SPO System Processing Options
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SR Special Report
SRC SMS Administration Report Control
SS7 Signaling System 7
SSP Service Switching Point
STD Security Terminal Data
STN Screening Telephone Number
STP Signaling Transfer Point
SUD Security User Data
TAD Template Administrative Data (portion of a Template Record)
TAL Template Allocation Limits
TCP Transmission Control Protocol
TF Toll Free
TFN Toll-Free Number
TLC Threshold Level Class
TM-798 The - SCP/CMSDB Interface Specification
TLS Transport Layer Security
TPM Terminating Point Master
TR Template Record
TRA Telecom Routing Administration
UAL User Application Layer
UC Use Case
Advanced Intelligent Mechanism used with the Signaling system 7 to provide
Network (AIN) advanced call routing and processing
Area of Service (AOS) Area from which a toll-free number can receive calls
Billing Capability of the system to provide information required
to
calculate monthly bills
Carrier Provider of telephone service, operator of a network that
processes telephone calls
Customer Record Defines routing of calls to a toll-free number,
provisioned
in the system and uploaded to SCPs
Customer Record Supports entry and update of customer records associated
Administration with a toll-free number
Local Access and Geographic area of service for a local carrier
Transport Area (LATA)
Local Exchange End-office switching system in the telephone company
network that provides service to telephone subscribers
Number Administration Supports search, reserve, query and update of toll-free
numbers and maintains number statuses
North American Standard that describes the format and use of telephone
Numbering Plan numbers
(NANP)
Number portability Ability to move the service associated with a telephone
number from one carrier to another
Query Request for the system to provide infofination about a
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number
Reporting Capability of the system to provide data to users in
the
form of reports
Resp Org / toll-free User of the system to obtain control of toll-free
numbers
Provider and provision customer records, sells service to toll-
free
subscribers
Search Request for the system to find toll-free numbers that
are
not controlled by a Resp Org
SCP Management Supports management of SCPs via the system
Function
Service Switching Point Local exchange switch supporting access to Signaling
System 7
Signaling system 7 Network architecture and protocol supporting out-of-
band
(SS7) signaling for call setup and feature control
Signaling Control Point Database containing information used to route calls
and
(SCP) provide features
Service Control Point Responsible for operation of SCPs
Owner/Operator (SCP
0/0)
Signaling Transfer Point Routes Signaling System 7 messages
(SIP)
Reserve Request to take control of a toll-free number, number
becomes associated with a toll-free service provider
Tandem Switching system that provides intenvorking between
other switching systems
Telephone number Identifies telephone service and the unique network
resources dedicated to providing the service, format is
NPA-NXX-XXXX as described by the North American
Numbering Plan 9 NANP)
Toll-free service Type of telephone service where calls are billed to
the
terminating subscriber, not the caller
Toll-free subscriber End-user for toll-free service, obtains service,
including an
associated toll-free number, from a toll-free service
provider
User Interface Function Supports mechanized access to the system via a machine-
to-machine interface and manual access via a human user
interface
[00622] The methods and systems described herein may be deployed in part or in
whole through a machine that executes computer software, program codes, and/or
instructions on a processor. The processor may be part of a server, client,
network
infrastructure, mobile computing platform, stationary computing platform, or
other
computing platform. A processor may be any kind of computational or processing
device
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capable of executing program instructions, codes, binary instructions and the
like. The
processor may be or include a signal processor, digital processor, embedded
processor,
microprocessor or any variant such as a co-processor (math co-processor,
graphic co-
processor, communication co-processor and the like) and the like that may
directly or
indirectly facilitate execution of program code or program instructions stored
thereon. In
addition, the processor may enable execution of multiple programs, threads,
and codes. The
threads may be executed simultaneously to enhance the performance of the
processor and to
facilitate simultaneous operations of the application. By way of
implementation, methods,
program codes, program instructions and the like described herein may be
implemented in
one or more thread. The thread may spawn other threads that may have assigned
priorities
associated with them; the processor may execute these threads based on
priority or any other
order based on instructions provided in the program code. The processor may
include
memory that stores methods, codes, instructions and programs as described
herein and
elsewhere. The processor may access a storage medium through an interface that
may store
methods, codes, and instructions as described herein and elsewhere. The
storage medium
associated with the processor for storing methods, programs, codes, program
instructions or
other type of instructions capable of being executed by the computing or
processing device
may include but may not be limited to one or more of a CD-ROM, DVD, memory,
hard disk,
flash drive, RAM, ROM, cache and the like.
[00623] A processor may include one or more cores that may enhance speed and
performance of a multiprocessor. In embodiments, the process may be a dual
core processor,
quad core processors, other chip-level multiprocessor and the like that
combine two or more
independent cores (called a die).
1006241 The methods and systems described herein may be deployed in part or in
whole through a machine that executes computer software on a server, client,
firevvall,
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gateway, hub, router, or other such computer and/or networking hardware. The
software
program may be associated with a server that may include a file server, print
server, domain
server, interne server, intranet server and other variants such as secondary
server, host
server, distributed server and the like. The server may include one or more of
memories,
processors, computer readable transitory and/or non-transitory media, storage
media, ports
(physical and virtual), communication devices, and interfaces capable of
accessing other
servers, clients, machines, and devices through a wired or a wireless medium,
and the like.
The methods, programs or codes as described herein and elsewhere may be
executed by the
server. In addition, other devices required for execution of methods as
described in this
application may be considered as a part of the infrastructure associated with
the server.
1006251 The server may provide an interface to other devices including,
without
limitation, clients, other servers, printers, database servers, print servers,
file servers,
communication servers, distributed servers and the like. Additionally, this
coupling and/or
connection may facilitate remote execution of program across the network. The
networking
of some or all of these devices may facilitate parallel processing of a
program or method at
one or more location without deviating from the scope of the disclosure. In
addition, all the
devices attached to the server through an interface may include at least one
storage medium
capable of storing methods, programs, code and/or instructions. A central
repository may
provide program instructions to be executed on different devices. In this
implementation, the
remote repository may act as a storage medium for program code, instructions,
and programs.
1006261 The software program may be associated with a client that may include
a
file client, print client, domain client, internet client, intranet client and
other variants such as
secondary client, host client, distributed client and the like. The client may
include one or
more of memories, processors, computer readable transitory and/or non-
transitory media,
storage media, ports (physical and virtual), communication devices, and
interfaces capable of
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accessing other clients, servers, machines, and devices through a wired or a
wireless medium,
and the like. The methods, programs or codes as described herein and elsewhere
may be
executed by the client. In addition, other devices required for execution of
methods as
described in this application may be considered as a part of the
infrastructure associated with
the client.
[00627] The client may provide an interface to other devices including,
without
limitation, servers, other clients, printers, database servers, print servers,
file servers,
communication servers, distributed servers and the like. Additionally, this
coupling and/or
connection may facilitate remote execution of program across the network. The
networking
of some or all of these devices may facilitate parallel processing of a
program or method at
one or more location without deviating from the scope of the disclosure. In
addition, all the
devices attached to the client through an interface may include at least one
storage medium
capable of storing methods, programs, applications, code and/or instructions.
A central
repository may provide program instructions to be executed on different
devices. In this
implementation, the remote repository may act as a storage medium for program
code,
instructions, and programs.
[00628] The methods and systems described herein may be deployed in part or in
whole through network infrastructures. The network infrastructure may include
elements
such as computing devices, servers, routers, hubs, firewalls, clients,
personal computers,
communication devices, routing devices and other active and passive devices,
modules and/or
components as known in the art. The computing and/or non-computing device(s)
associated
with the network infrastructure may include, apart from other components, a
storage medium
such as flash memory, buffer, stack, RAM, ROM and the like. The processes,
methods,
program codes, instructions described herein and elsewhere may be executed by
one or more
of the network infrastructural elements.
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[00629] The methods, program codes, and instructions described herein and
elsewhere may be implemented on a cellular network having multiple cells. The
cellular
network may either be frequency division multiple access (FDMA) network or
code division
multiple access (CDMA) network. The cellular network may include mobile
devices, cell
sites, base stations, repeaters, antennas, towers, and the like.
[00630] The methods, programs codes, and instructions described herein and
elsewhere may be implemented on or through mobile devices. The mobile devices
may
include navigation devices, cell phones, mobile phones, mobile personal
digital assistants,
laptops, palmtops, netbooks, pagers, electronic books readers, music players
and the like.
These devices may include, apart from other components, a storage medium such
as a flash
memory, buffer, RAM, ROM and one or more computing devices. The computing
devices
associated with mobile devices may be enabled to execute program codes,
methods, and
instructions stored thereon. Alternatively, the mobile devices may be
configured to execute
instructions in collaboration with other devices. The mobile devices may
communicate with
base stations interfaced with servers and configured to execute program codes.
The mobile
devices may communicate on a peer to peer network, mesh network, or other
communications network. The program code may be stored on the storage medium
associated
with the server and executed by a computing device embedded within the server.
The base
station may include a computing device and a storage medium. The storage
device may store
program codes and instructions executed by the computing devices associated
with the base
station.
[00631] The computer software, program codes, and/or instructions may be
stored
and/or accessed on machine readable transitory and/or non-transitory media
that may include:
computer components, devices, and recording media that retain digital data
used for
computing for some interval of time; semiconductor storage known as random
access
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memory (RAM); mass storage typically for more peimanent storage, such as
optical discs,
forms of magnetic storage like hard disks, tapes, drums, cards and other
types; processor
registers, cache memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory; optical storage
such as CD,
DVD; removable media such as flash memory (e.g. USB sticks or keys), floppy
disks,
magnetic tape, paper tape, punch cards, standalone RAM disks, Zip drives,
removable mass
storage, off-line, and the like; other computer memory such as dynamic memory,
static
memory, read/write storage, mutable storage, read only, random access,
sequential access,
location addressable, file addressable, content addressable, network attached
storage, storage
area network, bar codes, magnetic ink, and the like.
[00632] The methods and systems described herein may transform physical and/or
or intangible items from one state to another. The methods and systems
described herein
may also transform data representing physical and/or intangible items from one
state to
another.
[00633] The elements described and depicted herein, including in flow charts
and
block diagrams throughout the figures, imply logical boundaries between the
elements.
However, according to software or hardware engineering practices, the depicted
elements and
the functions thereof may be implemented on machines through computer
executable
transitory and/or non-transitory media having a processor capable of executing
program
instructions stored thereon as a monolithic software structure, as standalone
software
modules, or as modules that employ external routines, code, services, and so
forth, or any
combination of these, and all such implementations may be within the scope of
the present
disclosure. Examples of such machines may include, but may not be limited to,
personal
digital assistants, laptops, personal computers, mobile phones, other handheld
computing
devices, medical equipment, wired or wireless communication devices,
transducers, chips,
calculators, satellites, tablet PCs, electronic books, gadgets, electronic
devices, devices
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having artificial intelligence, computing devices, networking equipment,
servers, routers and
the like. Furthermore, the elements depicted in the flow chart and block
diagrams or any
other logical component may be implemented on a machine capable of executing
program
instructions. Thus, while the foregoing drawings and descriptions set forth
functional aspects
of the disclosed systems, no particular arrangement of software for
implementing these
functional aspects should be inferred from these descriptions unless
explicitly stated or
otherwise clear from the context. Similarly, it will be appreciated that the
various steps
identified and described above may be varied, and that the order of steps may
be adapted to
particular applications of the techniques disclosed herein. All such
variations and
modifications are intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure. As
such, the depiction
and/or description of an order for various steps should not be understood to
require a
particular order of execution for those steps, unless required by a particular
application, or
explicitly stated or otherwise clear from the context.
[00634] The methods and/or processes described above, and steps thereof, may
be
realized in hardware, software or any combination of hardware and software
suitable for a
particular application. The hardware may include a dedicated computing device
or specific
computing device or particular aspect or component of a specific computing
device. The
processes may be realized in one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers,
embedded
microcontrollers, programmable digital signal processors or other programmable
device,
along with internal and/or external memory. The processes may also, or
instead, be embodied
in an application specific integrated circuit, a programmable gate array,
programmable array
logic, or any other device or combination of devices that may be configured to
process
electronic signals. It will further be appreciated that one or more of the
processes may be
realized as a computer executable code capable of being executed on a machine
readable
medium.
245
84001720
[00635] The computer executable code may be created using a structured
programming language such as C, an object oriented programming language such
as C++, or
any other high-level or low-level programming language (including assembly
languages,
hardware description languages, and database programming languages and
technologies) that
may be stored, compiled or interpreted to run on one of the above devices, as
well as
heterogeneous combinations of processors, processor architectures, or
combinations of
different hardware and software, or any other machine capable of executing
program
instructions.
[00636] Thus, in one aspect, each method described above and combinations
thereof may be embodied in computer executable code that, when executing on
one or more
computing devices, performs the steps thereof. In another aspect, the methods
may be
embodied in systems that perform the steps thereof, and may be distributed
across devices in a
number of ways, or all of the functionality may be integrated into a
dedicated, standalone
device or other hardware. In another aspect, the means for performing the
steps associated
with the processes described above may include any of the hardware and/or
software
described above. All such permutations and combinations are intended to fall
within the
scope of the present disclosure.
[00637] While the disclosure has been disclosed in connection with the
preferred
embodiments shown and described in detail, various modifications and
improvements thereon
will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the
spirit and scope of
the present disclosure is not to be limited by the foregoing examples, but is
to be understood
in the broadest sense allowable by law.
[00638]
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CA 2967451 2018-03-27
